All You Need to Know About Hosting A Hybrid Event
Hosting hybrid events in Singapore requires more than a good virtual streaming provider. It needs careful planning and execution in order to provide a meaningful experience for both virtual and in-person delegates. So what should you look out for? Here’s a guide on how to make your next hybrid event a great success.
At The Planning Stage:
Be Clear About Your Objectives
Why do you want a hybrid event? What do you want your virtual and in–person participants to get out of it? Does a hybrid event solution achieve all your event goals? Answering these questions will help you decide if the hybrid approach is right for your event.
Consider Your Budget
There is a common misconception that hosting a hybrid event in Singapore is less expensive than a physical one. Not necessarily so. While you do get a wider reach, managing both physical and virtual audiences may mean more equipment, technology and professional help. You need to set a budget that caters for all these extras.
Consider What You Need for A Hybrid Event Solution
We are not thinking of super high-end technology like virtual reality or augmented reality. You can make it work with accessible technology such as cameras to broadcast to the virtual audience. In fact, most of your setup should be focused on the physical side while carefully incorporating the virtual dimension. These include considering the venue suitability for equipment setup, staging and broadcasting, and the choice of emcee (emcees that are experienced in hosting live events may not necessarily be suitable for virtual events and vice versa). It is thus important to get an experienced events agency that knows exactly what they are doing and what is needed to engage both the virtual and in-person audiences.
Create Content Suitable For Both Audiences
With hybrid events, you have two sets of audiences with two different needs. Your in-person audience would likely be more participative and able to sit through longer sessions. In contrast, the virtual audience would prefer shorter, easier-to-digest content with more frequent breaks (after all, humans are not designed to sit in front of the computer all day). They may also be less inclined to participate unless given the right activities. To keep everyone engaged, it is crucial to design content and activities that are suitable for both.
During The Event:
Hosting Speakers Onsite & Remotely
What’s great about hybrid events is that they allow speakers to dial in remotely to talk at your event. This expands your range and offers opportunities for overseas speakers who are unable to travel due to restrictions or budget constraints to participate in your event easily. When managing remote speakers, be sure to enable both live and dial-in speakers to see themselves as well as one another. This ensures full interaction, which is especially important in panel discussions.
Connecting the Two Audiences
One of the main reasons people attend events is networking. Thus, facilitating effective interaction opportunities in a hybrid setting is critical. If you want to truly capitalise on the hybrid event solution, you need to take the extra steps in connecting your two audiences to create a more valuable experience for all. Your speakers should also engage the virtual audience by incorporating question and answer activities from both sides. Some avenues of engagement include live polling, chat rooms and digital business card exchanges.
In these volatile times, things are constantly in flux. Event agencies that are experienced only in one approach may not have the expertise to quickly convert a physical event into a virtual one (or vice versa). Thus, the event agency you hire must be prepared and armed with the capability to switch between physical and virtual settings when there is a need to do so.
Call us at (65) 69966700 or email [email protected] if you wish to discuss your events management needs with us.