In the business world, most working professionals have at least attended one or two business events in their careers and there is no doubt the best way for companies to promote their branding, improving internal or external working relationships, network, and promoting their products or services to potential clients.
Although planning an event is tedious and time-consuming, the benefits are worthwhile as it is still the best method to connect people regardless of private or business purpose.
However, due to the recent outbreak of coronavirus in late 2019. Many governments around the world have restricted companies and people to host physical events as part of their effort to control and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus to the community.
Fortunately, there are alternative methods to replace live events for companies and people who are virtual events and hybrid events that can be host in live streaming mode and broadcast to the target audience based in real-time.
To explain further, I will list down the benefits of both virtual events and hybrid events not only to make a comparison but also why some live streaming events are more suitable for virtual events while others for hybrid events.
Virtual live streaming events are getting more popular in demand as it is easy to attend the virtual events using your smartphone, tablets, or laptop at the comfort of your home without the need to travel and attend the event physically. Virtual events also help companies to save cost and time since the live streaming events can be produced in an indoor studio set and has useful features to allow engagement and interaction between the host speaker and their audience during the presentation. Especially during this COVID-19 situation where international travel and live event hosting are prohibited in most countries. Also compared to Live events, virtual events can accommodate to higher capacity of attendees online than a physical venue as there are limitations in space to cater to the limited number of attendees for the event.
A hybrid event is a mixture of both virtual and live events and has the characteristics of both. While a hybrid event can cater to a percentage of attendees to attend the event physically, most will require to attend the event online using the virtual platform designated for the event to view and participate in it. A hybrid event is very useful for big events that require a large venue and usually involves a certain number of actors, performers, or Event hosts in the hybrid event. Large events like Townhall meetings, AGM (Annual General Meeting), variety shows, and music concerts are common examples of hybrid events for your information.
Although hybrid events are more demanding and time-consuming as compared to virtual event production. Hybrid events are more popular in terms of video content and better quality in production values. On the other hand, virtual events are useful for smaller or private events like live webinars or webcast events for business meetings, online lessons for academic reasons, or product promotion host by business owners on social media platforms which is cheaper as compared to hybrid events but still getting the desired results from using the virtual live streaming events.
In summary, there are both benefits to hosting a virtual or hybrid event. It all depends on your event’s agenda, requirements, and how much time and money you are willing to invest in the live streaming event.