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As technology evolves, hybrid events are taking a special place in the business world. The reason is, that such events generate more creative opportunities that marketers can use to attract new customers, boost ROI, and drive growth.
Today, the word “Hybrid” is on everyone’s lips but there is so much confusion around it. So, we wanted to bring some clarity to the conversation. This blog will take you through 5 popular myths about hybrid events. We hope debunking them will help you better understand the potential of hybrid events. So, here you go!
1. Hybrid is just a live stream of an in-person event
The true potential of hybrid events lies in integration: giving your virtual attendees equal satisfaction as your in-person attendees, connecting them with each other. A simple YouTube or Facebook livestream can be a successful hybrid or virtual meeting.
For example, hybrid events allow personalised sponsorship opportunities for both virtual and in-person audiences, providing exclusive content or immersive 3D virtual venues, etc.
2. Hybrid events will reduce in-person attendance
Because of no travel expenses, hybrid events are more cost-effective to attend. This makes businesses feel that once people get the taste of hybrid events, they will stop going to an in-person event.
But the truth is totally different. Your virtual audience is often those who haven’t been to your events earlier and therefore, they are there to know what it is all about.
Furthermore, virtual audiences and in-person audiences have totally different expectations from the activities conducted during the events. For instance, your in-person attendees can participate in treasure hunt games while your virtual attendees can check out the virtual fairs on the platform.
Hybrid events help you the most in handling the venue capacity issue. Your in-house attendance may be restricted by the size of the hall you are hosting the event. This limiting factor would require you to finalise the list of attendees in advance.
With hybrid events in place, you can keep the link for virtual attendants open almost till the last moment. This will allow people with unpredictable schedules to attend your event virtually.
3. Attendee engagement cannot be efficient compared to live events
With the new virtual event era, simple live streaming is not enough to fully engage your audience and keep them interested. Choosing the right virtual event technology or platform is one of the most important factors, it is essential to combat low investment, and the feeling of disconnected from the event experience for those sitting in front of the screen.
Engaging an online audience seems to be challenging, but it can be done with a multitude of virtual tools like gamification, Q&A, etc. Not only that, but you can integrate AI to make your event more immersive and unique. The key is to engage both of your audiences, and do what works best for them and create a cohesive event experience.
4. Hybrid events have limited opportunities for sponsors
Honestly, the truth is the exact opposite. Believe it or not, hybrid events actually provide more opportunities to the sponsors. Whenever a virtual attendee shows some interest in a specific product or service, the sponsor can instantly display relevant material, helping them in decision-making.
And the key benefit you can’t ignore is the wider reach. Unlike in-person events, a hybrid event gives you the chance to access a global audience. That means sponsors can give demos, showcase their product or service to a much bigger audience, generate more leads, and actually increase sales in a geographic area you weren’t able to reach earlier.
5. Hybrid events are not worth the added cost and effort
You might think that you could do just fine without bringing in the virtual part. But you are forgetting the amount of ROI you can generate by expanding your audience on two platforms and the potential customer base you can build at a global scale.
Not just that, hosting virtual events can keep you ready if any unexpected circumstances occur that could shut down your physical event, leading to revenue loss.
Plan Your Next Event
Marketing is all about making use of efficient methods to gain new customers and increase brand awareness. As more marketers begin to unlock the potential of hybrid events, there is no reason for you to get left behind.
Now that we have debunked the popular hybrid event myths, you might be interested in understanding how you can organize one according to your business requirements. And if that’s true, you would want to first learn about the setup and technology behind virtual events. So why not contact us- we are here to assist you throughout the event planning process, from coming up with tailored solutions to providing you with technical support.
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