What is a ′Hybrid Event′ and How Do You Organize One?

Hybrid events are hot. Google proves the great interest in hybrid events by suggesting the commonly used search term "What is a hybrid event?". And rightly so. Yet I find there is a lot of confusion about the term, the benefits and about what hybrid events look like. Let me do an attempt to clarify!

By expanding your conference or event with an interactive live webcast (on your own branded TV channel!) you easily reach a wider audience and generate far more involvement with your target audience. Recent online hybrid conferences report participation figures of +400%! In this article, I like to explore the possibilities regarding your next event or conference.

So, how do you go about it?

What is a 'hybrid event' anyway?

The definition of a hybrid event I like to describe as "a physical meeting in which an online audience also participates". Essentially, both the physical as well as the online audience come together and participate in the same experience or content at the same time, from different locations.

Forget live streaming – truly engage your audience at a hybrid event

By now I expect we've all watched a livestream (or webinar or online seminar or what you might call it). They all look the same: the speaker’s talking head in a tiny frame and his slides on the side. Rather dull, or maybe just okay if you’re not tempted to just 'zap' away.

A hybrid event is so much more than just a static recording. It looks and feels much more like a TV show: multiple camera’s, dynamic content and beautiful imagery live from your event. However, it also goes beyond traditional TV as we know it: in a hybrid event, you introduce an interactive online component in conjunction with the physical element of the program.

This interactivity makes it much more engaging. Because a lot of that interactivity takes place on Social Media, the viral mechanics enable you to reach a large (international) audience who can actively participate in your event.

3 essential ingredients for hybrid success: make it interactive, short, and entertaining

To succeed online, you need to seduce your audience. After all, they can leave with a single click of a mouse button. That's why, with our team at LiveOnlineEvents, we always look closely at what works in the world of television, and we combine that with the potential of the Internet.

These are the most important prerequisites for a successful online broadcast:

1. The images must be dynamic

There should be at least three or four cameras shooting from different angles. This allows the remote participants to be literally as 'close' to the experience as one possibly can be. The dynamic switching between shots will help keep viewers glued to the screen.

2. The program must be interactive

Hybrid events differ substantially from TV viewing: the participants are sitting with their hands next to a keyboard. It is therefore prudent to give some thought on how your online viewers can participate. For example, by asking questions (via chat or Twitter) which will be answered live. Other forms of interactivity are also possible, such as a poll, quiz or a collaborative online brainstorm.

3. The time must be limited

Being a participant in a hybrid event is a special experience where you find yourself enjoying the same content with all sorts of people from all over the country (or world). 'Watching alone together' is a very exciting feeling, which is very hard to convey through this written text.

In order to focus that energy and have as many people as possible simultaneously online, a successful broadcast takes approximately a good two hours – which is a reasonable attention span for an online audience. Moreover, you can also make it very clear that there is much more 'event' going on that the online viewer will miss. That should give them enough incentive to attend the physical event next time!

4. There must be a clear theme

It is relatively easy to attract viewers with an appealing subject. Cherry-picking is the key: choose a clear theme, and build your program around it. Ideally, it’s the subject that speaks most to your target audience. In this way, you attract viewers who are not yet familiar with your event or conference, but after seeing the online broadcast, may be encouraged to consider physically attending the next one.

5. Be as entertaining as a sports broadcast or talk show

A good broadcast is entertaining; think of a sports game or a modern talk show. There always is a dedicated online presenter, there are studio guests, and there is a moderator who directs the online content. These are the simple rules of television, and you'd be extremely remiss if you did not heed all those years of collective experience.

Components of a hybrid event: this is how you build the broadcast

A typical online broadcast of a hybrid event looks like this:

1. Pre-show: a preview where the context and the subject is laid out. You can use this to introduce important keynote speakers and experts. Or to showcase parts of the conference or event that took place at another time (think snapshots of other sessions, interviews with physical participants, entertainment etc).
2. Main: a live recording of a presentation or seminar, with possibly the opportunity to ask questions online. The online moderator can gather these questions from remote viewers and put them to the speaker or chairperson.
3. Post-show: commentary/conclusion. Here an exclusive Q & A with the keynote speaker, for example, can be a big attraction for your online audience.

Check out this 3-minute video below and see an example of the different elements and formats that can be used in a live online TV show:

Organize a 'Hybrid Hub': satellite events where you can participate together

The hybrid broadcast is a great opportunity for watching events together. That will increase the involvement even more (think of watching a sports match in the pub!). It’s also a great incentive for interaction.

With conferences, for example, you can think of organizing ‘hubs’ at universities or on the premises of sponsors. At corporate events, we find a lot of the colleagues of the people participating in the physical event joining in from 'back at the office'. This way they are better clued up on what their colleagues have learnt.

A Hybrid event can generate a reach of up to 10 times its size

Nothing beats the power of a physical encounter, everyone knows that. So a hybrid broadcast will not reduce physical participation. On the contrary! Because this is what happens: people who can not attend or who have never been heard of, can still pick up the highlight(s) of the conference online. If these are good, it prompts them to want to travel to the physical venue next time.

It's a fact that at any event more people from the potential target group are absent than those who are present. For example, at an ICCA hybrid event in 2013, 84 participants were physically present, whilst the online broadcast attracted an additional 604 participants from 75 countries.

Of these, nearly 300 contributed via chat or Twitter. And precisely because of all these interactions on Social Media, it enables you to reach a whole new audience. In the case of this specific event, that reach extended to over 40,000 accounts! That's the beauty - with a hybrid event you give people a reason and a subject to talk about on social media with regard to your conference or event. And that’s exactly what you want.

The Long-term effect of hybrid events: extra reach and new participants

With a hybrid event you don't just remove the 'place' factor, but also the 'time' factor of your content. The broadcast can still be viewed (in parts) online later, which expands the long-term reach and also taps into a whole new audience. In addition, all the questions from online viewers can be a wealth of inspiration - this is literally what your target audience wants to know more about!

Online broadcasts are very attractive to sponsors

The wide reach makes a hybrid component even more attractive to sponsors. They are not only visible to the physical participants of the conference or event, but also to online participants. And not only during the event, but also for years afterwards through online videos.

Combined with the fact that a hybrid event works particularly well to generate Social Media buzz, an online broadcast is one of the most attractive propositions to a sponsor. Like many of our clients at LiveOnlineEvents, you could probably produce such an online broadcast entirely ‘cost neutral’.

Now, who doesn’t want that?!

Your most important first step: experience a hybrid event for yourself!

This is the most important tip I give at all my presentations on hybrid events: make sure you have experienced it as a participant at least once! Only then will you understand how it feels to participate remotely and why it’s such fun and so spectacular.

You’ll also have a better idea of what the challenges are and where you, as the organizer of your event or conference, need to focus your attention.

In short, would you like to experience how it works for yourself? Drop me a line and I'll let you know when the next broadcast is scheduled. You are more than welcome to join in.

Who knows - Maybe your contribution will be included in the show!