After more than a year of Covid-19 restrictions, many companies have found innovative ways to create business events. With additional health and safety measures, many venues and creators are bringing back live events. This tendency is due to the fact that the vast majority would like to meet in person again. However, every company is different! Some are embracing leisure and corporate hospitality, while others feel more confident remaining online for now.
The benefits of online events are well known! First, there is no travel time or costs involved. Second, there is no limited number of participants like in a physical event.
On the other hand, there are companies while virtual events reach a larger audience, it is harder for them to capture the audience’s attention, due to Zoom fatigue, multitasking or distraction at home.
Analysts say 2021 will be a transition year for the return of physical events.
Instead of struggling to decide, the companies thought why not combine the two? Many venues offer hybrid packages where the content is broadcast online, giving those who don’t feel ready to attend the opportunity to hear what others have to say. Organizers should consider keeping them engaged - for example, if the physical attendees are having a debate over a cup of coffee with an assortment of freshly baked goods, what experience will the person logged in online have? They will stream the content live and people watching will be able to interact like asking questions in the chat in that same way that people on the show floor will be able to ask questions as well. On-demand replays, video clips, transcripts and blog posts will also be included to give attendees multiple options to access events in their own time.
Not all events come back. There are going to be fewer on the market. Now it is interesting to understand the dynamics of content consumption and networking at the physical events and how to make that experience really meaningful.
The hybrid method offers the best of both worlds - a personalized experience for a small group, while remaining inclusive, so that people of any level in an organization can participate from anywhere in the world.
