Eight Key Considerations to Create Engaging Virtual and Hybrid Meetings and Events Experiences

There is no substitute for face-to-face interactions, but virtual and hybrid meetings and events are an effective way to reach a broad audience and maximize your investment. They provide a platform to engage, inform, and inspire attendees.

Whether this is with employees, customers or partners, it’s important to include virtual and hybrid meetings and events into your long-term strategy.

This isn’t a new concept, but companies are having to adapt to give audiences as great of an experience as a face-to-face meeting or event through live-streamed or on-demand content.

How can you move your physical meeting or event to a digital version?

American Express Meetings & Events has created a best practice guide with eight considerations for the end-to-end lifecycle of your meeting or event. This insight will help you create a highly interactive and engaging digital experience.

Virtual and Hybrid Meetings and Events Formats

When considering your virtual or hybrid meeting or event format, your goals, budget, and timeline will help determine what will work best.

Think about the type of meeting or event you are planning and if it is suitable to be delivered in a virtual or hybrid environment. Most can be designed or adapted, but some high-touch events are less suitable. Events like incentive travel or team retreats are best held face-to-face, for instance.

Virtual-only events require the least time and effort as there is less interaction. Hybrid meetings require more coordination and AV support, while hybrid multi-hub meetings require the most resources as there are more variables to consider.

Steps to Consider with the Virtual and Hybrid Meetings and Events Lifecycle

Just like planning a face-to-face meeting, virtual meetings and events design requires thoughtful consideration.

Although technology is an integral part, it’s certainly not the only consideration. It is important to approach any virtual/hybrid meeting or event the same way you would approach any live event. All the creativity that meeting planners bring to face-to-face meetings and events can be repackaged in a virtual environment.

1. Design, scope, and plan the right meeting experience in line with your goals, meetings policies, and compliance processes.
2. Conduct technology assessment and procurement to determine solutions needed to achieve your goals.
3. Create an event identity and design in line with your strategy, which can then be applied to all supporting content and communications.
4. Create attendee registration and invitations to monitor and maximize attendance.
5. Prepare content and speaker preparation for seamless execution and delivery.
6. Manage the attendee experience to make your virtual/hybrid event as convenient, engaging, and personalized as possible.
7. Arrange virtual technology production and support to prevent and manage audio visual challenges so you and your teams can stay focused on event objectives.
8. Maximize results by using data to communicate the value of virtual events to your internal stakeholders. Measure attendee feedback into your program for continuous improvement.

Download the full guide here to go through these eight key considerations in more detail.