Professors, scientists, and remote workers across different fields have recently turned to a type of collaboration that promotes a more efficient exchange of information – hybrid conferences. These events combine the benefits of virtual and in-person activities to ensure that gatherings affected by certain restrictions reach their highest potential.
These new conference types have experienced a massive increase in demand following the coronavirus pandemic. If your job requires you to reach your target audience by organizing different online events, you may be interested in learning more about what a hybrid conference is and how to manage one.
What is a Conference?
To better understand hybrid conferences, let’s briefly go over their essence – regular, in-person conferences.
A conference is typically understood as a meeting of a group of participants who discuss specific topics. Conference attendees exchange innovative ideas and new information on different subject topics.
Many people confuse a conference with a meeting. Even though both refer to a group gathering and the holding of discussions, there are some basic differences. Conferences are more formal, held on a larger scale, and are planned in advance. In contrast, meetings are more casual and may or not be planned in advance.
There are three types of conferences:
- Academic Conference – an event where academicians and scientists meet to present their research findings or conduct a workshop.
- Business Conference – an event for people who work in the same industry to discuss new opportunities and trends related to their business.
- Trade Conference – a large-scale conference that gathers business people and other society members whose primary goal is networking with vendors and making new connections.
What is a Hybrid Conference?
In a world where postponing in-person events has become the new normal, hybrid and virtual events have taken over physical-space-only conferences. Organizers had to think quickly to find a way to manage events that would allow people to maintain the same productivity levels and exchange ideas without being located in the same room.
That’s what hybrid conferences are about. This type of event combines the traditional conference experience with the perks of online events. All of which allows organizers and participants to save time and money and attend the discussions from the comfort of their homes.
There are three components that make a hybrid conference what it is:
- It combines in-person and online elements.
- Both in-person and virtual attendees can interact with each other.
- The conference is partly live and partly in-person.
This makes the hybrid conference more engaging and connected to real-life than a virtual meeting that is 100% online.
Companies and institutions needed to look at things differently and find new ways to engage people. They can now get stunning results both digitally and virtually, which suggests that the hybrid event trend is here to stay.
What are the benefits of Hybrid Conferences?
There are plenty of reasons why hybrid conferences can be more successful than traditional events. Not only are they more affordable, but they also let more people join the event from around the world.
Here are some other important benefits.
Greater Diversity
Before the era of hybrid conferences, attending a regular event may have been limited by the participants’ ability to pay for accommodation, travel, or take time off work. Virtual and hybrid conferences have a larger financial, geographical, and social diversity. This ensures a greater stream of ideas because everyone can bring new insights to the table.
Increased Audience Engagement
Hybrid conferences are possible thanks to advanced technology that lets virtual attendees communicate and engage with presenters and other participants the same way as they would in person. They can share comments on the internet page of the conference, ask live questions, take part in video conferences, etc.
Reduced Travel Costs
Remote attendees don’t have to spend a single dime to get to the conference room – all they have to do is connect to a virtual platform. Plane and train tickets can often be more expensive than the accommodation itself, but all of that cost is eliminated with the existence of hybrid conferences.
Valuable Data and Analytics for the Organizers
The technology used for hybrid events makes it possible to collect valuable data and analytics from both in-person and virtual attendees. This information can come in the form of polls, feedback, or surveys inside a mobile app.
Improved ROI
The better scalability and reach of hybrid conferences helps them attract more participants and sponsors. This helps the organizers significantly boost the turnover. Thanks to the flexibility, they lower the financial risk. It’s straightforward to scale down in-person activities and upscale the digital presence.
What Are the Requirements of a Hybrid Event?
To organize a great hybrid conference, it’s essential to invest in the right equipment. That’s why you need to follow specific requirements for organizing such an event.
You want to host a top-notch production, meaning you need to combine technical elements such as video, audio, lighting, etc., while creating media products. Of course, the production can vary greatly depending on the type of event you’re hosting.
However, most hybrid conferences and events support online video streaming. Consequently, you will need a high-definition camera with appropriate lighting in the room or the space where you’ll shoot content.
You should also think about fitting content streaming screens inside a physical space. But again, this depends on your needs as an organizer.
As for the audio hardware, you’ll need a well-functioning microphone, one or multiple speakers, different types of cables such as jacks or XLRs, and of course, an audio interface.
Most online event management platforms offer great audio and video possibilities that allow you to organize an online event with little to no financial sacrifices. But at the same time, you want to look for effective software that will also let you register attendees, do a check-in on-site, etc.
How to Organize a Hybrid Conference?
If you’re looking to organize your first hybrid conference, the steps below can help you navigate through the process.
1. Define the Goals
Every good conference starts from the planning stage. In the beginning, you want to set objectives that will guide you in this endeavor. Write down how success looks for this event you’re about to organize.
What is the ultimate goal you wish to achieve? It’s best to create goals oriented towards the process rather than the result.
2. Identify Your Target Audience
Once you have defined goals, you should identify the target audience for your hybrid conference. Who are the people you want to invite to this event? Is this a conference geared towards a particular group of people from your association, or are other people welcome too? It will be easier to send invitations and find people once you know whom to look for.
3. Choose a Virtual Event Platform
When it comes to a virtual event platform, you want something that will be easy to use both for you and the attendees. Plenty of event management software lets you manage and promote hybrid events, check in the attendees both online and on-site, and more. Go over their characteristics and pick the one that best matches your needs.
4. Get the Audio, Video Equipment
Ensure that in-person and virtual attendees have a similar experience by investing in the right technology. Once you find appropriate equipment and software, don’t forget to test it out. Create checklists to make sure you have everything you require.
5. Write a Script
Your conference needs to be well-structured, and the lectures or events should flow smoothly and in a logical order. You probably have lots of ideas regarding the timeline, content, and engagement. It’s best to write it all down in the form of a script.
6. Test Run the Event
Now that you have everything in place, it’s time to do the big test. Test run your hybrid conference a few days before the start by going over as many details as you can. This way, you’ll have time to fix whatever needs fixing and avoid unexpected issues during the event.
7. After the Event, Ask for Feedback
How you approach this part depends on your expectations and goals related to the event. Do you want to organize another event next year? Are you looking to expand your network or potentially start working with new people? Ask for feedback that will give you the answers you need or help organize an even better gathering next time.
Reach Your Target Audience with Engaging Hybrid Events
Thanks to their flexibility and scalability, hybrid conferences are a great way to reach your target audience. If you’re eager to host one, know that there are plenty of things to consider. From the planning stage up to the post-conference feedback gathering, you need to address tons of details in order to host a great event people will remember.
AKCongress offers superior conference logistics management software for all your scientific conference needs. We come up with the entire application material, create a business plan, presentations, promotional material, and even take financial responsibility. We also handle the registration of the attendees at the venue, and much more.
If you’re interested in hosting a great hybrid event with us, you can visit our website for more details.
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