“Hybrid event” is a term that has become more popular in recent years and while they’re a very simple idea, they can be hard to get your head around by name alone...
To put it very simply:
A hybrid event is an in-person event, which is also livestreamed to an “interactive” online audience.
A Hybrid Event Is Not Simply An Event That Is Also Online
Hybrid events aren’t simply a normal in-person event hosted at a physical venue that is simply livestreaming its content out.
There are plenty of conferences and events that do exactly that, but those events are not strictly hybrid events.
For instance, simply streaming a talk over Facebook live isn’t strictly a hybrid event. There is certainly an online audience watching your content, but that online audience is completely seperate from the audience sitting in actual venue.
How Does Interaction Work In A Hybrid Event?
What makes a hybrid event unique is that the online audience gets to have the same level of interaction and engagement as the audience that is physically sitting in the audience.
This interaction can come in many forms:
- Being involved in Q&As
- Being able to communicate with other attendees
- Being able to send in messages via social media
- Being able to communicate with speakers
The ways the online audience can engage with the attendees and speakers at the in-person event can be as varied as you can imagine, however, there must be interaction for it to be considered a hybrid event. Otherwise, it’s simply just an in-person event with online elements (e.g the audience can just tune in for the livestream).
You can have interaction that’s as simple as allowing your online audience able to ask speakers questions, all the way to socials hosted in VR. There really is limitless potential.
How Can I Organise A Hybrid Event?
Organising a hybrid event has never been easier. The technology and services required to pull off a successful hybrid event are widely available for events of every budget.
The only real decision that you as an event organiser need to decide is, how far do you want to take your hybrid event?
ReAttendance has hosted virtual and hybrid events from all over the globe, so we know what it takes to pull off a successful hybrid event.
Whether you’re interested in hosting with us, or simply just want to discuss how you can host your own hybrid events, we’d love to talk with you to help bring your hybrid event to life.
You can get in touch with us here to get the conversation rolling on how you can host an amazing hybrid event today.
