Revolutionizing Conferences in 2023: The Future of In-Person, Virtual, and Hybrid Events

In-person conferences will never be the same again. Conferences aren’t what they used to be.

The process of planning, organizing, promoting, and executing conferences has been disrupted due to the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

LinkedIn research stated that 85% of companies held a virtual event in 2021. Although 75% of the event organizers surveyed anticipate hosting virtual events, 78% wished to return to in-person events once it’s safe to do so.

We are having many conference committees that are now wondering how we can ensure in-person events will be safe and engage all of the conference attendees. I am going to deep dive into some of these topics and give a better overview of how Conference Catalysts is getting back on-site in 2023.

Will virtual events remain?

I believe that the hybrid aspect of conferences is here to stay.

A huge advantage that we have seen is the general reach of each conference. We have conferences that are doubling their attendance numbers by allowing a virtual option. We have been able to provide a much more inclusive conference experience by utilizing the virtual option for many conferences.

Another advantage that virtual events have is that during restrictions and lockdowns, they are mainly cancel-proof as there are no safety concerns to consider for both the event participants and the line-up of speakers.

Conference Committees can also scale online conferences to add more attendees without worrying whether there would be enough space to accommodate more.

By their digital nature, virtual or hybrid conferences offer even more ways of measuring success and the opportunity to build an online community that the conference committee can engage in long after the conference has ended.

However, one critical element that online events miss is their ability to offer networking, which is crucial in doing business deals and making further opportunities to meet later.

Despite the many apparent benefits of virtual events, I do not believe that they will entirely replace in-person events as we enter 2023.

How in-person events are returning?

In-person events are genuinely irreplaceable, and attendees are eager to return to face-to-face interactions. Over the past two to three years, conference committees have become innovative in utilizing virtual events. Still, in reality, it was never a question of replacing live events.

As we have seen, event safety must be the top priority and this is something that we take very seriously at Conference Catalysts. We are always looking at local and national guidelines to ensure that we are fully compliant.

Attendee experience is another top priority for us. We want to ensure that each attendee onsite has a great experience that makes them want to return in future years.

We are seeing that many eager attendees are registering at record rates to get back on-site and have the full in-person attendees experience.

Adopting new technology at events in 2023

Technology that was developed during the COVID era, has brought new offerings and assurances to in-person events. They are a huge component of how we all need to start thinking about future conferences.

Conference Catalysts currently maintains CONFlux for this area of technology.

CONFlux?is a virtual and onsite platform for conference management that delivers a streamlined, interactive, digital event experience.

Our clients use CONFlux to deliver a dynamic experience for virtual and hybrid conferencegoers. CONFlux allows associations to offer an alternative solution to being onsite at their respective conference. COVID-19 has posed challenges for attendees from all over the world; using CONFlux allows colleagues, speakers, exhibitors, authors, students, and young professionals to connect through an innovative experience.

Some features that CONFlux offers include:

• Dynamic scheduling that includes custom time zones for attendees and speakers
• Attendee access level controls to support different registration types
• Integrated 3rd-Party applications such as Gather.Town to deliver an augmented attendee experience
• Branded conference experience including, design, color, and content placement
• Affiliate management where sponsors and exhibits can build out virtual booths
• Fully custom landing pages to display custom sponsorship banners and attendee badges
• Engagements where attendees can easily launch integrated video chat rooms to connect with other attendees
• Dynamic search option where attendees can easily find presenters, sessions, exhibitors, authors, and search other content

CONFlux has further evolved to become a full onsite mobile app for in-person attendees. See what CONFlux can do for your next virtual or hybrid conference by visiting?here.

I believe that conference organizers should consider using the latest COVID-safe technology and measures to ensure your conferences are attractive to sponsors, businesses, and attendees.

Summary

In summary, I believe that 2023 will be a great year for conferences.

Whether they are in person, virtual, or hybrid; we are looking forward to making each conference a meaningful experience for each and every attendee.

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