The shift to Hybrid Events is as exciting for your attendees as it is for you. But whenever you step into new territory, you’re bound to feel some uncertainty as well.
We’ve heard some concerns about the number of in-person attendees dwindling due to the permanent virtual component. Is this notion realistic or even relevant? That’s a topic for another day. For now, we’d like to assuage these concerns by sharing a few tips for incentivizing in-person attendance at Hybrid Events.
Location
This is a big one. Content is still king at Hybrid Events, but a desirable location can go a long way toward getting people to show up face-to-face.
Your members probably won’t be too thrilled about going to Buffalo in January. But a trip to Florida will get winter-weary northerners booking flights in no time.
Of course, climate isn’t everything. Florida might not be a convenient location, no matter how enticing the weather. Keep in mind the geographical location of your member base. Consider sending out a survey of potential locations to see if some pique more interest than others.
Safety
These days, it’s easy to feel as though COVID-19 is over. We hope it will be soon. But for the time being, safety will remain a concern for some of your attendees at Hybrid Events.
Most individuals with especially strong concerns about the safety of in-person attendance will opt to attend virtually. This flexibility is one of the great perks of the hybrid format.
But if you show that you’re working hard to ensure a safe in-person experience, you just might convince some hesitant individuals to show up face-to-face.
Need some pointers on safely conducting the in-person component of your Hybrid Event? Check out our guide.
Gift Bags
People will travel from near and far to make it to your event. Why not give them something tangible for their time?
Gift bags are a mainstay at place-based events. Although some organizations have seen success shipping them out to virtual audience members, they’re a whole lot easier to distribute in-person. And they can even help to draw in crowds.
Come up with gifts that people actually want:
Tastefully branded clothing
Headphones
Reusable water bottles
Gift cards
Branded face masks and hand sanitizer
Okay, gift bags probably won’t be the thing that gets people off the fence and attending your Hybrid Event in person. But some enticing goodies can help to seal the deal.
Food and Drink
Why do people attend in-person events? Beyond the educational opportunities and chance to hear some inspiring speakers, conference-goers want to meet people.
Plenty of person-to-person interaction takes place in event halls and during break-out sessions. But don’t discount the communication that tends to occur over food and drink. Not to mention that many people travel with their tastebuds as their guides.
Hot food and cold drinks don’t travel well. Emphasizing the gustatory delights in-person attendees can experience could draw them out in greater numbers.
Entertainment
The tastes of travel are just as important as the sights and sounds. Entertainment is one of the strongest tools you have to incentivize in-person attendance at your Hybrid Events.
The primary goals of your Hybrid Events should always be business and education. But it doesn’t always have to be so serious. People need entertaining, and the evenings provide the perfect opportunity to fit in some fun.
Here are some entertainment ideas that could boost the numbers of in-person attendees:
Sporting events
Comedians
Magic shows
Escape rooms
Live bands
No one knows your audience better than you do. Try to think up some entertainment ideas they won’t want to miss.
Exclusive Content
On the surface, offering sessions exclusively to in-person attendees seems like the perfect way to get them to show up in greater numbers. But it can be a slippery slope.
One of the most common concerns we hear about Hybrid Events is not dwindling in-person attendance, but FOMO among virtual attendees. Our hybrid technology and management strategies make the virtual experience feel just as special as the face-to-face one.
Offering educational content exclusively to in-person attendees could make your virtual audience feel left out.
What’s more important to you: in-person attendance or virtual audience engagement? Let your answer to this question guide you as you plan your Hybrid Event.
Grow Hybrid Event Attendance with CommPartners
Hybrid Events are nothing new to CommPartners. We’ve merged in-person and virtual event experiences for 13 years. When you’re ready to maximize the reach and revenue of your events with a hybrid approach, our Event Producers are ready to help.
We take events and online education seriously. Consider running your Hybrid Event out of our award-winning Elevate LMS for greater engagement and a longer lifecycle.
A growing consensus suggests that microlearning will be the future of L&D. Tailor-made for millennials and Generation Z, this new philosophy of education seems set to dominate the world of online learning.
We have easier access to information than ever before. 2021 seems like a learner’s paradise. But there’s a dark side to all of this: your e-learning content faces stiff competition.
The lure of your LMS needs to be more enticing than Netflix, social media, and mobile games. Microlearning can be part of the solution.
You can probably guess what microlearning is from the name: learning delivered in bite-sized bits. But size is subjective. So how long should microlearning be?
Microlearning Gets Macro Results
But first, we’ll give you a micro crash course on microlearning.
Microlearning is more of a philosophy than something you can point to. The foundation of this philosophy is that, rather than emphasizing long-form learning content, you should use plenty of short materials, too.
Microlearning can take nearly any form. It could be a podcast, and infographic, a quiz, or a video. Just keep it short.
Keep in mind that macrolearning still matters. Short learning materials don’t count as microlearning if they exist in a vacuum. Longer learning opportunities need to exist, too. But microlearning can work toward those macro goals.
Here are some microlearning examples to get your gears turning:
Brief, informational writing (think blog posts and handouts)
Short videos
For the purposes of this blog, we’ll refer primarily to the runtime of audio and video, which is far-and-away the favorite microlearning format. But the philosophy we’ll share today can apply to any learning material.
The Ideal Microlearning Length
Now, onto the question at hand: how long should microlearning be?
No matter how interesting the content, attention ebbs and flows. It’s only human.
Historically, education has been dominated by roughly hour-long sessions. These alone won’t cut it in the digital age.
Think back to the last event you attended. Were you able to give speakers your full, undivided attention for the duration of their talks?
No matter how interesting the content, attention ebbs and flows. It’s only human. We’ve become accustomed to a fast paced, constant flow of information. We should deliver learning in brief bursts, too, if it should have any chance at keeping up.
So what’s the ideal microlearning length? Here’s our rule of thumb: 10 minutes or less.
Every rule of thumb has its limits, and this one does too. There can definitely be exceptions (more on that later).
Our Rationale Behind the Ideal Microlearning Length
A search on the web for the average human attention span will yield shockingly disparate results.
There is a persistent myth that the millennial attention span is no longer than that of a goldfish, or around 8 seconds. Writers all over the internet have parroted this claim.
Don’t believe it. This idea does a disservice to your learners (and probably goldfish, too). Experts have debunked this claim over and over again.
Others have suggested that somewhere closer to 15 minutes is more accurate. Yet this compelling article from the American Physiological Society shows that even these more generous claims were dredged up from murky data.
Ultimately, attention span is hard to measure. It exists on a spectrum, so often there is no black and white distinction between “paying attention” and “not paying attention.” You can never pinpoint the precise moment when attention declines.
TikTok is for entertainment, not education. But its wild popularity has big implications for e-learning.
Still, there is overwhelming evidence that consumers have come to prefer shorter content. You might think that the most downloaded app of 2020 was Zoom. In fact, it was TikTok.
Millions of people across the world sunk countless hours into an app that specialized in videos under 60 seconds in length (they’ve since boosted the cap to 3 minutes).
TikTok is for entertainment, not education. But its wild popularity has big implications for e-learning.
When determining how long microlearning should be, we settled on 10 minutes as a good goal to shoot for. This gives you enough time to get a whole lot of information across,
Not only does this break your learning materials into more convenient and digestible chunks for your learners, but it forces educators to think differently, too. Learning how to cut out the fluff and compress your message into a smaller timeframe is a useful exercise for all.
How Micro Is Too Micro?
Then there’s the follow-up question: how short is too short for microlearning?
Again, there are no hard and fast rules about what qualifies as microlearning and what doesn’t. But if we had to answer, we’d say that anything under 1 minute is unlikely to have substantial educational value for your learners.
That’s right—we’ve seen plenty of success with videos around 2 minutes in length. We use them ourselves. 120 seconds is probably longer than you give it credit for, and you can squeeze plenty of information in that timeframe.
A Better Rule of Thumb?
But there might be a better answer to this question: your microlearning content can be as short as you want it to be.
Like we mentioned earlier, microlearning is more of a mindset than anything else. The point is not to inflate your learning content when you’ve said what you want to say. You should always stop recording when you’ve made your point.
Remember that microlearning is more of a mindset than anything else. As you put together your learning portfolio, ask yourself:
Can I get this message across in a more succinct way?
Are there ample microlearning opportunities in my portfolio?
Learners crave diversity. Sprinkling elements of microlearning throughout your LMS will keep them learning their best.
Implement Microlearning with Elevate LMS
Our award-winning learning management system, Elevate, has all the tools you need to unleash the potential of microlearning. Mix and match the modules you need to create a diverse and engaging learning portfolio.
Let’s start a conversation. If you want to learn more about Elevate LMS or our managed Hybrid Event services, contact Meghan Gowen at Meghan.Gowen@gocadmium.com. Keep up with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Your learners will get out of your Learning Management System (LMS) what they put into it. To make the most of any online learning platform, you need to engage learners virtually. LMS engagement initiatives will make the difference between an all-star elearning strategy and a middling one.
We want you to make the most of your learning management system. These proven learner engagement strategies will help you do exactly that.
Site News
We live in a world where most of us pay for our fair share of subscriptions. But we don’t always utilize the services we pay for as often as we should. Sometimes, you might even forget about them. Still, a simple email can call you right back.
You can use the site news tool in Elevate LMS to the same effect. Use it to remind learners of newly added content, upcoming events, as well as older content they might have missed. A well-written email will get your learners to engage with your LMS in no time.
Diversity
As the old saying goes, variety is the spice of life. This applies as well to e-learning as it does to anything else.
Formal, curriculum-based learning has its place. But a complete education consists of more than just textbook and tests.
Diversify your learning portfolio as much as you can for better LMS engagement. Keep the learning experience from becoming mundane with the following educational tools:
Podcasts and other informal learning opportunities
When you incorporate this kind of variety into your LMS, you’ll realize it can even be just as easy engaging your learners online as in person.
Convenience
If your learners can only access your LMS when they sit down in front of a computer, then learner engagement will suffer. But if they can access it from their cell phone? That’s a whole different story.
Ease of access will make a world of difference for your LMS engagement levels. We’ve made Elevate LMS mobile functional, so learners can squeeze in quick microlearning sessions on the go.
Speaking of convenience, you know what’s really inconvenient? Juggling countless different passwords. If simply signing into an LMS is an obstacle, engagement will decline.
We streamline this process by incorporating SSO, or single sign-on. This plays a small but significant role in our quest to engage learners virtually.
Community
We believe that online learning experiences can be every bit as impactful as in-person ones. But we also recognize that a social component is essential for creating a more meaningful educational experience.
The more you look into how to engage learners virtually, the more you will realize that learning can’t exist without community.
Here’s the good news: online learning and community aren’t mutually exclusive. A good LMS will enable social, peer-to-peer learning.
Take the example of Elevate. Our learning management system offers forums and has an extensive integration with Higher Logic, an online community engagement platform. Let these social learning tools live at the center of your learner engagement strategy.
Engage Learners Virtually with Elevate LMS
Your organization’s education goals are bold. Elevate LMS can help you meet them. It contains all the tools you need to engage learners virtually and create a culture of learning.
Our award-winning online learning platform has helped hundreds of associations and nonprofits make their L&D aspirations a reality. Will yours be next?
When you’re ready to take your education strategy to new heights, get in touch with us. Reach out to Meghan Gowen at meghan.gowen@gocadmium.com. For more content like this, keep up with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
The events industry is at a crossroads. We can see the end of COVID-19, but we can still feel its sting. A return to in-person events has begun. Still, we have to remember: the pandemic isn’t over yet.
A growing body of evidence indicates that SARS-CoV-2 will become endemic. In less scientific terms, this means that the virus could persist in some form for years to come.
We can’t know what the future holds. But we do know that safety will remain a concern at in-person events for the foreseeable future. For organizations looking to expand their reach and revenue with Hybrid Events, this means you’ll have to give careful thought to the safety of in-person sessions.
The risk of COVID-19 fluctuates with each passing day. Let us show you how to host a Hybrid Event safely for your in-person attendees.
Above All: Follow Federal, State, and Local Guidelines
The majority of federal, state, and municipal regulations for COVID-19 have been lifted at this time. Still, some might remain in your municipality. We’d tell you what they are, but they change by the day and by location. Your considerations for Hybrid Event safety should begin there.
Even if there are no longer official regulations, there are still recommendations. Here are the CDC’s suggestions for hosting large, in-person events. You don’t have to follow them word-for-word, but we recommend at least taking them into account!
Pick a Safe Venue
Give careful thought to the rules and regulations at the venue of your choice. Most will have these published clearly on their website. If you don’t see them there, give them a call and find out what their guidelines might be. You’ll want to understand this early so you can pick safe venue that meets your needs.
Here are a few safety considerations to take into account when selecting a safe venue to host your Hybrid Event:
Capacity limitations
Space for social distancing
Outdoor space (weather permitting)
Sanitation stations
Ceiling height
Fans and windows for air circulation
Air purification
Hybrid Event safety starts with the venue. The more of these venue safety features you see, the safer the in-person component of your event will be.
Organizational Pointers
Once you’ve settled on a safe venue, give some thought to the organization of the event itself.
Some of our biggest organizational concerns center around check-in and registration. You don’t want crowds forming at the doors. So what’s the solution?
Staggering arrival times is always an option. But allowing attendees to check-in and register in advance could be more elegant. Anything you do to streamline this process will cut down on congestion and promote a safer Hybrid Event.
Don’t let your event be haphazard. Proper organization will ensure a safer experience for all.
PPE and Sanitation
Personal protective equipment and disinfectants are no longer the rarity that they were in the early days of the pandemic. Store shelves overflow with hand sanitizer. Reusable masks are ubiquitous, sometimes even fashionable.
Face masks and hand sanitizer might not be as important moving forward as during the height of the pandemic. But they won’t disappear. Many have suggested that masks will continue to be worn by the sick, as has been customary in much of East Asia for decades. And who wouldn’t be glad to have a bottle of hand sanitizer in their car or their purse?
Most importantly, PPE and sanitation enable safer face-to-face interactions. The in-person attendees at your Hybrid Event will want to see them. You have a duty to keep attendees safe, and these items can play a role in that.
Here’s a secondary benefit: they present a great custom branding opportunity for you and your sponsors.
Communicate Your Safety Protocol
When it comes to COVID protocols, different groups choose to handle things in different ways. California took a distinct approach from Florida. And at some point during the pandemic, you probably found yourself wondering whether you were among Californians or Floridians.
Everyone should be on the same page. Clearly communicate the safety protocol and expectations at your Hybrid Event from the start. Will you require vaccinations? How about temperature checks?
Get the message out well in advance through promotional emails, registration confirmations, and the event microsite. This will help interested individuals determine if they’d prefer to attend in-person or virtually.
Additionally, post your policies prominently at the venue, and take a moment to review them on the first day.
Conduct Safe Hybrid Events with CommPartners
CommPartners knows how to host a Hybrid Event safely. We have 13 years of experience merging in-person and virtual event experiences. Let our expert Event Producers make sure yours goes off without a hitch. Integrating your next Hybrid Event into our award-winning Elevate LMS raises the bar for exposure, longevity, and ROI.
Let’s start a conversation. If you want to learn more about Elevate LMS or our managed hybrid event services, contact Meghan Gowen at Meghan.Gowen@gocadmium.com. Keep up with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
The events industry is changing. With the first rumblings of effective vaccines and the end of COVID-19, the world began to look forward to a new era of events. Now, with vaccines proving to be effective and widespread, the future is now.
You may have noticed that the industry is abuzz with anticipation for a “new” type of event—an event equally accessible to both in-person and virtual audiences.
Numerous terms have emerged to describe what is essentially the same thing: a face-to-face event with virtual components. Today, we’ll sort through some of the most common hybrid event synonyms and what they mean for you.
Hybrid Events
This one is far and away the most popular term for the concept, and what we prefer to use.
Right now, there is a TON of buzz around the word ‘hybrid,’ and not just in the events space. The term has picked up steam among the workforce as a whole. In particular, some have begun to use it to refer to a combination of in-office and remote work. Recently, it has even been applied to new forms of diplomacy.
For all the buzz around Hybrid Events, remember that they are nothing new. We’ve provided Hybrid Events in some form for over 13 years—continually evolving with the technology. We still use the term to refer to an in-person event with any virtual component.
Livestreamed Events
Livestreaming has taken off in popularity in the past decade. As soon as the technology required to record and simultaneously broadcast live events became intuitive and affordable, livestreamed local events became a mainstay.
And why wouldn’t they? The simple act of livestreaming an event provides a simple way for organizations to boost reach and revenue—often exponentially.
But we need a better term to refer to a modern approach to events. With remote, purely virtual events having become the norm during COVID-19, the meaning of a ‘livestreamed event’ has become less clear.
Why? Because when you use the word ‘livestream,’ it’s no longer obvious whether the broadcast emanates from an in-person event hall, or just someone’s home office. There is no distinction for attendees that the event is both in-person and virtual.
We have used this term extensively in the past, but once we realized the potential for confusion, we decided to make the switch in reference to the”new” event format. Still, we can accommodate your livestreaming needs, whether in-person or virtual.
Blended Events
We don’t see this one too often, but it does pop up from time to time. We think it’s a perfectly fine term. But is it better than ‘Hybrid’?
Ultimately, we think it’s a matter of preference. What we like about ‘blended’ is how intuitive, descriptive, and harmonious it sounds. But we aren’t a winery, and ‘Hybrid’ resonates more with people in this new, post-pandemic world.
Tribrid Events
The term ‘blended events’ emphasizes the harmony between virtual and in-person experiences. ‘Tribrid’ does the opposite.
Proponents of this term emphasize that we can break the experience of a Hybrid Event down into three distinct experiences:
We think there’s something to be said for visualizing a ‘tribrid’ experience. It helps to conceptualize the diversity of experiences afforded by a Hybrid Event model.
But we prefer to focus on the unity of these experiences, as attendees now expect toparticipate fully from their home or office.
Don’t Get Bogged Down by the Hybrid Event Synonyms
Whatever you choose to call it is up to you. But know that combining face-to-face and virtual experiences is no fad, and it isn’t even new! CommPartners has more than a decade of Hybrid Event experience under our belts. We’ve seen first-hand just how successful they can be.
Hybrids. Tribrids. Blended events. They all are the same, logical next-step in the world of events, and one that will maximize reach, revenue, and retention for nonprofits, associations, and beyond.
Don’t get bogged down in all the hype around this exciting event format. Instead, start looking forward to the wonderful possibilities presented by Hybrid.
Count on CommPartners for Hybrid Events
Hybrid Events may be new to you, but they aren’t to us. In our 13 years of helping nonprofits and associations reach broader audiences with a hybrid approach, we’ve learned what it takes for them to succeed.
When integrated with our award-winning Elevate LMS, our Hybrid Event services raise the bar for engagement and retention.
When you’re ready to extend your reach, get in touch with CommPartners. Email Meghan Gowen at Meghan.Gowen@GoCadmium.com and ask about our managed services. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn!
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