12 Most Compelling Reasons to Consider Hybrid Events

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We’re all accustomed to attending physical trade shows and conferences, but that’s not a hybrid event. We travel to a convention center, pick up our badge, attend a few sessions and walk the exhibit floor. Increasingly, event planners are adding a “digital extension” to their physical events. The digital extension expands the event’s audience reach across the entire web.

A physical event with a digital extension is called a hybrid event. The digital extension can be available before, during or after the physical event (or, all of the above). With hybrid events, meeting and event planners can generate additional revenue, reach a wider audience and create events that never end.

1. The digital event provides a marketing tool for the physical event

The digital extension can serve as an effective marketing, awareness and lead generation vehicle for your physical event. Cisco Live, the annual customer conference from Cisco Systems, discovered that for attendees of their digital event, ”around 70 per cent of them had an ‘intent or desire’ to attend the live event.”

2. Extends your audience reach

With a hybrid event, you dramatically extend your audience reach. While schedules or budgets may restrict someone from attending your physical event, they can still attend the digital extension of your event (online).

3. Creates events that never end

When your physical event concludes, you can extend its life online, by way of your digital extension.

4. Does not cannibalize physical events

Hybrid events (in particular, the digital extension) do not cannibalize physical events. On the contrary, they augment them, as I noted earlier with my Cisco Live example. With a digital extension to a physical event, I like to say that attendees get to “try before they fly.”

5. Use virtual booths to follow up with leads from your physical booth

The virtual booth provided by the digital event platform can serve as a great follow-up vehicle to prospects who visited your physical booth.

6. Creates a DVR of event content

Miss a session at the event? That’s OK, watch it on your digital video recorder (DVR) when you return home, courtesy of the digital event platform.

7. Gets you a raise or promotion

OK, I thought that would get your attention. Truth be told, hybrid events may not get you a raise or promotion. However, you can generate incremental revenue above and beyond your physical event. So at minimum, you’ll be serving your organization well.

8. More networking for attendees

One of the best things about attending events is the connections you make. With hybrid events, networking opportunities expand, as on-site attendees have the opportunity to connect with digital attendees and vice versa.

9. More leads for sponsors

More attendees means more leads for your event’s sponsors. You all win.

10. Measure the effectiveness of event content

With the digital event platform, you can track the effectiveness of event content by reviewing which pieces generate views and downloads (compared to others). Based on that understanding, you and your sponsors can adjust your content mix for your next physical (or hybrid) event.

11. Reach a global audience

With a digital event platform, users can attend from anyone on Earth. In fact, if they’re in outer space but have web access, they can attend from there.

12. Enables localization

Digital event platforms enable language localization. So your digital users attend from anywhere, and they do so in their native tongue.

While there are many benefits to hybrid events, there’s both science and art to creating compelling and meaningful hybrid event experiences. If you ask me, the key component for hybrid event success centers around connecting the on-site and digital audiences. Make sure they come together and are not left on separate islands.

Image courtesy of david_shankbone. Used under creative commons, some rights reserved.

Dennis Shiao

http://allvirtual.wordpress.com

Dennis Shiao is Director of Product Marketing at INXPO and author of the book Generate Sales Leads With Virtual Events. At INXPO, Dennis is responsible for go-to-market strategy and execution, and for shaping product and platform evolution via the “voice of the customer.” Dennis has managed virtual event campaigns for Cisco, HP, Oracle and Microsoft, among others. Dennis blogs about virtual events at INXPO, and on his personal blog, It’s All Virtual. Dennis can be found on Twitter at @dshiao.