How Can Businesses Utilise Events in a Post-Covid World?

Looking forward, how will the memory of Covid-19 impact the event industry? Have we witnessed a change in how events will be run in a post-Covid world?

Businesses need events. Investing in this department can help generate good leads, foster new B2B opportunities, increase brand credibility, boost audience awareness, and beat competitors. To put it simply, your business would be a lot better off with events than without them.

But will this be true after the pandemic? Covid-19 and the lockdowns that followed saw the cancellation of all Live Events, meaning Virtual Events would soar in popularity due to their remote-based qualities. However, there is no guarantee that events will still offer the same benefits.

So, is it even possible for your business to utilise events in a post-Covid world?

Take note of Hybrid Events - the Future of this Industry

Live Events on their own won’t be enough to benefit businesses when the pandemic is over. But, neither will Virtual Events either! This is where Hybrid Events come in. Over lockdown, Virtual Events helped the events industry to survive, and, consequently, some people were won over by this new style of entertainment. Therefore, by tailoring your events towards one medium, you will limit your potential market and lose out on sales. Planning a Hybrid Event, however, is a great solution. In combining the Live and Virtual elements together, your business will only feel the positive after-effects as there will be something for everyone.

But, how do Hybrid Events work?

Hybrid Events are held in a physical venue with a limited number of physical audience members and online participants. Due to the pandemic, Hybrid Events have come into their own, but their potential is yet to be fully realised by event organisers. However, with more and more practice, this will be overcome.

The main difficulty many of us have running Hybrid Events is how to merge both audiences. Making it seamless is challenging work - you’re going to need to ensure everyone is engaged, in-person and online; otherwise, you’re likely to alienate one over the other. Balance here is vital.

Once the pandemic is officially over, this may well be the case for many businesses out there. The practice your business has now will determine this.

How do Hybrid Events compare to Virtual and Live Events?

Live Events sometimes need large numbers for them to succeed. But, due to the government’s in-and-out restrictions, it’s hard to dictate whether or not you’d be able to carry on as usual. On the other hand, Hybrid Events are perfect as it helps reduce the possibility of cancellations. The lower numbers for physical attendees helps with this, but even if the government somehow finds a way to cancel, the virtual element is there as backup.

There is also a trusted backup plan for live attendees too. Those who test positive for Covid-19 or need to isolate before the event will be glad to know that they can still attend the event online. Unfortunately, this is not the case for purely Live Events.

As for Virtual Events, there is usually a lack of atmosphere. Some, like Showcase, have attempted to provide attendees with a good atmosphere. However, it is incredibly difficult to do so without an audience. That’s where Hybrid Events can help; there is a live audience at the event, so there is more atmosphere.

Finally, with Hybrid Events, customers can choose between Live or Virtual tickets, giving them that all-important choice on how they attend.

How can you utilise Hybrid Events?

There’s a lot you need to consider. Firstly, the balance needs to be just right to appease both sets of attendee audiences. Then it’s wise to appoint a tech specialist who can get things up and running smoothly for the virtual streaming element of the production. And you should also have a plan in case something goes wrong anywhere - be it for Virtual or even Live.

Keep this aim in mind when planning: “To provide value to your audience.” Why are they both there to begin with? If it’s for networking purposes, then be sure to provide that where possible. If it’s for entertainment purposes, this needs to be catered for instead. Giving value to our audiences is key. We need to translate their hard-earned money into something worthwhile, something they want.