Hybrid Event Software: What features should you look for?
The event industry is a sector that knows how to renew itself. Lately, the industry has been surprised by the democratization of virtual and hybrid events (be sure to read our article on this subject). As an event organizer, you also had to adapt to be able to answer your customers’ requests, as before. No need to panic! Hybrid event software is there to help you.Their advantages are multiple and allow you to adapt to changes with ease.
There are some important features that your hybrid event software should have if you want your online event to be successful. These features will make sure that your attendees can follow their own agenda when they are participating.
Features that simplify the life of an event organizer
A good hybrid event software must be a tool that is easy and quick to use and that can be used by all team members, whether they are internal or external. If you use an agency to help you, for example, the external providers must also be able to handle the tool. Of course, it must offer features that simplify the life of the organizer.
For example, expertshare offers to increase productivity before and after the event. In particular, you can manage your teams by assigning roles and tasks to each one, which simplifies the management of the strategy. Multiple parameters are offered to manage the registration of participants, the check-in on the day or the engagement of the audience during the event. All the data collected is carefully kept for analysis at the end of the event.
Most Event Management Software has also adapted to the health crisis the world is currently facing (and Eventdrive is the first!). Some have added functionality through plugins or patches. Others, such as Eventdrive, have developed features within their tool itself. By doing so, this kind of platform really stands out by offering an all-in-one solution that fits perfectly with virtual events. But what are their advantages?
Vital features of Hybrid Event Software
Content Delivery
The most important part of your conference is the content since that is what the attendees are coming for. You want to engage your audience and that is why you should aim for a platform that allows you to use multiple sources of content whether it’s a live feed with speakers and vendors or pre-recorded videos. A good platform allows you to use and share any kind of content that you can imagine.
Live broadcast
Whether your event is 100% virtual, or also has a face-to-face component, EMS allows for live streaming. You can choose to stream the PowerPoint presentation that the presenter uses to support his or her remarks, or simply film the presentation.
There are several options available to you. The first and easiest is to let the speaker use his webcam and share his screen. If you have a little more money, you can also film the speaker and use the video feed to switch from the video to the presentation slides during the broadcast. For added convenience, you can also have one speaker do the talking and another person do the screen sharing during the presentation.
To be in line with your brand image, you can customize the interface of your virtual event and thus ensure a perfect participant experience in line with your brand image. The hidden purpose of your event is to showcase your brand, right? You can’t do that on a simple video conferencing tool.
Branding
Of course, one of the features that should not be missing is a branding feature. You want your registration pages or your web app to be fully customizable with your own logo, your own corporate design etc. This way, your audience will feel safe and not like being taken to dozens of different websites.
Offer multi-session events
By using Hybrid Event Management Software, it is possible to offer multi-session events, as in a face-to-face event. When the participant registers, he can access a personalized agenda and select several sessions he would like to attend.
This kind of functionality does not exist on a classic video conference software and can be a real bonus for your project! It gives you the possibility to organize larger events, to call on several speakers, and even to reach a larger audience by offering different types of sessions.
Set up a chat
An important point when organizing a virtual event is to maintain a high level of engagement. Set up a virtual chat throughout the presentation to engage remote participants. You can let your presenter interact with remote participants at the same time as those on site, as if everyone was in the same room!
Organizing a virtual event should not make us forget one of the key elements of a successful event: a happy audience. By setting up a chat, you allow them to express themselves in real time and ask the questions they want in real time.
Broadcast a replay of your event
Even if the organization of a virtual event facilitates access for a large number of participants, some of them may be unable to watch the live broadcast. Your event may also have been so popular that your audience would like the opportunity to watch it again. This is possible with event management software.
As soon as the event is over, you can make your event available for replay on your event website. This can also be an opportunity to contact your participants after the event, to ask them for their feedback with a satisfaction survey, while providing them with the replay link.
Finally, as an organizer, having access to the images can also be beneficial and help you prepare a video that highlights only the best moments for example.
Personalized Schedules and Agendas
Your audience should always know where they can go. In this regard, personalized agendas are crucial for hybrid events. It might for example be needed that your in-person audience will participate in other breakout sessions than your virtual online audience.
Securing your data
Event management software takes the protection of your data to heart and provides maximum security. For example, access to the virtual conference can be protected by a password. An access code that is only held by the participants of the event, who have received a unique link to access it!
Some event management software goes even further. Sometimes, it is necessary to obtain prior authorization to install software on one’s professional computer, which is not necessarily obvious.
Sponsorship and Virtual Booths
It’s not just the attendees that you need to cater to. Your sponsors and exhibitors might also want more than just an in-person booth. So what if they suddenly want a virtual booth as well? You need to make sure in advance that you know their special wishes. Otherwise, the whole organization of the event might turn into a nightmare.
Attendee Tracking
Knowing about the preferences of the attendees and what sessions they participated in can be very helpful. This way, you might find out what your prospective customers like best and you can create new products which will cater to their needs.
Attendee tracking for hybrid events is something that should not be an extra feature that will cost you an extra fee. Something that important should be included in the basic fee already. Combining this data with the option to send certain participants surveys or other kinds of messages, gives you an unfair advantage with regards to your upcoming marketing efforts.
Analytics and Reporting
Without any analytics and reporting, it will be very hard to determine how successful your event was. User tracking data and reports based on these metrics are vital.
expertshare, for example, offers tracking for the following reporting features:
- App users and adoption rates
- App user engagement (feed posts, booth scans, notes taken, shared contacts, etc.)
- Number of workspace agenda sessions
- App user devices and operating systems used to access the workspace
- Workspace documents and their sizes
- Live Chat and Social Media-Inspired Networking
- Networking is often a major reason people attend events, so it’s important to find a hybrid event platform that offers intuitive live chat and messaging features.
Most hybrid event software platforms basically copy social media sites because they simply work. So each attendee in this case, will get his own personal profile page. And then they can also comment, add friends, watch live-streams or on-demand content. These are all things that we have gotten used to.
Work with the right Hybrid Event Software Vendor
Organizing an event, whether it is face-to-face, virtual or hybrid, requires a lot of time, effort and energy. The role of a hybrid event software is above all to simplify your life. Take the time to review your expectations and you will easily find the EMS that meets all your needs! Whether it’s the centralization of data or the automation of tasks, hybrid event management software allows organizers to save a lot of time.
You need a vendor that can accommodate your in-person and virtual needs. Our technology at expertshare for example can be used across the web and over an app. You want the experience for your audience to be a smooth and seamless one. Wherever and however they attend: If you’re ready to get started, feel free to contact us.
