Online Eventing Part 1: No longer a trendy add-on, COVID-19 has swiftly ensured that online is front and centre of event planning and management, with local clients desperate to retain face-to-face exposure and reach audiences in numbers!
Enter HYBRID EVENTING a term that describes an event where people can participate both online and offline (live). Simple? Well yes and no. Yes, it’s simple to put a camera in the back of the room, aimed at the stage and live-stream the event. No, it’s not simple to keep your audience awake and engaged!
So How Do We Get This Right?
In Part 1 of our online event series, director of Momice Netherlands Rutger Bremer explains the difference between online and live events:
- Online viewers concentrate for 45-60 minutes while live events have a different pace, with more time for introductions and breaks.
- For online viewers, interaction at a high frequency is a must while in live events, discussion and networking are important parts of the interaction.
- Online viewers want ‘television-quality’ (HD) presentations, speed and reproduction while live events allow for multiple media and the atmospheric impact of human interaction.
Hybrid Eventing Is Not An Add-On
Hybrid events are not just added to your program – they require a lot of extra work. Take the time to determine your event strategy, plan your event calendar, and put together both programs. Include an engagement strategy for participants in the room and online, before inviting your guests. Enjoy the reward of your efforts – it is becoming clear that successful hybrid events can be more impactful than their successful offline (live) counterparts.
Don’t Forget
You are organizing 2 events – a live and online event. Even though they have the same theme, the same speaker and broadly the same content, they deserve a different approach. Online short and interactive, live more extensive and more discussions. Everything stands or falls with good preparation!
Cut The Crap
When it comes to online participation, you have to keep it short! Welcome the participants in a minute and immediately dive into the content with the expert or keynote speaker. A content session of 15-20 minutes is more than enough and then you must move on to the next topic or make room for audience interaction.
Partner Well
Now more than ever, your client and customers relationships are paramount to your success. As a specialist event planning and communication service, Shift Event Solutions will tailor your Momice event communication and management solution and provide technical and digital services to ensure your online event experience is worth repeating.