Hybrid Events

Virtual Events: The Art of Being ‘Phygitally’ Present

Eventually Learning Team

17 October 2021

Read time 4 min 28 sec

1.Introduction to Phygital

‘Phygital’ is a new term that found its way into societies' lexicon in 2020. All the credit goes to the pandemic, of course, that has made everyone change their way of working and living. The restrictions during the pandemic created a new way of attending events worldwide. Attending an in-person event, and enjoying it with the same level of experience as live attendees is the art of being ‘phygitally’ present to an event.

Many event organizers are now trying the phygital event concept due to its rise in demand. It is easy to attend and help the attendees not to get exposed to the spread of the pandemic. It allows them to enjoy the event from the comfort of their homes. The concept of phygital experience is a blend of both, physical and digital experiences.

The argument is still going on that physical presence and virtual presence are not interchangeable, many industry professionals accepted that attending an event virtually is beneficial, as it reduces travel cost, time and effort. These perks outweigh the benefits of physical presence for an event. Therefore, many industry experts point out that virtual events are here to stay post-pandemic.

The concept of digital presence is getting fueled further by emerging technologies such as event management software, audience engagement tools, virtual platforms, intelligent video technologies, streaming services and event mobile apps. This makes the phygital events superior in comparison to other events.

2 Excellent Video Streaming Tools

The pandemic has encouraged the event industry to concentrate on producing impactful virtual event content. Event professionals started creating unified visual content using the best video tools such as AVS Video Editor, VSDC, and Biteable. Furthermore, the best virtual and hybrid events platforms such as Airmeet, KESTONE and Hubilo have also taken the virtual event experience to the next level. The live streaming facilities and the software helped the event organizers to replicate the in-person event experience. Organizations like Twilio took advantage of this situation and launched new products/tools for the live audio and video streaming making it a polished experience.

Robust live streaming of video content and the capacity of holding many attendees’ participation screens from remote locations have made the phygital event experience more unique. Video streaming technology providers can further come up with innovative technologies by analyzing the requirements of event organizers or attendees. The cutting-edge virtual events no longer rely on traditional video streaming and screen sharing. Phygital event organizers stream higher-quality programs without technical hiccups to encourage viewer participation.

3 Phygitally-Compatible Content

Audience engagement has always been a crucial part of virtual events. Likewise, while attempting phygital events, crafting thriving content is essential. Organizers are keen to move the live events onto digital platforms for the virtual audiences and to concentrate on delivering excellent content to improve audience engagement. Content must be developed to meet the target audience's demands, and personalizing the content can help to connect with the audiences. Content producers should also generate on-demand content for the audience during virtual business conferences.

4 Technologies to Enhance the User Experience

The pandemic has promoted the concepts of hybrid and virtual events, which have lit up the technology world with their creativity and productiveness. Many doors have opened up for technology organizations to become a part of this trend of the phygital world. The cutting-edge technologies like Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, live streaming software are helping many event organizers to execute successful hybrid and virtual events. Event organizers are also dipping their feet into the realm of phygital events in 2021 and attracting extensive sponsorships for their upcoming events. By bridging the two experiences, physical and digital, event organizers give an outstanding experience to their target audience.

5 Future of Phygital Events

The technology evolution in the event industry has taken it to another level, and the term ‘phygital’ is here to stay and flourish further. People are more inclined towards easy ways to attend an event. The pandemic has also driven the idea and flexibility of attending an event virtually since 2020. From an event organizer's perspective, virtual events have relatively low costs as compared to in-person events.

This new normal in the event industry will encourage audiences to choose virtual or phygital experiences over traditional physical events. Hence, virtual or phygital events are here to stay with advanced technologies to ease additional event elements for attendees, speakers and organizers.

Conclusion

The rising use of digital platforms and upcoming technology elevations has enhanced the virtual event experience. Moreover, audiences like being phygitally present for events and trying out new encounters. Therefore, event organizers are also going hand in hand with the target audience and are trying to adapt this new trend. As a result, understanding the phygital importance and building a precise phygital strategy for your upcoming events is essential.

FAQs

1 What is a phygital experience?

A blend of both physical and digital event experience is a phygital experience.

2 What is a phygital event strategy?

A perfect fusion of in-person event strategies and virtual events strategies meant to enhance the attendee engagement and event success is a phygital strategy.

3 What is a phygital event?

A phygital event is working on the principle of 'experience matters.' For this reason, event organizers practice technologies to magnify the event experience for their virtual attendees.

4 Why are phygital events important?

For B2B events, attending an event from a remote location is the most preferred choice. Consequently, implementing the phygital concept will help boost the event attendance.