A hybrid event is a conference, seminar, tradeshow that combines the traditional physical event with some element of online activity.

Back at the beginning of September I presented at Scotland Conference which was in Edinburgh. This was conference was around how to run hybrid events, which is a growing area in social media.

How does the technology work?

Saville AV ran the technology for the event.  They streamed the conference live online, so the online audience could listen and watch the speakers and send questions in.  There was the audience voting system, so the audience could vote on the questions for the panel of speakers.

We then did live tweeting and blogging from the conference to get further delegate engagement and participation in the debates.  The LinkedIn group enabled the delegates to network prior to the conference but continue the conversations with the speakers after the conference.

What makes the Hybrid Event?

Online participants would have access to varying levels and aspects of the online conference:

• Twitter  – on a specific hash tag
• Live blogging
• Photo Sharing – on Flickr
• Live audio
• Live chat and discussion facilities
• Web Streaming

 So why do a hybrid event?

•  Reach a wider audience
• Audience engagement
• For sponsors widen the reach of their exposure
• Sense of community
• Build networking pre, during and post conference
• People in tough economic times cannot afford time out their business or to travel to the conference, so it’s an opportunity to widen the audience

 So why are there not more hybrid events?

There are many reasons for this:

• Lack of awareness around the technology
• Lack of WIFI at the venues
• Low appetite from conference organisers
• Lack of skill set with either inhouse or event companies
• Risk adverse
• “We’ve always done it this way” attitude

Conclusion

With the development in technology, more companies are doing hybrid events. There are those who do entirely online events by running webinars.

Running a hybrid events gives event organiser the opportunity to build an audience for the event and to grow engagement prior to the event.

Even though there are many benefits to running a hybrid event, the lack of skills, awareness and appetite to run such an event means that there are many companies missing an opportunity.

Have you been to a hybrid event? What features of the event did you enjoy the most? Live streaming, blogging, photos etc?