Once you have a clear purpose and vision and have a proper understanding of your attendees and participants, along with their mental models, it’s time to determine which type of event will best serve your initiative. This is a major part of the event planning process.
The three options include the following:
- In-person: This type of event is attended in-person and that takes place in a physical A pure in-person event offers zero digital resources, content, or experiences. For this type of event, a person must be physically present in order to partake and/or participate.
- Virtual: Per HootSuite, “A virtual event is any organized meet-up that takes place online rather than in a physical location.” This option, whose growth was spurred by needs during the pandemic, is said to be here to stay — to the extent that participation and adoption is expected to increase 10-fold by 2030 (Source: PRNewswire).
- Hybrid: According to com, hybrid events “combine both in- person and virtual experiences.” In other words, a hybrid event includes sessions people will attend physically, while having the option to partake of virtual events and content as they choose. For some, the ability to pick and choose from a plethora of content and experiences is the best of both worlds.
The following factors can help you decide which type of event to hold:
- Physical locations of attendees/participants
- Need for and ability to provide remote access
- Attendance constraints
- Presenting live recorded/on-demand vs. both types of content
Please note that in-person events require securing a venue to hold or conduct said event, while shifting to a virtual or hybrid format will require having access to and securing one or more platforms via which to house the event.
