This episode discusses the benefits of hybrid events and how they prioritise the attendee experience. Clare explains that hybrid events combine the best of both worlds, in-person and virtual, to create a truly inclusive and engaging experience. she emphasizes the importance of offering options to attendees, as they have more choices than ever before. Hybrid events allow for a wider audience by removing barriers to entry and can elevate the in-person experience. Clare also highlights the value of focusing on quality over quantity at in-person events and the budget-friendly nature of hybrid events.
Keywords
hybrid events, attendee experience, inclusivity, options, in-person events, virtual events, engagement, quality over quantity, budget-friendly
Takeaways
Chapters
00:00
Introduction: The Game Changer of Hybrid Events
03:01
Hybrid Events: More Than Just Technology
03:53
Elevating the In-Person Experience
06:09
Hybrid Events: Achievable and Budget-Friendly
07:14
Choosing the Right Format and Platform
09:05
The Variety and Benefits of Hybrid Events
11:09
Ready to dive deeper? Download your free guide, five ways to elevate your attendee experience without breaking the bank HERE
Connect with Clare:
1:01
welcome back to not the same as last
1:03
year the podcast where we put attendees
1:06
at the center of everything we do in
1:08
business events before I start I want to
1:11
apologize for my slightly stuffy tones
1:14
I've got a bad hand called so ignore the
1:16
dalc sounding voice because today I want
1:19
to talk about what I think is a real
1:21
game changer when it comes to
1:23
prioritizing the attendee and that is
1:26
hybrid events I believe these events
1:29
combin The Best of Both Worlds in person
1:33
and virtual they create what we all
1:35
really want from our events a truly
1:38
inclusive and engaging experience
1:40
because guess who benefits the most your
1:42
attendees And yet when I mention the
1:45
word hybrid in a room full of event
1:48
professionals I do get a little bit of a
1:50
mixed response hybrid events seem to be
1:53
a bit like Marite you know the British
1:56
spread that sort of brown yeasty weird
1:59
stuff that we put on our toast you
2:02
either love it or you hate it guess what
2:04
I love Marmite I am your Marmite loving
2:07
hybrid event adoring MC but let's leave
2:11
Mite to the side because the reason I am
2:14
such a proponent of hrid is because it
2:16
literally puts the attendee at the heart
2:19
of the event business event attendees
2:22
now have more choices than ever before
2:25
and they therefore want to go to events
2:27
and they pick the events that they
2:29
believe are worth their time and money
2:32
and that means we've got to offer them
2:34
options we've got to be as inclusive as
2:36
possible we can all imagine someone who
2:39
is unable to travel due to either budget
2:42
constraints health concerns family
2:46
obligations sustainability rules at
2:48
their business about how many events
2:49
they can go to Etc now a hybrid event is
2:52
going to mean that they can come and
2:54
participate virtually connect with this
2:56
content and the speakers and the brand
2:58
holding the event
3:01
and hybrid to me isn't just about
3:02
technology it's about a tendy Centric
3:06
design you are going to reach a wider
3:08
audience by removing barriers to entry
3:12
you let this wider audience regardless
3:14
of where they are how much money they
3:16
have anything else going on someone who
3:18
can't travel comes participates
3:21
virtually and of course those who attend
3:23
in person will get a very special
3:26
experience now we all know by now that
3:30
the in-person interaction is the special
3:32
source for most people and is the reason
3:35
why most attendees are going to make the
3:37
effort to travel to an in-person event
3:40
so if you think about it hybrid events
3:42
can actually Elevate the inperson
3:45
experience I want you to imagine an
3:48
event strategy with both virtual and
3:52
inperson components the inperson events
3:55
become very exclusive experiences that
3:57
focus on high value activities
4:00
like workshops like networking like Ono
4:03
one meetings eyeballs meeting together
4:06
in a room talking attendees can access
4:10
educational content like Keynotes for
4:12
example virtually beforehand which means
4:15
that in the inperson live event as is
4:18
time for deeper discussion and
4:19
collaboration and of course if you've
4:22
invested in audience engagement tools
4:24
like polls and Q&A features and breakout
4:26
rooms those virtual attendees who also
4:29
access the educational content can
4:31
remain engaged and talking to each other
4:33
and part of it all even if they've not
4:35
come to that sort of exclusive imperson
4:38
event so you think about it everyone is
4:41
accessing educational content beforehand
4:44
and then using the inperson event to
4:46
network participate in discussions and
4:48
build relationships but there's still
4:49
that going on virtually as well okay so
4:52
it's not going to be possible in all
4:54
situations I get that but if you really
4:57
consider at the inperson event you're
4:59
are going to be ditching the passive
5:01
lectures turning everything that's in
5:03
person into very interactive kind of
5:05
workshops discussions and that really
5:07
leverages the power of the face-to-face
5:10
interaction I want you to picture to
5:12
imagine your attendees that are coming
5:14
together to build on the knowledge that
5:16
they've already gained virtually so that
5:18
they have this really Dynamic engaging
5:21
inperson experience now common fear is
5:24
that hybrid events could technically
5:26
translate to fewer people coming in
5:29
person
5:30
and I don't agree that this is
5:31
necessarily the case because I think you
5:33
need to think about hybrid is allowing
5:35
you to focus quality over quantity in
5:38
person defense it makes them more
5:41
valuable because it's not about giant
5:43
crowds and crammed agendas instead you
5:46
are potentially focusing on high quality
5:48
networking opportunities oneto one
5:50
meetings this kind of interactivity the
5:53
workshops I talk about the seminars
5:55
where people are building all the
5:56
content and discussing and co-creating
5:58
and really getting involved
6:00
so actually then everyone gets the most
6:02
out of their travel and their investment
6:03
in the time to come to your event and
6:05
they have this really intimate focused
6:08
experience I'm going to make a statement
6:10
now hybrid is achievable and budget
6:13
friendly when I'm trying to get you to
6:15
realize is that hybrid doesn't have to
6:18
be scary or
6:20
expensive it's more about having a
6:22
hybrid strategy if you like for your
6:24
event year so instead of solely focusing
6:27
on hybrid events for example May we
6:29
discuss the implementation of a hybrid
6:32
strategy so it will be things like
6:36
marketing teams are often doing already
6:37
they're employing mixed formats such as
6:40
inperson virtual or a combo of the two
6:42
to create the right experiences for
6:44
their business so every event has a
6:47
specific objective whether it is
6:49
building a community providing training
6:51
disseminating content driving sales
6:54
whatever it could be and the chosen
6:56
format would then align with your
6:58
client's desired relation ship with
7:00
their customers or audience so it meets
7:01
them where they are so therefore it's
7:04
really important that you select a
7:05
format based on a specific objective and
7:07
target audience rather than go okay well
7:10
we're going to do virtual because it's
7:11
cheaper or more cost effec it well more
7:13
people will come that way and of course
7:15
if you do this you're going to have to
7:16
choose the right platform factors like
7:19
scalability interactivity features and
7:22
the ease of use for both you and your
7:23
attendees are going to differ and you'll
7:25
need to develop a communication strategy
7:29
so that means being clear with both your
7:31
virtual and your in-person attendees
7:32
about the format of this event what
7:34
their specific experiences will entail
7:37
and really advise against using terms
7:40
like hybrid and virtual because
7:41
everybody has their own interpretations
7:44
of what that means they might not
7:46
actually be that correct now because
7:48
what is now available in the marketplace
7:50
the technology that can help you deliver
7:52
these events will be very different from
7:54
what people have experienced for example
7:56
if your attendees only went to pretty
7:58
crap virtual events and that's what
7:59
they're going to understand from virtual
8:02
but the technology available now can
8:04
really allow pretty incredible
8:05
experiences and I have witnessed a lots
8:08
of different virtual and hybrid events
8:11
and inperson events of course over the
8:14
past few years I have hosted many and I
8:16
even have had the pleasure of Hosting
8:18
several times an extended reality stage
8:20
for a digital multihub event that
8:24
immersive experience was truly
8:26
remarkable and it really bridged both
8:28
the physical and virtual Realms but
8:31
obviously it was expensive it was big
8:33
budget but the point is I'm really
8:35
thrilled when I see clients embracing
8:38
the idea of a mixed format event
8:40
strategy because it's not only more
8:42
profitable for them as they can reach a
8:44
broader audience but is actually also
8:46
beneficial for the environment and it
8:47
promotes inclusivity because there's no
8:50
barrier to attendance and the investment
8:52
in the event materials from outstanding
8:55
in-person events and indeed these
8:57
multihub events is all being repurposed
9:00
and monetized and the opportunities for
9:02
data Gathering and using that data are
9:04
more extensive I love the variety as
9:07
different event formats allow me to
9:09
Showcase all my hosting
9:11
skills however as I've said some of
9:14
those events were very expensive and we
9:16
can't ignore the cost and added
9:18
complexity that comes with making
9:21
something a hybrid event now I believe
9:23
adding a digital element to All Live
9:26
Events is just going to become the norm
9:28
but it may still be a very gradual
9:30
process for many organizations some of
9:32
my clients returned after the pandemic
9:35
to inperson only events and they're not
9:37
shifted and it is interesting to hear
9:39
their perspectives about why I'd love to
9:41
know how you're finding it at your
9:43
organization as well and even if hybrid
9:47
to you is simply filming your imperson
9:50
event sharing it afterwards or setting
9:52
up a live stream for virtual attendees
9:54
you are still helping more people to get
9:57
involved to come to your event in some
9:59
form or other you are being more
10:02
inclusive attendees love this because
10:04
they can participate from anywhere in
10:06
the world accessibility is covered it is
10:09
flexible they can choose the format the
10:11
best suits their needs where they are at
10:12
that time it is valuable because they
10:15
will get access to both inperson and
10:17
virtual content of course it's
10:19
sustainable people will reduce their
10:21
carbon footprint if they can only attend
10:23
virtually and you are making it as
10:26
engaging as you can people can go beyond
10:28
the passive learning and participate
10:31
actively I do believe that hybrid events
10:33
are the future they put your attendees
10:35
first and that's what it's all about so
10:38
if this episode has done little more
10:39
than make hybrid less terrifying for at
10:41
least one event planner I will sleep
10:44
better as a result I'd love to know
10:47
please share how you are already doing
10:50
this or how you are planning to
10:51
incorporate hybrid elements into your
10:54
events and join in next episode where
10:56
we're going to be exploring how you can
10:58
help your spe speakers enter the
11:00
attendee first era of business events so
11:03
it's called event speakers from Runway
11:05
lecturers to engaging facilitators and
11:07
it's available next
11:14
week