10 Secrets - Hybrid Events

Content is King. If content is King then the consort is a great hybrid event. Hybrid events combine face-to-face and virtual audiences and allow you to share your content across a much broader audience. With appropriate use of back channels, either private within the media forum, or on twitter or other mediums a hybrid has the power to connect across borders and boundaries. In our current state of never enough time or money to do it all, hybrid events offer a great solution for bringing together the largest audience to learn and to collaborate. This week Sonic Foundry invited me to present a webinar on Behind the Black Curtain: 10 Secrets for Producing your Best Hybrid Event and these were the tips we talked about. You can also check out the on-demand webinar at the link above.

1. Start with WHY you are having a hybrid event.
2. Plan the structure of your meeting to consider how you will integrate the two audiences.
3. Have an event timeline that allows you appropriate time to setup, test all your lines and rehearse. Long before you go live.
4. Work with trusted partners - venue, av, live streaming, internet - everyone has an important role.
5. Create a collaborative space before, duing and after the event.
6. Consider the whole environment
7. Cameras are critical - minimum of two
8. Sound is critical - don't skimp on mics
9. Define roles - who is doing what before and on-site (including hosts and social media concierges)
10. The beauty of a hybrid is that you can archive for on demand viewing later - do it!

You can also check out more details on the overall meeting design with the White Paper on Event Camp Vancouver: An Experiment in Meeting Design.

If your association is proud of the education you are offering members, consider hybrid as a way to extend education to your community. If your organization needs to engage employees but it isn't practical to have everyone travel, consider hybrid.