Hybrid Events

Unique Marketing Strategies to Help Your Hybrid Events Get Traction

Eventually Learning Team

16 October 2021

Read time 6 min 19 sec

1 Introduction

In 2022, hybrid events will be a boom. Although they have existed long before the Coronavirus pandemic, they have picked up a lot of attention in the industry in the past few months. Hybrid events are a blend of a traditional in-person event and a virtual event that occurs online. Because both event types are unique, you need to consider unique marketing strategies for hybrid events if you plan to organize one soon.

Marketing your event will not only ensure that everyone knows it's happening, but it will also help you to get more in-person and virtual attendees. The higher the number of attendees, the higher the probability that your event will succeed.

It sounds easy, but it's not. If you want your event to be marketed right, here you can find a few unique marketing strategies for hybrid events that will help your event get good traction.

2 What Do the Numbers Say?

According to the stats shared by Markletic, 86 percent of B2B organizations usually witness a positive return on investment from their organized hybrid events in just seven months after the event is completed.

Data also says that 34 percent of event organizers will invest more in hybrid events in the next few years. In addition, about 47 percent of event organizers admit that hybrid events are a solution because they help connect internationally dispersed audiences.

3 Unique Marketing Strategies to Help Your Hybrid Events Get Traction

Event organizers and marketers now recognize the need to stand out and adopt unique and reliable marketing strategies for planning events. Below is a list of amazing strategies that you can try when you plan your next event.

3.1 Share Video Clips on Social Media

A simple and effective hybrid event marketing technique that you can start using in the current trending times is to share video clips on social media. Show a glimpse of what potential attendees can expect from an event and reduce their fear of the unknown (like wasting their time at an event that gives no new knowledge). You can share snippets across all social media platforms simultaneously to gain audience exposure on all these platforms. It is a cheap marketing method because you just need a good quality camera and some basic editing skills to accomplish the task.

Pro Tip- Use the ever-growing trend - Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)--towards ensuring that you get the attention of potential attendees. Be creative with your language and use words like, “Listen to Mr. Steven Fernandes” (hypothetical name) during an event for the first time. Then, share the information in a teaser video form so that people look forward to your next teaser.

3.2 Invite a Celebrity Guest

Yes, we know that this method can be expensive, but it's usually worth every dollar you spend. Using celebrities or influencers (if the budget is tight) is among the tried yet unique strategies to leverage hybrid events and get them the attention they need. Since the pandemic has led to unusual circumstances, celebrities feel isolated in their homes. You can use this time to get them to attend your event virtually (and, of course, market it aggressively!).

Pro Tip- When choosing a celebrity, make sure you choose someone whose values align with your company. For instance, if your event talks about style, seek a celebrity whose style will match your audience’s taste!

3.3 Use Unique Social Media Strategies

When seeking to connect with your audience, make sure that you use the power of social media correctly. Create different social media pages for each in-person and virtual event on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms. When you create different social media pages for your event's elements, you will customize the messaging, promote personalized scheduling, know how many people are interested in attending virtually and how many of them want to attend an in-person event.

Pro Tip- Make sure you keep the hashtag the same for the entire event promotion so that there is no bridge between both the audiences at the events.

3.4 Empower Sponsors, Speakers, Exhibitors and Attendees for Promotions

One of the simplest strategies to leverage hybrid events is to spread awareness of them by word of mouth. Ensure that everyone from your vendors to sponsors and even speakers talks about the event to other people in person or via social media. Share some images and content within your social circle to make social sharing easier for everyone.

Pro Tip- When encouraging the stakeholders to promote your event, give them some incentives. For instance, you can share a gift with every event vendor who brings in ten or more attendees.

3.5 Go for Co-Branding

Gone are the days when simple advertising methods were used for advertising hybrid conferences to bring higher traction to the events. Nowadays, every event needs to be a brand itself and have some brand power that draws attention. With this considered, a smart hybrid event marketing technique is to consider co-branding. You can find partners with the same target audience that you want to work with to share or pitch your ideas. Make sure you each gain enough from the partnership, making it a win-win scenario for both of you. Try and promote and market the event along with a co-branding partner to increase your reach and boost attendee participation numbers.

Pro Tip- When seeking a brand for co-branding, consider getting in touch with previous sponsors, speakers or other brands that you are aware of and that you know you can trust in business.

3.6 Create Mini-Events

One of the barriers to hybrid events and in-person event promotions is for the audience to lose patience very quickly. Keeping the audience’s attention on you is a challenge, and one of the ways to do that is to create mini-events within the events. These mini-events allow you to continue the conversation with one of the leads to push them in the direction of a conversion. For instance, if a prospect visits a booth during an in-person event, you can tell them about a happy hour that you will be hosting after the event. You can also give them an exclusive invite to special seats to make them feel special.

Pro Tip- Don't invite every attendee to every mini-event. Segregate them according to the type of event attendee they are.

FAQs

1 What is a Hybrid Event?

Hybrid events are events in which two elements are involved-- in-person events and virtual events. The levels of hybrid interaction during an event can help determine the success and failure of an event.

2 How Do You Market a Hybrid Event?

There are many ways to market a hybrid event. The best strategy is to be as unique as possible during the marketing efforts and to combine traditional and digital marketing strategies.

3 How Do You Host a Successful Hybrid Event?

For a successful hybrid event, you can host a webinar to devise and implement unique marketing strategies to get the audience's attention and keep them engaged throughout the event.

Conclusion

Marketing hybrid events is not an easy task. You first need to grasp every aspect of marketing and find workable and unique marketing strategies that help your event get good traction. The secret is to bring out the best in each format individually and ensure optimization when they work together.

For more tips on organizing a successful hybrid event and creating a portfolio for yourself as an event organizer, visit Eventually - a venture by Media 7. It is a unique platform that allows you to create a profile, network with industry professionals, and read genuine attendee reviews for making a sound decision.