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April 4, 2022 Content Chat Recap: How To Design Engaging Virtual Or Hybrid Event Experiences In 2022

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Virtual events evolved significantly throughout the pandemic, offering brands a unique opportunity to reach more people and engage their communities unlike before. But as pandemic-related restrictions continue to lift and convention centers reopen their doors to the masses, should brand marketers ditch their virtual event plans in 2022? Or will these experiences last well into this decade?

In this #ContentChat recap, the community joins Mike Allton (@Mike_Allton), virtual event strategist and head of strategic partnerships at Agorapulse, to explore how to design engaging virtual or hybrid event experiences. Read the below recap to learn:

  • How to decide the best format for your event
  • Essential tech to support a virtual or hybrid event
  • Ways to enable meaningful engagement and networking at any event

Q1: Should marketing teams plan for in-person, virtual, or hybrid events this year? If you’re planning an event, tell us what format it will be and why.

Teams should host hybrid and virtual events this year. 84% of event attendees would like an online option available to them, according to Kaltura.

80% of event organizers have reached a wider audience with virtual events, and virtual offerings are essential for accessibility.

And we are not officially clear from pandemic travel restrictions.

However, many eventgoers miss the in-person connection.

Offer a mix of event setups to maximize the value for your community. In-person experiences may require a compelling location or unique value offering to justify the costs for your attendees.

The key is to differentiate each event offering and build the experience around your attendee needs.

Ronnie shares a Hopin guide with considerations for hybrid events:

Q2: What questions should a team ask to understand what format is best for their event? And how do the various formats impact the approach you take to the event’s content?

Who is your target audience, where are they located, and what is their comfort level with in-person events?

How tech-savvy is your community?

What internal resources can you access? Do you have the capacity to support an in-person or hybrid event?

What are your event goals? Can you achieve these goals in any event setup?

Survey your event community to gauge their ideal event setup.

Q3: For teams planning a virtual or hybrid event, what event tech features do you consider must-haves for an ideal attendee experience?

Pick an event tech platform that can help you achieve your event goals.

These are the must-have virtual and hybrid event tech features:

Attendee profiles with the attendee’s preferred links and contact information.

Networking spaces, ideally with conversation prompts or smart grouping based on attendee interests.

Engagement capabilities during sessions.

Attendee polls and surveys.

Live-streamed and recorded sessions.

Closed captioning (ideally paired with sign-language interpreters).

Q4: Networking is a common challenge of virtual and hybrid events. What advice do you have for teams to design meaningful networking opportunities?

Schedule networking time as sessions.

Enable event chat streams, personal profiles, direct messaging, and 1:1 meeting options to encourage networking and engagement.

Mike starts his events with 30 minutes of speed networking so every attendee meets six new people first thing.

Create event hashtags to connect attendees across social media channels. You can even gamify the experience (see Mike’s example below).

Q5: What hurdles do marketing teams face when planning virtual or hybrid events, and how can they overcome them?

Common virtual and hybrid event planning hurdles include not having defined goals and audiences, which complicates every step of the process.

Teams often set unrealistic expectations. Start small until your team has a better understanding of virtual events.

Some audiences expect that virtual means free. Organizers should be prepared to explain their event value.

It can be challenging to remove traditional event agenda elements, even when they are no longer a fit for a virtual audience.

Social media is vital for driving virtual event success, which can challenge some teams. Social hour shares a blog post with advice for how to best leverage social media for virtual and hybrid events.

Budgeting is often difficult, especially if you are new to virtual and hybrid events.

Successful events require the alignment of all internal teams.

Tech support is essential for virtual events.

And despite your best efforts, any in-person event component may run longer or shorter than anticipated. Plan for potential event gaps.

Q6: What are your top tips for content marketers to drive the most success from their events in 2022?

Repurpose virtual and hybrid event sessions to provide ongoing value to your community.

Prioritize a fun and engaging experience.

Check out this article to learn how the Financial Times doubled its annual event attendees by going virtual.

And don’t miss Mike’s free webinar to learn more about whether a virtual event is worth your team’s time and resources.

Q7: AMA time with MikeAllton: What are your questions about designing valuable virtual event or hybrid event experiences?

What does a virtual event after-party look like?

How do you establish an independent value prop for the virtual version of an in-person or hybrid event?

What is the ideal mix of in-person and virtual for a hybrid event?

About Alek Irvin

Alek Irvin is a content marketing professional with a rich history in social media management, executive thought leadership development, and media relations. As a consultant at Erika Heald Marketing Consulting, he creates human-focused content and thought leadership platforms that help brand leaders connect and engage with their communities. Alek has worked with a range of startups and Fortune 500 companies across the B2B technology and consumer spaces, including IBM, Dell Technologies, Hitch Works, Emtrain, Integrate, and Frameable. Connect with him on Twitter @AlekIrvin.

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