It’s likely that during the COVID-19 pandemic last year, you or your coworkers experienced the cancellation or online relocation of a significant conference or training opportunity. Even while there are once again more people traveling for work, some may still be wary to take further risks of coronavirus exposure. If your company is organizing a conference, meeting, or networking event soon, you might want to think about turning it into a hybrid event. You can even have virtual attendees in this manner.
But the main question is what a hybrid event is? What does it entail? And how to promote this event? If you are looking for the answers of these questions, you are in the right place. This session will help you to learn more about the hybrid event.
What is a hybrid event?
A hybrid event is a combination of an in-person event and a virtual event. It is a perfect solution for those programs that can be effectively held both virtually and onsite. Some examples of hybrid event include conferences, trade shows, global town halls, sales kick-offs, etc. Hybrid events are also extremely useful solutions when your attendees can’t join your on-site event due to any reason. They may prefer virtual events due to different reasons including:
- The attendee’s organization has limited travel spend
- The attendee can’t travel due to safety or health concern
- On-site event has a capacity limitation
Sending out a pre-event survey to get information on the circumstances and feelings of your invitees might be a best practice. A hybrid event may be the ideal solution if you have the sense that many people would prefer the chance to participate virtually. Hosting this type of event can provide different combined advantages from both virtual events and in-person events.
Identifying your event’s target audience, their needs, demographic information, and behavior is essential in order to plan, hosting, and marketing the event. Many virtual event service providers utilize software and interactive tools in order to improve engagement, brand awareness, and revenue. Virtual product launch platforms can help marketing professionals and event organizers create authentic human connections and drive sustainable growth.
Types of hybrid events
There are two types of hybrid events and they are:
Internal hybrid event
It is an event that is held to benefit your organization’s employees, staff, leadership, etc. For many organizations, it is difficult to gather an internal team in the same room for a meeting. Here internal hybrid events play an important role. It allows you to choose a specific venue such as the main headquarters and live stream the meeting. Some common examples of internal hybrid events are:
- Company spirit weeks
- Larger team meetings
- Global town halls
- Sale kickoffs
External hybrid event
It is an event that is targeted toward your prospects, clients, etc. Converting your live external event into a hybrid event can help to attract more participants. Some examples of the external hybrid events include:
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Product demonstrations
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Customer conferences
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Conference and trade shows
Tips to promote your hybrid event
If you are new to hosting a hybrid event, consider the following tips in order to promote the hybrid event and boost the revenue.
#1 Create an attractive landing page in order to market your event
An informative and attractive landing page is essential to deliver important information about the event to your customers. It also provides a registration form for the people to sign up for your hybrid event. Follow these steps to create an attractive landing page:
- Create a landing page with event image and captivating visuals
- Offer event details like who is it for, when the event is and what will it include.
- Include an easy-to-fill registration form
- Use CTA (Call To Action)
#2 Promote speakers on your event page
An influential speaker lineup can pull audiences to your event. Showing your speakers on the event page is one of the best and most effective ways to maximize your event’s pull. Add credentials and a clear picture to offer context.
#3 Launch an email campaign
If you want to promote your hybrid event, email marketing is a productive and cost-effective way. In the letter, you can share important information such as what session you will provide, when your event is, and what is the registration process. You can also add the link of your landing page and attract more attendees.
Social media platforms are the best place to promote your product and services. You can use social media in order to promote your upcoming hybrid event. In order to grab the attention of the users, post about your events such as the agenda, benefits of the event, and testimonials from past attendees.
In order to create excitement about your hybrid event, you can create a teaser video and upload it on the social media platform. It helps to promote your event and offers a sense of what to expect at your hybrid event.
You can use social media banners to advertise your upcoming hybrid event. In order to bring more attention to your event, design attractive banners for all your social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. Make sure that your banners are customized according to every platform that you utilize.
Consider the following dimensions for your social media banners:
- LinkedIn background – 1584 x 396 px
- Twitter header image – 1500 x 500 px
- Facebook cover photo – 820 x 312 px
#7 Create a branded hashtag
When creating social media posts about upcoming events, use a branded hashtag as part of the promotional campaign. This practice will help you to grab the attention of your targeted audience to your event. It can be a name or an abbreviated version of your event such as #MarketingConference2022.
It is vital to choose a reliable virtual brand launch platform in order to organize your hybrid event smoothly. You’ll have a decent chance of reaching a large audience and drawing potential attendees if you follow these tips. It will help you to reach both physical and virtual attendees. It will also help your organization to stay connected with the participant before, during, and even after the event.
