How to host a hybrid event: a step-by-step guide

To host a hybrid event, plan two experiences that share one programme: one for the people in the room and one for the people online. Set a clear goal, design how both audiences will take part, choose a platform and production setup that make the stream worth watching, promote it to the right people and use the recordings afterwards.

A hybrid event is a conference, trade show, seminar, workshop or similar meeting that combines in-person attendance with an online component. It lets people join who can't travel or are in another time zone, and it produces content you can reuse long after the day. Read why hybrid events are crucial for your business for the wider case.

Step 1: Define your goal and audience

Start with why you are running the event and who it is for. Answer these questions in writing:

• Who is the event for, and why would they attend?
• What should attendees learn, decide or do afterwards?
• What does success look like? For example, a number of qualified leads, pipeline created, customer renewals or sign-ups.
• Which part of the audience will attend in person, and which online?
• When and where will it take place, and which time zones must the online part suit?

Then decide how the two audiences will connect. Can online attendees ask the speakers questions? Can they vote in polls that are shown in the room? Will they get their own sessions? A hybrid event that treats online viewers as an afterthought is just a live stream.

Step 2: Create your plan

Turn the goal into a plan that covers:

• budget, including venue, production, platform, catering, travel and promotion
• timeline, working back from the event date
• programme: speakers, sessions and running order
• venue and its technical capacity
• the online experience and the platform it runs on
• promotion
• sponsorship, if you need it

Keep the plan, tasks and contacts in one shared place, such as a project management tool, so the whole team works from the same version.

Choose how to run the online part

The simplest option is to stream to YouTube, LinkedIn or another social platform and read the comments. It is cheap and easy, but interaction is limited and you collect little attendee data.

A dedicated event or webinar platform gives you registration, Q&A, polls, chat, breakout rooms, networking and attendance reports, and connects to your CRM. Compare options in our list of the top hybrid event hosting platforms.

Find sponsors

Sponsors can cover part of your costs and add credibility. A simple process:

1. List companies that want to reach your audience and fit your event's goals.
2. Send them a short sponsorship deck: the audience, the programme, the packages and what sponsors get, both in the room and online.
3. Follow up after they have had time to review it.

Online visibility, such as a sponsored session, a virtual booth or a branded poll, can make packages more valuable than in-person signage alone.

Step 3: Build your event team

You can't run a hybrid event alone. Start with clear roles and adjust them to your budget and scale:

• Event manager: owns the plan, budget and decisions
• Content or programme lead: speakers, sessions and running order
• Marketing manager: promotion and registrations
• Production lead: cameras, sound, stream and recording
• Online host or moderator: welcomes the online audience, runs chat and Q&A and passes questions to the stage
• Sponsorship manager: sponsor sales and delivery
• Volunteer or on-site coordinator: registration desk, signage and attendee help

Delegate early and agree who decides what on the day.

Step 4: Promote your event

Promotion works when it reaches the right audience in the channels they use. Before choosing channels, answer:

• Who is the target audience?
• Which channels do they use?
• What content do they engage with?
• When are they most likely to register?
• What is the call to action?

Common channels for B2B events:

• a landing page with a clear agenda, speakers and separate in-person and online registration
• email to customers, prospects and past attendees
• posts from your company, speakers and sponsors on LinkedIn and other social networks
• targeted ads
• partner and sponsor newsletters
• a press release; see how to write a press release for an event
• relevant communities and forums

For more ideas, read how event marketing can grow your audience and our guide to virtual event marketing.

Step 5: Set up the venue and production

The venue is where the event happens, but for the online audience the camera and microphone are the event. If they can't see or hear clearly, they will leave.

• Sound first. Use proper microphones for every speaker and for audience questions in the room.
• Cameras. Plan at least one wide shot and one close shot of the speaker, and show slides directly in the stream rather than filming the screen.
• Connection. Use a wired internet connection for the stream, with a backup.
• Captions. Captions help people who are deaf or hard of hearing and anyone watching without sound. The W3C's accessibility guidelines require captions for live audio at Level AA. The W3C also warns that automatic captions usually need editing to be accurate, so use a professional captioner for important sessions or correct the recordings afterwards.
• Rehearse. Run a full technical rehearsal with speakers before the day, including switching between remote and on-stage speakers.

Step 6: Focus on content and engagement

Engagement matters, but value matters more. Attendees come for useful content: keynotes, interviews, panel discussions, workshops and breakout sessions. Choose speakers and formats that teach or show something your audience can use.

Design for both audiences:

• keep sessions short, with breaks that suit both the room and the screen
• give the online host airtime, for example to bring online questions to the stage
• run polls that both audiences answer, and show the results
• plan networking for online attendees too, such as small-group video rooms
• make slides readable on a phone

Step 7: Run the day

Things will go wrong, so plan for it:

• hold a short briefing with the whole team before doors open
• keep a run sheet with timings, cues and contacts
• prepare backup plans for a failed stream, a missing speaker or a dropped connection
• watch the stream and the chat throughout, not only the room

If you record and stream attendees, tell them in advance and at the venue, and explain what the recordings will be used for. Under the GDPR, you must define a specific purpose and tell people what it is.

Step 8: Follow up and measure

The event isn't over when the stream ends.

• Send recordings and slides to all registrants, including no-shows.
• Pass leads to sales quickly, with notes on which sessions each person attended and what they asked.
• Turn sessions into blog posts, short videos and social clips.
• Survey attendees from both audiences.
• Measure results against your goal: registrations, attendance rates for each audience, engagement, leads, pipeline and cost per attendee.

Use what you learn to plan the next one. For where hybrid formats are heading, read why hybrid events are the future.