As we move towards the phase of Hybrid Events in the event management industry, the importance of understanding the crucial steps to host a successful event is increasing too. Although it may sound easy to organize a hybrid meeting, it also comes with a lot of risks. Therefore, it is significant to understand all the aspects and steps to ensure an efficient event. In this blog, we will help you comprehend the top steps to avoid all the possible mistakes and create a memorable hybrid event experience.
10 Steps to Hosting a Successful Hybrid Meeting:
Following are the top 10 steps to organize a successful meeting:
#1 Get the Goals of Your Hybrid Event Clear
By determining your meeting goals and aims, you can easily move ahead with the next steps of planning and strategizing. It will also enlighten you about all your meeting requirements, needs, and wants. Ask yourself the following questions to get a better understanding of your purposes:
- What outcome do you expect from the meeting?
- How long should your event be?
- What are the different aspects that you want to incorporate into the event?
- The engagement tools do you want to include in the hybrid meeting?
- What are the networking features you wish to have at your meeting?
#2 Choose the Most Appropriate Hybrid Event Platform
Choosing the most suitable hybrid event platform can effectively help you bring the best out of your hybrid event. An advanced platform is well-equipped with the most reliable tools and features to ensure the success of your event. From engagement and networking opportunities to the smooth user experience and navigation, there is a lot that you have to think of while choosing the right technology. When you organize a hybrid meeting, there is a considerable amount of data sharing and accumulation, which has to be secured. Therefore, ensure that the platform you choose provides excellent data security to your event.
#3 Form a Proper Event Flow and Structure (hybrid meeting)
Creating a proper event flow and structure for your hybrid event can help you ensure its smooth execution. Not just this, but creating a defined structure can also ensure that you don’t miss out on anything or make a mistake. Another aspect of forming an event structure is, that you have to ensure that you create the event agenda while keeping your audience’s perspective in mind.
#4 Plan the Event From Your Attendees Perspective
Planning the event from the perspective of your attendees can help you understand the what’s and what not of your event. There is nothing to deny in the fact that there is a lot of difference between attending the event virtually and on-site. Therefore, while planning and strategizing the event, try to think from your attendees’ perspective.
#5 Provide Interactive Opportunities
Interaction remains to be one of the most important aspects of hosting online or hybrid events. Interaction is one factor that can essentially keep all your attendees engaged, be it online or offline. An efficient hybrid event platform is well-resourced with top-notch interactive tools that can effectively enhance the value of your hybrid event. Dreamcast is one of the top hybrid event platforms that provide you with vital interactive tools like multi-format communication, live polls, Q&A sessions, contests, trivia, group and personal chat, etc.
#6 Include a Hybrid Meeting Moderator
A hybrid meeting not only involves different sessions but also activities where the organizer aims to focus both online and offline attendees at the same time. In order to make sure that all these activities and sessions are executed smoothly, you can bring a professional moderator on board. The responsibility of a moderator is to manage the event and bridge the gap between online and on-site attendees. This is another efficient way to ensure the seamless execution of your event.
#7 Incorporate Top Engaging Activities
A virtual event platform provides you with the best engagement tools to keep your attendees enticed throughout the event. By incorporating the top engagement tools you can not only keep your attendees involved in the event but also ensure a positive hybrid event experience. There are various engaging activities and tools to fulfill your goal of keeping the attendees’ attention captivated. Following are some of the top ways to keep your attendees engaged:
- Gamification
- Photo Booth
- Signature Wall
- Virtual Escape Room
- Engagement Zone
- Social Wall
- Virtual Scavenger Hunt
#8 Ensure the Quality (hybrid meeting)
Ensuring the quality of resources at your hybrid event is very important to make sure that all your attendees are having a pleasant event experience. Basically, you have to check the quality of all the event elements before the big event day comes. From the quality of user experience and content to the quality of sound and live streaming, each aspect matters a lot. Therefore, try not to compromise with the best quality resources and logistics.
#9 Don’t Disregard Your Virtual Audience
As we all know, virtual event attendees have a lower rate of attention, and they are more likely to leave the virtual venue if they don’t feel engaged in the event. Hence, it is very important to ensure that your virtual attendees don’t feel disregarded during the event. Whatever you plan for your hybrid event, make sure you keep the perspective of your remote attendees above all. It is so because engaging your on-site attendees can still be easy as they are physically present to interact and network during the event but not your online participants.
#10 Test the Technology
Last, but not least, test the hybrid event technology properly before the event. It is so because there can never be a full percentage guarantee that there will not be any glitches or errors at the event. However, that is the thing with technology! Therefore, make sure you check every element, tool, and feature of the event properly before the event day. Dreamcast can be your one-stop solution to hosting a memorable Hybrid Event. Reach out to the platform and book a demo to ensure the success of your event.