by Michael Beeghley, Coordinator and Technician at OneBXL

Introduction

Hybrid events are becoming increasingly popular as event organizers look for ways to expand their reach and provide more inclusive experiences for attendees. As someone who has coordinated the audio, video, and broadcast technical support for many hybrid events using Zoom, I wanted to share my insights on how to use this powerful platform in order to create engaging and memorable hybrid experiences.

In this guide, I'll walk through what hybrid events are, the components of a successful hybrid event, how to use Zoom specifically for your hybrid event, and tips to keep your audiences engaged. My goal is to provide actionable recommendations from first-hand experience that you can apply to make your next Zoom hybrid event a big success.

What Are Hybrid Events?

Hybrid events are a seamless combination of an in-person event experience with a virtual component for remote attendees. The in-person aspect allows attendees who can join onsite to benefit from the energy and face-to-face connections of a live event. The virtual aspect uses technology like live-streaming to include remote attendees who cannot attend in person.

Some key advantages of hybrid events include:

• Expanded reach and audience since virtual attendees can join from anywhere in the world. This increases potential attendance and revenue.

• More inclusive experience so no one has to miss out due to location, cost, or accessibility constraints.

• Ability to replay content on-demand later for continued engagement.

• Lower environmental impact with less travel required.

• Enhanced data and analytics from a virtual platform.

At their best, hybrid events use technology to seamlessly engage both in-person and remote attendees. The experiences should intertwine rather than be siloed.

Planning a Successful Hybrid Event

Proper planning is crucial for hybrid event success. Below I'll share key steps I follow when organizing a hybrid event using Zoom:

Set Clear Goals

• Define what success looks like - number of attendees? Revenue? Lead generation for sponsors? Make goals specific and measurable.

• Outline the purpose and desired outcomes. Is it for training? Customer education? Community building? Align goals to the event purpose.

• Consider your audience. Will it be employees? Customers? Prospects? Journalists? Experts? Goals should resonate with the target audience.

Choose the Right Technology

• Select a robust virtual event platform like Zoom Events that offers live streaming, engagement tools, sponsor integration, networking, and more.

• Ensure you have proper equipment like cameras, mics, and reliable WiFi/internet at the venue. 

• Use hybrid-ready venues with built-in A/V integration and layouts optimized for broadcasting.

Create an Immersive Experience

• Craft an agenda that interweaves in-person and virtual components. Avoid siloed content.

• Build in virtual networking opportunities through tools like Zoom's networking lounges.

• Encourage live chat and Q&As for audience interaction. Display online audience interaction on a monitor or projector screen onsite.

• Produce engaging content tailored to hybrid delivery and camera presentation.

• Offer ways for remote attendees to interact with physical space like sending in photos/messages.

Promote Across Channels

• Market to both virtual and in-person audiences across their preferred channels.

• Communicate agenda, tech requirements, and expected etiquette ahead of time.

• Share speaker announcements, sneak peeks, and unique experiences to generate buzz.

Measure and Analyze

• Send post-event surveys to capture feedback on both experiences.

• Review data and analytics on attendance, engagement, lead generation, and ROI.

• Apply what you learned from the event to make the next hybrid event even more successful.

Using Zoom for Your Hybrid Event

As a leader in modern video communications, Zoom Events offers a robust all-in-one platform purpose-built to produce engaging hybrid experiences. I’ve used Zoom Events for many of the hybrid events that I’ve coordinated. Here are some of the key features that make it an ideal hybrid platform:

Flexible Registration and Ticketing

• Easily create branded registration pages with customized ticket types for in-person, virtual, and hybrid access.

• Collect attendee information and automatically sync it to your CRM. Gain data insights pre, during, and post-event.

• Control access with tickets and codes. Generate more revenue through tiered pricing.

Robust Live Streaming and Broadcasting

• Multi-camera live streaming fully syncs the in-person and virtual experiences.

• Support for platform-exclusive streaming keys prevents unauthorized access.

• Clean, dynamic video layouts showcase your brand alongside content and speakers.

Built-In Engagement Tools

• Live polling, surveys, Q&A, and chat encourage audience participation.

• Engagement dashboard and moderation enable you to monitor and encourage interaction.

• Stage Q&A opinions from the virtual audience to make them feel heard live.

Analytics and Reporting

• Gain data-driven insights on registration, attendance, engagement, lead generation, networking, ROI and more.

• Custom reporting to showcase event success to stakeholders.

End-to-End Support Services

• OneBXL can help you with live technical support to assist with setup, rehearsals, and more.

• Zoom has a library of troubleshooting resources, a robust user-base, and technical support in case you have issues with their software before your event. Working with experienced events tech companies like OneBXL can help make the troubleshooting process much smoother, so you can focus on the non-technical aspects of running your event.

• Events tech companies like OneBXL help you realize your event vision. They also will suggest best practices based on their experience.

Zoom delivers a true hybrid platform purpose-built to remove the technology burden so you can focus on producing an immersive experience. At OneBXL we enjoy working with Zoom for our clients’ hybrid events. While it’s not the only virtual meetings platform that we use, it’s easily one of our favorites. 

Engagement Strategies for Hybrid Audiences

A common hybrid event challenge is keeping both in-person and virtual attendees actively engaged. Here are some proven tactics for driving engagement across both groups using Zoom:

Bring Remote Attendees Onstage

• Invite a few remote attendees to join high-profile speakers on a Zoom video panel. This visibly includes them and makes the conversation truly hybrid.

• For smaller sessions, spotlight remote attendee videos as you would for in-room participants.

Encourage Cross-Pollinated Conversation

• Prompt in-room participants to use laptops/phones to engage in the virtual chat and Q&A.

• Display the live chat on monitors onstage. Read out virtual questions live.

• Have the live emcee repeat compelling virtual questions using a mic so they're heard by the room.

• This combination of visually displaying and also speaking aloud the virtual interaction help guarantee that the virtual engagement is being interacted with by the live event attendees.  

Build in Virtual Roundtable Discussions

• Use Zoom breakout rooms to create topic-specific roundtable discussions for virtual attendees during sessions.

• Assign in-person participants to moderate each virtual roundtable group.

• Bring key takeaways from the virtual discussions back to the main room.

Make Networking More Inclusive

Networking is a huge part of any event, and with the increase in popularity of hybrid events over the past few years, virtual networking has come a long way. Included in Zoom is a suite of tools that help facilitate virtual networking sessions. These sessions can help you make your online atendees feel like they're a part of the action, and can prevent them from feeling like they're missing out by not being at the event in-person. Use Zoom's suite of virtual networking tools or consider trying third-party software such as Brella, Wonder, Swapcard, Remo, or Eventify for your next hybrid event.

• Set up a casual virtual lounge during receptions so remote attendees can connect.

• Use event matchmaking features to suggest relevant connections for all attendees.

• Schedule meetings between virtual and in-person people. Engagement between in-person and online atendees is exactly what hybrid networking is all about.

Lean Into Gamification

Games are a great way of getting your audience involved, and having a bit of fun during a long meeting can serve as an ice breaker or an energy boost following a long presentation. Zoom has interactive games that you might want to include as a part of your next hybrid event. Test these out with colleagues and see what kind of gamification might work for you in your next event.

• Use quests, trivia, scavenger hunts, leaderboards and points to motivate engagement.

• Offer prizes and rewards for top virtual engagement scores.

• Make some challenges collaborative between virtual and in-person teams.

Hybrid events allow for creative audience engagement approaches not possible at just in-person or just virtual events. Take advantage of this to design an event experience that resonates with all your attendees regardless of how they join.

Key Takeaways:

• Hybrid events combine in-person and virtual experiences using technology like Zoom.

• Proper planning and clear goals are essential for hybrid event success.

• Choose solutions like Zoom Events which are built for hybrid events.

• Use engagement strategies tailored to both in-person and online audiences.

• Facilitate hybrid networking: encourage in-person attendees to engage with your online audience by using virtual networking tools.

• Focus on crafting an equally immersive experience for remote attendees.

• Find creative ways to incorporate the strengths of both virtual and live in-person events in order to find the full potential of your hybrid event.

On behalf of OneBXL, I wish you the best of luck as you continue to work on your hybrid event strategy. Let us know if you need any technical assistance for your next Zoom hybrid event, we’re here to help you have a good meeting. 

Further reading

Engaging Your Pan-European Audience: Tips for Planning Inclusive Hybrid Events
Innovative Ways to Blend In-Person and Virtual Experiences in Hybrid Events
Maximizing Engagement: 5 Keys to Hybrid Event Success
The Hybrid Event Technology Stack: Best Practices for Seamless Experiences