The time has changed so do the ways of organising events. With the unforeseen advent of the global pandemic in 2020, the ways of organising events have been completely changed. As restrictions were imposed on public gatherings and travelling for the entire year, it resulted in the upheaval of events. The physical events scheduled up for the entire year either got postponed or cancelled completely. Organisations and businesses around the world are left with the option to leverage online event technology to keep going.

Virtual events and hybrid events gained up its pace and became immensely popular in the past few months. Every day a new virtual exhibitions platform that offers engaging tools and features come up on the internet, this answers all. Virtual events are hosted completely online and are attended by virtual attendees from their remote locations. But Hybrid events are a bit different from it. A hybrid event is any trade show, exhibition, conference, or any event that can be accessed either in-person or virtually. Hybrid events are organised at a physical on-site location paired with a virtual component. It enables attendees with the flexibility to attend an event either in-person or virtually from the comfort of their own space.

Recently, the percentage of online virtual exhibitions and hybrid exhibitions have spiked up suddenly. More and more exhibitors and sponsors are willing to participate in hybrid virtual exhibition fairs due to its enormous perks. The advantages offered by online hybrid virtual exhibitions are far beyond the reach of conventional exhibitions. In this post, we have listed a few advantages of hybrid exhibitions that evoke the interest of exhibitors, sponsors, and visitors. To know more scroll down:

Advantages of Hybrid Virtual Exhibition Fairs

1. Increased reach, attendance, and engagements

As hybrid exhibitions are accessible to in-person as well as virtual attendees it resulted in increased reach. Hybrid exhibitions give wide exposure to exhibitors and sponsors by enabling them to reach a wide spectrum of audiences. It enables attendees who live at a distance to tune in from their remote locations to access the event. However, it results in better attendance when compared to traditional physical exhibitions. It resolves the hassle of travelling to a distance just to attend an event. The roadblocks faced during traditional exhibitions such as space limitations and geographical constraints get resolved completely with hybrid events. Hybrid exhibition platforms facilitate organisers to organise Live Q&A, polls, surveys, and enable real-time chats to amplify engagements. The percentage of attendance, participation, and engagement is much higher with hybrid exhibitions when compared to traditional on-ground exhibitions.

2. Host limitless attendees

Online hybrid virtual exhibitions enable you to host an endless number of attendees. Physical on-site exhibitions come with certain space restrictions. It may sometimes result in losing the most interested attendees that can be a qualified lead. Online event technology comes to your rescue. Hybrid exhibition platforms that have no audience cap can host countless attendees, thus overcoming the barrier of space limitations.

3. Reduction in expenses

With hybrid exhibitions, visitors and organisers both result in saving a lot on assets. The cost involved in travelling, accommodation, food & drinks, etc. gets reduced considerably with hybrid events. Attendees who live afar can access the exhibition from the comfort of their own space via a device. Location is no more a constraint with online hybrid virtual exhibitions. Attendees can be part of the event from wherever they are located. Whereas organisers get relieved from booking a large venue, hiring technical staff, paying travel tickets for the most wanted speakers, and so on.

4. Reduced Carbon emissions and footprints

Hybrid exhibitions are an eco-friendly alternative that supports mother nature. A recent survey reports that tons of waste are disposed of after every on-site exhibition or event. With hybrid events, the attendees get divided into two slots i.e the virtual attendees and in-person attendees. It results in a reduction in carbon footprints and waste materials disposed of after the event that is hazardous for the environment.

5. Better sponsorship Opportunities

Virtual hybrid exhibitions offer better sponsorship opportunities when compared to physical exhibitions. Industry sponsors are more willing to participate in hybrid exhibitions. It offers them the opportunity to showcase their offerings to a wider audience segment. Exhibitors and sponsors can set-up a virtual booth on a virtual exhibition platform to tap diverse audiences globally. It results in generating better leads and revenues. Hybrid events are one of the greatest tools for brand awareness.

6. Chat with multiple people at a time

Hybrid exhibition platforms enable real-time chat functionality that allows attendees to connect and network remotely. With hybrid exhibitions, attendees can interact with multiple people simultaneously in real-time. The platform enables one to have a live audio/video/text one-on-one and group chats.

7. Greater ROI

A greater return on investment is expected with hybrid exhibitions. It helps in measuring the accurate ROI when compared to physical on-ground exhibitions.

8. Track valuable data

With advancements in technology, hybrid exhibition platforms track every digital attendee move. Right from the registration until the event ends every move of the attendee is tracked. With whom they interacted? How they navigated? What they interacted with? What they liked, shared, and commented on? How much time did they spend on a particular virtual booth? And so on. Every step of attendees is recorded in the database of a comprehensive hybrid event platform. It helps in getting a detailed analytics report to measure the performance metrics and the success of the event.

If you have not thought about hosting an online hybrid virtual exhibition, the above-mentioned advantages might change your mind. Leverage the power of online event technology and embrace virtual and hybrid events.

Author's Bio: 

Abhinav Puri is a social media marketing manager and a personal blogger who has written a couple of blogs on health care, Technology, Virtual events, social media, science, and health benefits that are liked by many. he keeps herself updated with the latest in the world of social media and imparts her knowledge with her followers through her health care blogs. Sharing her views on health care remedies, an effective diet to stay fit and healthy, and following a regime for a healthy lifestyle are some of the topics that hold her interest. he loves to read and travel and share her piece of knowledge with her experiences.