The popularity of hybrid events has notched high while the world continues to deal with the global pandemic. Read on to know the must-have features in a hybrid event platform before hosting your scaled event!
You must have come across the term “hybrid event” at least once in your lifetime. These events are the perfect amalgamation of virtual as well as physical platforms that help the individuals to spread their content to a wider audience. We all must have been a part of at least one virtual event in our lifetime, right? And undeniably we must have attended a physical event at some point in time. A hybrid event is just a combination of both these activities. It allows the speakers to accumulate physically at a location and render the services virtually through digital platforms to their users.
There is no denying the fact that the pandemic has considerably boosted the popularity of hybrid events. These events have seen a significant inclination over the past few months. These interactive sessions are not only cost-effective but are more engaging. According to a survey conducted, 75% of individuals are ready to partake in hybrid events as compared to physical. With that being said, let us not forget that some important aspects must be kept in mind while opting for hybrid events virtually.
In this article, we have carefully formulated a list of 10 important features that should be kept in mind if you are going for a hybrid event on any platform. Therefore, without wasting any precious time, let us dive straight into unwinding these important factors of hybrid events.
1. Feedback
Any hybrid event must have a feedback option available to the users. This allows individuals to share their experiences. This information is quite beneficial for any organisation as it can be quite helpful in taking corrective measures. With the help of feedback forms, hybrid events can increase their efficiency over time and work on their weak points. Moreover, providing a feedback form to each and every individual that views a hybrid event develops a sense of acknowledgement in them. It makes the participants realise their importance and how their opinion can change the entire perspective of an organisation.
2. Networking and Engagement Features
Hybrid events must contain special networking as well as engagement features. These features play a major role in uplifting the overall experience of these types of events. We have mentioned some of the features below for your convenience:
a) Question and Answer Session
As discussed above, hybrid events are a combination of physical as well as virtual events. In this type of event, the speakers are connected on a physical platform which is then made available to all the audiences with the help of digital media. Therefore, countless doubts are bound to arise in the minds of people. Therefore, the most appropriate way to tackle this situation is to have a question and answer session. Q&A sessions should be held at constant intervals in a hybrid event as it will allow individuals to come forward with their doubts and find an appropriate answer to all their queries.
b) Live Chats
Live chat is a must-have feature for any hybrid event. This feature permits all the participants as well as speakers to communicate with each other. There are special features like live audio as well as video options that allow individuals to have a real-time conversation with the speaker.
It is undeniable quite beneficial as the audience can directly clear their doubts with the help of these immersive features. This factor allows individuals to personally sort out their queries with the help of the professional guidance of the speakers. Thus, make sure your hybrid event has the option of live chat, audio and video available.
c) Live Polls
Live polls are one such feature that boosts up the audience interaction. When a hybrid event inculcates interactive features like live polls, it undeniably makes the entire process quite immersive. It allows individuals to vote as per their experience. This allows the organisation to get a clear picture and analyse various aspects of effortlessly. It not only provides the audience’s point of view but also lets individuals partake in vital activities.
3. Custom Environment
A hybrid event must offer the facility to add custom changes to the interface. These changes can vary from person to person. The 3D Matrix allows organisations to host an entirely customisable event. These events include unique features like exhibition halls, lobby, reception, and a lot more. Moreover, every aspect of these rooms can be customised or altered as per the client’s requirements. Therefore, make sure to look for hybrid events that offer customisation in their interface.
4. Reliable Analytics
Analytics play a major role in determining the necessary information regarding a hybrid event. This feature allows organisations to analyse what activities are the least and most admired by their viewers. It allows them to examine what features were appreciated by the individuals and what were disliked the most. This in turn helps them in taking required measures in the long run.
5. Footprinting
Attendee footprinting is an important feature that should be offered by a hybrid event. This helps an organisation to keep a track of the audience’s footprints. This basically means keeping an eye on the path that an individual opts for. For instance, a person can enter the reception and then head towards the exhibition and then carry forward to the Auditorium. Similarly, countless individuals will have innumerable directions and will choose different pathways as per their instincts. Keeping a track of this information allows organisations to analyse which is the most visited area and what can be the possible changes in the least visited area.
6. Social Wall
This is an interactive wall that showcases all the tweets and consists of every relatable hashtag regarding an organisation’s social media handle. Adding a feature like this uplifts the entire ambience of the hybrid events and completely makes them a holistic experience for viewers. These social walls showcase all the helpful reviews from users around the globe.
6. Easy Navigation
A hybrid event is a combination of physical as well as virtual elements. Therefore, there is no denying the fact that it has a virtual lobby especially designed for the users. It is essential that this lobby and all the additional services are easy to comprehend by the audiences. Thus, make sure the hybrid event should have easy navigation to facilitate all the interested individuals.
7. Browser-Based Solutions
This category involves web-based solutions that do not require the installation of any application or software whatsoever. Hybrid events are virtual sessions that provide vital information to users around the globe. Thus, they must include a unique and dedicated section regarding browser-based solutions. This feature helps individuals to find out appropriate solutions to their browser-based queries.
8. Virtual Networking Tables
This can be defined as a dedicated area especially allotted for networking in a visual environment. It allows the viewers to connect and network in a real-time as well as an immersive environment. Furthermore, this feature is entirely customisable according to the requirements of the clients.
9. Attendee Access Control
This inbuilt feature is quite necessary and plays a major role in intensifying any hybrid event. It allows the organisations to keep a track of their viewers. In simple terms, organisations are enabled to access the control of various locations in a hybrid event. They can grant access to individuals as per their requirements to enhance the overall experience of the audience.
Conclusion
Hybrid events are the perfect amalgamation of virtual as well as physical events. The main ideology behind these hybrid events is to combine in-person life sessions with a virtual element to make it accessible to a larger audience.
In this type of event, several individuals are present physically while the major factor of the audience is joined by a digital platform with the help of a specially generated link. While opting for hybrid events, it is quite necessary to have a look at the various factors that it has to offer.
We agree, analysing the appropriate features can be a tedious task. Therefore, in this article we have scrutinised a list of the top 10 features you must look at before selecting any hybrid event. We trust that this article will provide you with valuable information and you will be able to choose a beneficial hybrid event that caters to all your requirements.
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