28 Apr what is a hybrid meeting and are they worthwhile?
since the covid-19 global pandemic hit last march, the events and marketing sectors quickly pivoted their offerings online and meetings were delivered to participants virtually, rather than in person. to see how we did this at seven events, you can head to the virtual events page on our website.
as we look forward into 2021, we can confidently say that whilst of course we cannot wait to meet in person again, there are some digital elements that are here to stay. a hybrid meeting allows you to do just that. the definition of a hybrid meeting is one that integrates live event attendance with a virtual offering. some might say it combines the best of both worlds – but are they worthwhile? here are some our thoughts:
benefits of hosting a hybrid meeting
there are several benefits to hosting a hybrid meeting. firstly, you can reach a much larger audience than in person. forget room capacities, if necessary, thousands of people can tune into your sessions virtually. from an environmental perspective, hybrid is a game-changer in terms of reducing the events carbon footprint. international attendees have the option of partaking in your event from home, rather than flying across the globe. finally, with a good level of pre-event planning, you can ensure that engagement levels are increased. allow your live and virtual attendees to take part in q&a’s, polls and 1-2-1 meetings together and ensure everyone benefits from your exciting content.
are there any drawbacks?
successful hybrid meetings take careful and strategic planning. keeping your event objectives at the forefront of your mind all the way through the planning process will help to ensure your meeting is successful. engaging virtual attendees is very different from in-person so you’ll need to think about the delegate journey from each side. there can also be a price tag associated with hybrid meetings – after all your essentially hosting both a virtual and in-person event at the same time.
here at sevenevents we are proud to say that we’ve delivered many successful virtual, in-person and hybrid meetings. if you’re looking at your 2021 event schedule and need support our expert team are here to help. call the office today on +44 (0)207 659 4430 or head to our website to enquire: https://www.sevenevents.co.uk/enquire-now/