What will be better: a hybrid event or a webinar?

Organizing webinars is one of the proven ways to generate leads. However, what will be better - a webinar organized completely online or a hybrid event that involves some form of an in-person meeting? The answer is... both formulas, because each has its own advantages and will allow you to more effectively achieve specific business goals.

When is a hybrid event a better choice?

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1. When you are organizing your first event and just want to establish a relationship with your audience

A face-to-face meeting offers you the opportunity to shake hands with each attendee and even have a brief conversation, so it gives you more control over the first impression you make.

2. When you care about maximizing the engagement of your audience

Attendees who have taken the time to show up for a stationary meeting will want to get as much out of it as possible, which will certainly translate into their attention and engagement with the content you provide. However, it's worth remembering that more and more event platforms are offering functionalities to increase attendee engagement and to monitor and learn from them.

3. When you want to record your speech and you care about its high quality

In this case, of course, you will not do without professional equipment and the involvement of an implementation team. However, it is worth the cost if you care about sharing and monetizing access to the recordings.

4. When you care about networking and direct contact with your audience

This is especially important for organizers who don't yet have much experience in networking and relationship building. Of course, this doesn't mean that online networking is impossible, as event platforms offer a multitude of features that allow attendees to quickly and efficiently gain new contacts.

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When would an online webinar be a better choice?

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1. When your goal is to share knowledge

An in-person event will be better if you want to make a certain impression on your audience, but if you want to effectively transfer knowledge and know-how, online webinars are completely sufficient.

2. When you hold your meetings periodically

It's always a good idea to do the first meeting face-to-face, but each subsequent meeting can be moved online because your audience already knows you. For recurring meetings, it's also easier to develop a certain online event template that you can copy for each meeting.

3. When you have an engaged audience that wants to watch you

Then you don't have to worry about engaging the webinar attendees, because you know they came here for your expertise.

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Let's sum up!

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A hybrid event will work better when....

→ this is our first meeting with the audience

→ we want to engage the audience

→ we want to share and recycle recordings in maximum quality

→ we care about networking and establishing meaningful relationships

An online meeting will work better when...

→ we care about sharing knowledge

→ we are conducting a webinar or a training course