We all know that there are many types of “traditional” events, such as conferences, seminars, trade shows, trainings which are held face to face, but have you heard of hybrid events? Or have you participated in one?

So what are hybrid events?

Hybrid events represent an event which combines “live” in-person event with a “virtual” online component. More precisely it involves in-person audience and online audience which are connected via audio and video technology. Simply put hybrid events are a kind of online events.

Why hybrid events?

Nowadays people are very busy. We can say that in some cases they don’t have enough time to do all the things from a planner scheduled for a particular day. This has led to an inability to participate at some events, such as conferences, congresses or seminars which could be very useful for their job. They may often find some event useful and even necessary to be involved and participate, but can not find time to travel and participate.

Thanks to the development of technology and its application in the organization of events, this is changing, through various kinds of virtual events, such as hybrid events.

Good to know

When organizing this type of event it is important to have several things on mind. At first place it is the content.

After you determine what will be the topics of the event and the sessions, you have to decide which audience will participate at the event. During the time of the event it is very important to know when to include online participants, and when will the in-person participants have meetings, discussions, etc.

Even if everything is arranged and works before the beginning of the event, organizer should still have a crisis plan. This plan has to cover every least thing that could go wrong, and a list of solutions for all possible problems.

Thanks to the technology at hybrid events you can connect participants from all parts of the world.

Organizers of hybrid events should be good informed and to know how to use interactive tools and platforms for live streaming, after the choosing the streaming company. They should also give instructions and to train moderators and speakers to address the cameras, actually to online audience, as often as they do it to the in-person audience.

Also, it is very important that the online participants are acknowledge, which means than when welcoming in person participants, speaker or moderator should look at the camera and address to them too.

One more way to include all participants in the event is to use social media, where online and in person participants can comment and share their impressions. Using of social media is a good way and for the interaction between all participants. Interaction can be done and through streaming platforms and through online communities.

Like mentioned, with the right tools, all participants can be involved in certain activity, such as asking questions, or conducting surveys, etc.

Time is one more important aspect of the hybrid event, considering that some online participant would like to be active only in some part of the event, so you have to be punctual and follow the previously program which all participants have.

Engagement of both types of participants is also important, so presentations should be interesting and not too long, in order keep them involved.

At the end, organization of hybrid events is a trend which will have bigger impact on the event organization in the future, thanks to the constant development of the technology. For participants, who are not able to come on the site of event, online participation is a great chance to learn new things and find out new information.