Hybrid Events 101

How to Produce a Hybrid Meeting without Losing Attendance, Revenue and Your Mind

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

View the video.

Event Overview

There's a lot of talk about online conferences, web-based expos and virtual meetings replacing face-to-face events. But many meeting planners don't necessarily see it as an either/or proposition. A hybrid event complements your face-to-face live sessions with viewing over the web - either in real-time or on-demand. The result is a blended event that serves two audiences - those who could not attend the actual meeting and those who attended but want to review sessions again or tune in to ones they missed.

But there are hundreds of options out there, from different meeting technology to social media outlets. How do you make the right choices to make sure your hybrid event is a success?

Erica St. Angel will break down the process of creating a hybrid conference into bite-sized chunks. In this interactive session, we’ll look at case studies from real-life events with real-life budgets to uncover the most practical ways to sell your first online pass and create lasting value for both your face-to-face and remote attendees.

Participants will leave with a clear understanding of:

• The definitions of virtual, hybrid and online events, and their impact on adult learning and continuing education
• Different meeting technologies that power hybrid events, including what's best to use when and how to choose the right partners
• Prevailing myths about hybrid meetings and case studies that dispel them – do hybrid meetings mark the end of face-to-face (they don’t), will they cannibalize your on-site attendance (they won’t), and are they generally more trouble and expense than they’re worth (they aren’t)
• Common pitfalls in planning blended events and ways to avoid them
• Pro tips to help you repurpose your existing conference approach for your off-site audience, rather than reinventing the wheel
• The most popular approaches for monetizing hybrid events and how to select the best method for different types of events
• Social media strategies that unite and energize the on-site and online attendees during the meeting

Speaker

Erica St. Angel, VP Marketing for Sonic Foundry, oversees the company's community-building initiatives, including its annual user conference, user group and social media strategy. Her unique background blends almost 20 years of corporate, public information and political campaigns, with an emphasis on measuring outcomes and increasing customer engagement. Erica has been involved in hybrid event planning for 5 years, and is a regular speaker on blended meeting tips and tech at webinars and events.Her work has earned both industry and marketing awards, including the Forrester Groundswell Award for the use of social technology. 

 

Sponsors

This seminar is brought to you by the Continuing Education and Conference Center and Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal.

Where Smart Planning Starts
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