Hybrid Conferences: 8 Effortless Ways To Hold A Successful Hybrid Event

What does it take to host a hybrid event that is a resounding success? What are the key ingredients for an enthralling and productive meeting?

This article will give you all the answers you need to hold a captivating hybrid conference with a good ROI. Plus, if you’re looking for a platform to host a perfect hybrid conference, Superevent is here to help!

Below, we take a deep dive into how you can run a dynamic hybrid conference. Let’s get started.

What Is a Hybrid Conference?

A hybrid conference refers to a business event that has a mixture of in-person and remote attendees.  

They can be quite tricky for companies to manage, as there’s a lot more that can go wrong within a hybrid conference, than a purely in-person one. Whether it's issues with technology, not having the proper resources, or attendees not following virtual meeting etiquette, there’s plenty that can go wrong.

Thankfully, Superevent is here to help. But before we get into improving your hybrid events and meetings, it’d be a good idea to get some background on the different types of hybrid conferences you can use.  

Different Types of Hybrid Meetings and Events

Micro Experience Event

As the name suggests, a micro-experience event is a scaled-down hybrid meeting with a small number of in-person attendees. It still allows the audience to follow the proceedings virtually through streaming.

Sporting events and watch parties are perfect examples of micro-experience events.  

Live Studio Audience Events

Similar to a talk show, live studio audience events provide an intimate experience where speakers interact with in-person attendees.

Examples of such hybrid conferences include TV or broadcast productions.

Hub & Spoke Style Event

With a hub and spoke event, you set up a focal event, “the hub,” where some of your key speakers and other participants are located. You also form smaller groups of attendees, known as "the spokes," in various satellite locations to broadcast the main session.

Speakers-Only Hybrid

You can arrange a high-level session where you invite speakers for a live interview, face-to-face panel, or discussion. The in-person participants can interact with each other while other people not physically present watch virtually. 

3 Hybrid Events Examples

HubSpot's Inbound Events Offer Thrilling Entertainment

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According to one study, 39% of hybrid conference attendees said they felt excluded from the event. They didn’t have a meaningful experience. 

Keeping people engaged throughout a hybrid event is one of the challenges you face. But you can take a leaf out of HubSpot’s unique approach when holding such meetings.

Incorporating stand-up comedians and bands: HubSpot incorporates some entertainment breaks between sessions to reduce boredom and information overload. Stand-up comedians and musicians provide stellar performances to amuse in-person and virtual participants

Chats, Q&As, polls, and interactions with moderators: Hybrid events that encourage real-time discussions can liven up meetings. Also, chats empower individuals to contribute their thoughts and share their views.

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Apple Special Events

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Apple’s hybrid conferences combine face-to-face meetings with pre-recorded videos. For example, it held an event in 2022 where it invited journalists and many developers to attend in person.

Also, the company streamed pre-recorded videos of inspirational speakers from their different locations to audiences at home. 

FINCON

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FINCON is a company that provides a platform for content creators and brands to monetize their content. In 2022, it held a massive hybrid conference, with the in-person audience making up the largest group.

Its meeting followed the “hub-and-spoke” style, where FINCON had a main hub at the World Marriott Center. The physical location had exhibit booths, roundtables, meetups, live sessions, and lounges to encourage people to network.

What’s the Difference Between Virtual and Hybrid Events?

Hybrid and virtual events leverage technology to bridge the gap between participants and enable them to have productive engagements. 

But there are some differences between these forms of meetings.

Hybrid EventsVirtual EventsThey blend face-to-face meetings with virtual or online sessions. 100% of the attendees participate online.The in-person audience sits in the same room or physical location. Virtual participants tune in online through a supporting platform.Use pre-recorded videos, live streaming, and platforms like Zoom to interface.Types of hybrid events are a live-in audience, hub and spoke, micro-events, and speakers-only hybrid.Examples of virtual events include webcasts, webinars, online meetings, and web conferences.

3 Benefits of Hybrid Events

Hybrid conferences have immense advantages for your organization. Here are some of them.

A Higher Level of Participation

Because a hybrid conference caters to on-site and off-site audiences, it can triple engagement. That’s because it offers people who can’t attend a seminar in person a chance to participate virtually as well.

So regardless of location, anyone can get involved!

Also, you can get more people interested in your hybrid meeting by offering on-demand viewing alternatives. For example, you can ask them to buy tickets to access pre-recorded conference content. Not only are these excellent for people who don’t want to travel to your event, but are interested. They’re also better for attendees on a tighter budget, as these tickets are generally sold at a cheaper price. This provides an extra opportunity for you to earn revenue through your event.

Valuable Data

Hybrid meetings can provide you with essential metrics to help measure your performance and fine-tune your strategy. 

It’s also simple to determine the number of face-to-face attendees since they’re in the same venue. You can get other statistics about their level of participation in discussions, Q&As, or live interviews. 

You can use this valuable information to gauge the audience’s interest on certain topics. As a result, it’s possible to improve your upcoming events by providing exciting topics you know they’ll like. 

Collaboration

Another great benefit of hybrid seminars is enhancing collaboration in an inclusive environment. In-person participants can engage with each other in small groups. Thus, each individual can have maximum involvement in the discussions.

Those attending remotely can also get involved, as many hybrid platforms provide a live-chat function during events. They don’t need to be present in order to get involved in the event’s proceedings.

If you’re looking for the perfect platform to host your event, you can do no better than Superevent. We specialize in providing a platform for professional events, with a host of mobile interactivity features that’ll keep both in-person and virtual attendees engaged. Create a free event or take a look at our prices for in-person, hybrid, or virtual meetings today!

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How to Hold a Successful Hybrid Conference? 

Step 1: Invest in Hybrid Meeting Technology

Technology for hybrid meetings can make or break your event. So it’s critical to invest in the right hardware and software to produce top-class and memorable seminars.

Examples of must-have equipment include microphones, speakers, cameras, room kits, etc. You also need video encoders to stream high-quality audio and videos in real time.

Another vital hybrid event component is the virtual conference platform. Your goal is to offer virtual attendees the same powerful and engaging experience as in-person audiences.

And a SaaS company like Superevent can provide you with all the help you need to hold a successful hybrid meeting.

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Step 2: Create and Share the Agenda

Prepare your agenda in advance and ensure it caters to your participants’ needs. For example, send a survey before the meeting to your potential attendees to get some ideas on what topics they’d like your event to cover. This can allow you to plan your event to accommodate topics you know your attendees will be interested in. 

When creating your agenda, you’ll need to ensure that each speaker or topic has specific timeslots with a clear beginning and end. Also, ensure to include breaks throughout the conference. You don’t want in-person attendees getting fatigued, and, as your virtual attendees are most likely viewing from home, you don’t want them to get distracted, so be liberal with your breaks.

Step 3: Start the Conference On Time.

People who have accepted your invitation to attend your conference, either onsite or offsite, have already committed their time to it. For that reason, it’s crucial to respect them by starting your hybrid conference on time.

Delays can also affect the remote audience’s attention. They’ll see that you’re not there to kickstart the meeting, so they may get impatient.

Step 4: Establish ground rules.

To ensure your hybrid events flow smoothly, create a few ground rules for the attendees. Here are some examples:

• If you’re using live chat, you’ll need to set rules for how virtual participants engage. Ensure you have a moderator who will make sure that the chat is respectful and constructive. Participants can also be removed if they’re causing issues.
• If you have multiple speakers, make sure you allocate a set time to each. You don’t want an on-stage discussion to be derailed by frequent interruptions from other speakers.
• Set some ground rules for in-person attendees to reduce distractions. For instance, you can ask that mobile phones be turned off before entering conference rooms.

Step 5: Keep Conferences Short.

The key to a successful conference is high engagement. For that reason, you’ll want to structure your conference in digestible segments. Try and ensure that each speaker event doesn’t run over an hour and a half, as participants can get distracted and fatigued. And, as we mentioned earlier, include breaks in-between to ensure maximum engagement.  

Step 6: Provide Strong Facilitation.

Because you’re hosting in-person and virtual attendees simultaneously, it’s challenging to manage a hybrid seminar. But you can assign a meeting participant, an employee, or an external person to guide the interactions.

One weakness of hybrid events is that face-to-face participants can control the conversations. The meeting can leave online attendees in the cold. To avoid this scenario, the facilitator should pinpoint off-site participants and encourage them to contribute.

It ensures everyone’s voice is heard. 

Step 7: Test the Technology in Advance.

One of the frustrating things that can spoil your hybrid conference is when technology malfunctions. Tech glitches like inaudible audio can kill conferences, so it’s best to get any issues sorted out beforehand. 

Ensure that you test your equipment, such as your audio setup and visuals, before the meeting. Also, use the same time to familiarize the online audience with the software features they may use during the conference.  

Step 8: End Strongly

To create an unforgettable experience for your delegates, end the hybrid conference with a robust conclusion. You can use a few minutes to wrap up the seminar and ask others to share their insights and takeaways.

After some people have provided feedback, recap the key points and state the event’s successes. 

Hybrid Conference Best Practices

Prepare a Plan for Adapting to Any Participants.

Some attendees may have challenges using hybrid meeting technology, such as whiteboards, video bars, meeting aides, etc. As a result, you should create a plan to mitigate these barriers.

For instance, if you have hard-of-hearing members, make sure you transcribe the meeting so that you don’t leave them out. You can also conduct a practice session on the technology before the meeting. Test every piece of equipment to understand the audience’s experiences online and in person.

Let Virtual Attendees Speak First

Virtual attendees can often feel disconnected from conferences. You can fix this problem by allowing the online participants to speak first early in the event. Encourage them to use chat rooms, live polls, etc., to contribute to the sessions.

Ask Everyone What Their Experiences Have Been

Find out what the hybrid meeting was like for in-person delegates and online participants by surveying them. Message them individually via email, or on Slack to follow up on any hybrid event tasks. You can use the results to improve future meetings.

Take Your Hybrid Event To The Next Level

Not sure how you can kickstart an engaging and fruitful hybrid conference? You can leverage the power of Superevent’s web and mobile software to host professional events. The applications are perfect for conferences, summits, networking, or company courses.

Take your hybrid conference to the next level by harnessing Supervent’s latest technology. Create your free event today.