Remote work culture led to incredible progress in video conferencing, progress that happened at light speed. From the confusion of the early days, as companies determined the platforms and tools they needed, to today’s easy access to a variety of remote conferencing options, the technology improved by leaps and bounds. Even though many companies have returned to work or are returning to work in some fashion, hybrid and remote cultures are here to stay in a lot of places.

According to Skift Meetings, 70% of events now offer a hybrid option. That includes events like shareholder meetings, trade shows, medical symposia and more. Even though the pandemic is largely in the rearview mirror, many people are still hesitant to travel and immerse themselves in large crowds. Additionally, some workers and customers may see remote attendance options as a greener way to doing business.

No matter the reason for their choices, adding a virtual component to your in-person meetings and events should be a key element of your event planning strategy. “The biggest trend I’m seeing is having a mix of in-person versus hybrid versus fully virtual events,” explains Devin Liang, Senior Manager of Global Delivery at Open Exchange. “So far, 2023 has been a solid mix of all three, with an increasing number of people offering contingency plans for in-person events that involve a virtual component.”

Liang continues, “Many of our clients facilitate a portion of their meetings that are physically in person but there are instances where an attendee would prefer to take the meeting from the comfort of their home, or they are unavailable to attend in person. A client of ours that has a great meeting strategy is the client that always wants to have a contingency plan in place for their physical meetings.”

Evolution of Hybrid Events

It wasn’t that long ago that corporate meeting planners struggled to show PowerPoint decks on video conferences without bandwidth and signal issues. Today, video conferencing platforms have virtual breakout rooms, whiteboard and brainstorming tools, embedded virtual reality options and more interactive and gamified features to keep attendees engaged. Security has improved dramatically too, allowing corporations to feel confident about sharing proprietary information with stakeholders at every level.

The Advantages of Hybrid Events

Hybrid events have advantages with personal choice playing a big part of that. In today’s hyper-customized, personalized world, clients, shareholders and stakeholders appreciate the opportunity to attend events their ways. Incorporating hybrid as a key part of your event strategy has other benefits as well.

• • Reach and Accessibility: Hosting a hybrid event expands the reach of everything you do. Looking for overseas customers without spending to travel to them (or asking them to do the same)? Is your Board of Directors scattered geographically? Hybrid events allow you to securely cater to a global audience without geographical constraints and fewer scheduling issues. Potential attendees with health and mobility concerns appreciate the accessibility of participation without travel as well.

• • Cost-Efficiency: Being able to reduce the size and number of meeting rooms makes having meetings more cost-effective. Hybrid events reduce all your physical infrastructure needs, which decreases your event costs. In a world of decreasing event planning budgets, that can be the driver of a successful event.

• • Flexibility: Attendees can choose their mode of participation. The value of this cannot be overstated. Not having to travel for hours, especially in today’s climate of regular flight delays and cancellations, makes it easier for many people to attend in the way that’s most comfortable and convenient for them. In addition to boosting attendance numbers, you’re more likely to have enthusiastic, well-rested attendees who aren’t stressed by travel and time changes.

• • Environmental Consciousness: Decreased travel reduces the carbon footprint as well as costs to participants. Positioning a hybrid option as greener is both great public relations and a genuine cost savings for attendees.

• • Data Collection: Digital platforms can provide better attendee tracking and feedback. With the right platform and support, you can offer instant polls for real-time feedback as opposed to filling out surveys after the fact when experiences aren’t as fresh. Those mid-presentation polls also break up the event and encourage greater participant engagement.

• • Tiered Experience Tracks: Hybrid events empower organizers to provide diverse experience tracks, allowing clients to optimize content and engagement based on their preference for physical or virtual delivery.

Challenges and Solutions of Hybrid Event Planning

Of course, no technology is perfect every time. But the right virtual meeting partner can help you overcome the challenges that come with planning hybrid events.

Challenge: Technical Glitches

Ensuring a seamless experience requires investment in good tech infrastructure, planning, rehearsal and partnership with a reliable team of experts.

Solution: Collaborate with experienced tech providers. The right planning partner will have a team that supports you for a flawless experience during your event and will help you practice so everyone knows what’s happening at all times and has a solid “run of show.”

Challenge: Security Breaches

You want to make sure that only the right people have access to your meeting or event, especially if you’re disclosing proprietary information or discussing other sensitive topics.

Solution: Security for virtual and hybrid events has come a long way from the “Zoom bombs” of 2020. The right virtual event partner will have the latest in cybersecurity measures and checks implemented to protect your event and its attendees and be able to detail those for you.

Challenge: Engaging Virtual Attendees

“Virtual attendees might feel disconnected.” This is always the biggest concern for hybrid events, that those attending remotely won’t get the same quality experience as those who make the trek in person.

Solution: Today’s event planning partners have overcome those concerns with a variety of tools that are integrated into virtual meeting platforms. These allow for incorporation of interactive sessions, live or delayed question and answer sessions, virtual networking zones, breakout rooms, small group discussions, whiteboard for brainstorming and more. “Many clients want a much more interactive experience for their attendees,” says Sam Martin, Delivery Manager at OpenExchange. “I love the way that they’re using our platforms to better communicate with their audiences.”

Challenge: Balancing Both Worlds

Providing value for both in-person and online participants can be a challenge. No one planning an event wants an attendee to feel like they wasted time or money to participate.

Solution: The engagement tools mentioned above are an important element of delivering that value. Dedicated teams or personnel for both aspects of the event will also help provide value. The same person running in-person breakout rooms cannot be the person expected to run the virtual breakout sessions as well. The right professional planning partner can help you manage personnel so that you have the right people in place when you need them to be. “What makes a successful event is the team working behind the scenes tirelessly, from the video specialists through the project manager to the account executive and beyond,” explains Charlie Castine, Account Executive at OpenExchange. “There’s a team that is just always working in a moment’s notice to solve any challenges that that may arise. And you know, in a in a moment’s notice, without any hesitation.”

The Future of Hybrid Events

What’s next for hybrid events? Anticipation is that the demand for hybrid options will only increase, especially among young Millennial and Gen Z workers who didn’t come of age in a travel-heavy business world. As the technology continues to evolve, even traditional trade shows may offer walk-throughs and booth visits via virtual reality.

Content is becoming a bigger part of the business of events as well. Recording hybrid events can generate content for the rest of the year: polling data, video excerpts as teasers, keynote speeches and more will allow companies to remarket the content from events. Those efforts, in turn, will allow for key messages to live on long after the event is over.

No matter what’s coming down the virtual event highway, adaptability is going to be critical for both event planners and professional virtual meeting platforms. “You never know what’s going to get thrown at you, whether it’s a technology piece or a new format of an event,” Castine says. “The OpenExchange team is always ready to field any questions and come up with a new creative solution to anything that gets thrown their way.”

Events are high-touch moments for communities today. At one point, people assumed that everyone would want to be fully in-person at events once the pandemic had ebbed. That hasn’t proven to be the case. A successful event strategy moving forward requires a hybrid element for success.

To find out more about how to successfully implement a virtual component into your meetings and events, contact the professionals at OpenExchange.