Hosting a hybrid event has its own set of obstacles, as it will need you to engage not one, but both audiences: those who will access your event electronically and those who will visit your hybrid event location in person.
Live Q&A
Help ensure that all of your participants, whether they’re online or in offline, get the opportunity to ask questions.
The majority of all-in-one virtual event solutions will allow your online participants to submit questions. Although some platforms offer more complex Q&A features, including the option to ask questions privately or bring virtual guests up onto a ‘virtual podium’ where they may pose their questions live, this is frequently done using a basic live chat option.
Do keep in mind that you’ll need to have a mechanism to ensure that offline delegates can hear the virtual audience’s queries.
Some online audience interaction solutions, on the other hand, can be utilised by both online and offline attendees. When in-person guests come for a session, you may give them a QR code that will help in providing them the access to the online chat and Q&A session using their mobile phone.
Live Polling
Every attendee does not always want to speak in front of the entire group. Particularly hesitant audience members can participate in an online poll without having to go centre stage.
You may utilise live polling to find out what your attendees want, what they’d want to see more of, and what their thoughts are on pertinent issues. As a result, it’s a terrific approach to personalise your content to your audience’s demands.
Although live polls are often used to encourage virtual guests to participate, there’s no reason why in-person attendees shouldn’t be allowed to participate as well. This might be as basic as a ‘hand raise’ during a segment or as complex as inviting your in-person guests to install a mobile app to participate in online polls.
Live Chat
A live chat function is available on almost all virtual event platforms. So take advantage of it! It’s a terrific method for your audience online to start a discussion, ask more broad questions, and form new relationships in the same way that your real attendees will.
Keep in mind that your viewers may want some support until they feel comfortable having a discussion on your live stream. So, to break the ice, consider making a few postings yourself at the start of your event.
Heres hoping, once your guests start conversing, the discussion will keep going all day!
Gamification
It’s difficult to meet one who doesn’t appreciate gaming. As a result, implementing gamification within your hybrid event is a terrific way to engage all of your participants. Here are a few examples of how you may utilise games to engage your audience in your hybrid event.
Engagement that pays off: You can motivate your in-person and virtual guests to participate in your event by paying them for completing engagement goals. For example, individuals may get points for each networking contact they create or for each survey they complete.
Competitions: Why not organise a competition among your virtual and offline attendees? You could, for example, conduct a quiz and then observe which audience section performs the best.
Workshops
Consider introducing some further engaging workshop sessions which include your participants working together to develop new skills rather than making all of your sessions speeches and presentations. As a result, participation becomes more than a perk; it becomes an important element of your strategy.
You may begin your workshop with a fast lecture, then separate your guests into teams (use breakout rooms for virtual attendees), and then gather everybody together to discuss their ideas and discoveries. Simply ensure that the hybrid event site is set up such that online participants can readily communicate their results with in-person attendees, and vice versa. This will have its own set of technological needs, such as high-speed internet, ample electricity, cameras, and enormous screens.
Networking Opportunities
Networking is indeed a primary purpose for attending an event, aside from the subject itself. As a result, it’s critical that you provide lots of networking opportunities for both offline and virtual guests.
While attendees at your physical event will almost certainly have plenty of opportunities to strike up a discussion with others around them, your online attendees will want a little more assistance to enable networking. Fortunately, most virtual event systems have AI networking, which matches users with like-minded video meeting participants.
Do keep in mind that the online as well as the offline audience will want to socialise. If you want to make this easier, we recommend using an event platform that includes a downloadable app. Your physical attendees will be able to download it and join in on the virtual online interactions together with their virtual peers.
You might also set up breakout spaces for your online participants to check in and have more informal conversations.
There are a significant number of problems that arise while hosting any event. Engagement, however, seems to be the common denominator, the common problem irrespective of the setting of your event. However, intensive research, thorough planning and practical execution can help you and your organisation to host the best sort of event out there.