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Virtual and Hybrid Events: What’s the Difference?

Events bring together people of similar and shared interests. After pandemics, virtual events and hybrid events have become popular, but what's the difference?

The primary goal of any event is to bring people of shared interests together. But today, an event doesn't mean only physical gatherings of people in a single location. Times have changed and especially after pandemic events are happening more virtually than physically. With the ongoing pandemic, businesses and participants prefer virtual and hybrid events for their added safety and comfort. 

The purpose of events is to invite and gather people in a single place to pass on valuable information to the attendees. And to this, we don't necessarily need a physical gathering. The same can be done from virtual events, hybrid events, and live online events.

Over the last two years, the world was more dependent on virtual events as in-person events were difficult to organize due to various restrictions. But with the effects of pandemic subsiding, hybrid events are also becoming popular for more effective engagement. Let's understand the difference between Virtual and Hybrid events.

What is the difference between Virtual Events and Hybrid Events?

Virtual Event

As the name suggests, all aspects of this kind of event are virtual. All the speakers and attendees participate in the event online in a virtual environment. It is a growing and preferred form of the event because participants get the flexibility to join from anywhere. These events are also more cost-efficient since you don't have to hire resources or venues for your event. Virtual events can use recorded videos as well as live streaming and management through various event management software.

Read more about how to a host virtual event?

Pros & Cons of Virtual Events

PROS:

• Easy to organize and manage online with minimal resources.
• It enables businesses to continuously engage with their audiences, even when in-person events are not possible.
• It offers a significant reduction in operational costs of organizing events.
• It is easy and quick to organize, finalize and present the event.
• Best for businesses with a global audience, as anyone can join from anywhere.
• Smooth and seamless management of every aspect event with the help of online software like Eventmie Pro.
• Travel restrictions do not apply to virtual events.

CONS:

• Accessibility can be a challenge sometimes.
• There are limitations on the number of participants.
• Participation can be unpredictable particular when the audience is global.
• Need a reminder campaign to notify and track the pulse of the event.

Hybrid Event

These are the events in which some participants can be present at a physical location, while some participants need to join virtually. The hybrid events generally have a fraction of physical presence, limited to key stakeholders, to make event presentations more compelling. This event type is suitable where the success of the event heavily depends on collective communications, marketing, leadership, and expertise of certain people for a better cohesiveness. Hybrid Events can give you broader virtual outreach.

Pros & Cons of Hybrid Events

Hybrid events give you the best of both versions. It allows both in-person and virtual attendees.

PROS:

• Hybrid events enable better quality in terms of production
• Cost is significantly lower than the offline event
• Provides event organizer flexibility to tailor the message as per the audience.
• Possibility to add lighting and sound according to the theme of the event for better engagement. 
• Event hosts or key producers can appear from a studio or place to effectively communicate with the audience.
• Choose and customize the screen and set up for the event.

CONS:

• Lack of real-time communication 
• Technical glitches can be a spoiler.
• Slightly difficult to gauge the mood of the audience, unlike physical events.
• Need reminders and follow up for the successful event 
• Virtual elements (such as live video streaming and Q&A sessions) have to be incorporated to make it effective.

 

How to Choose Between a Virtual or Hybrid event

It solely depends upon your goals, expectations from the event, and other factors such as –

• What is the nature of the event?
• Are there any restrictions imposed on the area/location you are targeting?
• How much is the budget?
• Is the audience domestic or global?
• How much time do you have to prepare for the event?

Read more about the virtual and hybrid event - Which Approach Is Best?

 

How Eventmie Pro Helps You in Making Virtual and Hybrid Event Better?

 

Online event management software, Eventmie Pro, lets the organizers take charge of the whole process accordingly. Though virtual and hybrid events are a bit easier to manage than offline events, it still needs rigorous process management to organize them successfully.

Eventmie Pro offers all the users flexibility to organize virtual events easily without having to worry about any aspects be it payments, tickets, marketing, or feedback. It has an Integrated QR Code Scanner to simplify the payments process. Admin/organizer has complete control to set up online and offline payment modes via PayPal, credit card, and more. There are all types of payment methods integrated that can be used during the checkout process. Attendees can make the payment instantly to book their tickets online via the QR Code Scanner. With Eventmie Pro, you can manage end to end processes of the event online seamlessly and effortlessly.

Eventmie Pro’s major v1.7 free update is released recently.

You can download it for free and update it yourself following the update guide.

https://eventmie-pro-docs.classiebit.com/docs/1.7/update