In a day and age where different people have different needs regarding the attendance of events, hybrid events are becoming increasingly popular. While there are those who would like to attend an event physically, there are those who are comfortable with a virtual one. From this assertion, it is evident that meeting these diverse needs is significant. This is where hybrid event marketing comes in handy. For you to have both a physical and virtual event happening at the same time, you should have the right hybrid event marketing strategy. Attracting audiences for a hybrid event requires you to understand what hybrid event marketing is and work on the fundamentals. In this article, you’ll learn the essentials of hybrid event marketing.
What Are the Benefits of Hybrid Event Marketing?
Increased Registration
One of the benefits you get from hybrid event marketing is increased registration. Essentially, the idea behind the marketing of an event is to have more people attend it. The interesting thing with hybrid event marketing is that you are reaching out to two sets of audiences. There are those who would like to attend physically and those who would love to attend virtually.
So, from a marketing perspective, you have to seek to increase registration for both. The increased registration is as a result of the flexibility that audiences have in regards to the attendance and experience of the hybrid event. Since it provides options for people, they feel that their needs are met and, as a result, the registrations go up.
Higher Levels of Engagement
According to a 2021 article by Forbes, hybrid event marketing creates a platform where attendees can have a higher level of engagement. The integration of a virtual platform and in-person meeting creates a feasible opportunity for both audiences to interact and network. As an organiser of a hybrid event, you’re able to monitor the behaviour of the audiences and establish the elements that work best for them. For example, you have the opportunity of learning the things that the virtual audience loves for future efficiency.
Capturing New Audience
According to LAB University of Applied Sciences, it is valuable to capture new audiences as a brand. It goes a long way to improve your image. One of the ways of doing so is having effective marketing. As a hybrid event marketer, you’ll have the amazing chance of capturing new audiences. The flexibility of a hybrid event makes it possible to reach out to a new set of audience that you hadn’t reached out to before. One of the major reasons why people fail to attend events is lack of convenience.
For example, if a person is far from where a physical event is taking place, they are likely not to attend. So, as you do marketing for a hybrid event, you’re meeting the exact need of that audience. This goes a long way to capture a new audience. As you capture new audiences, you’re increasing the value of your brand to a new level.
Considerations for Hybrid Event Marketing
There are important considerations when choosing a strategy for your hybrid marketing campaign. For your event to succeed, you must have the right strategy in place.
I. Begin by Setting Goals
For a hybrid event marketing campaign to succeed, there has to be clear goals set from the onset. This helps to create an effective and winning marketing strategy. To set goals, you should ask yourself what you would like to achieve. Here are some of the goals you can set to inform your marketing campaign:
- Increasing audience engagement
- Bringing on board new audiences
- Opening up more prospects for partners and sponsors
- Increasing the number of registered persons
- Each of your goals should have the most viable strategy to help achieve it.
II. Effective Communication
Marketing is all about sending the right information in the best way possible. You can have the right message for your audience but communicate it in the wrong way. This will be a failure on your part. Therefore, now that you know the goals of your hybrid event marketing campaign, you need to connect with your target audiences in the most effective way possible.
If you’re using social media platforms to connect with them, make sure that you do it well. If you’re using your website to communicate to them about your event, create the right experience. Remember, you’re reaching out to both in-person and virtual audiences. Thus, there should be specialised experiences for both audiences. The bottom-line is that you should package your message in a convincing and winning way to attract target audiences.
III. Use the Right Software for Marketing
Technology will help you greatly in the marketing process. As long as you have the right software, it will be easy for you to navigate through the marketing process. Different software platforms have different marketing tools to help you achieve your goals. You have to get it right here. The best advice is getting an event software platform that allows you to be actively engaged in the promotion of your event. This will ensure that nothing gets left out. For example, a platform that helps you in building a website as well as giving participants a chance to promote the event is perfect. A software tool with pre-made graphics is good for your hybrid event marketing campaign.
Certainly, hybrid events are here to stay. As the world continues to appreciate the significance of digital technology, more people will be comfortable with virtual events. Also, there are those who will love to attend in-person meetings for physical engagement. The truth of the matter is that both audiences are important for event organisers. So, the work of brands is to come up with the right hybrid event marketing campaigns and strategies to realise quality outcomes. This calls for the creation of deliberate goals and objectives that help to achieve expected returns. Be creative with your hybrid event marketing plans to attract more people.
