For most, the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated social distancing, event capacities and last-minute cancelations are but a distant memory. One thing COVID brought us that won’t be going away soon is the virtual event – though these days, many organizations are instead opting for virtual-live hybrid experiences.
“That COVID space is what forced that hybrid piece into the forefront of meetings, events – the corporate world we all know today,” says Chase Smith, a conference coordinator at the University of Arkansas’ Walton College of Business. “I think the hybrid space is unique because it allows offices, companies, workplaces to reach bigger audiences, to be able to sort of capture their team in a different aspect with people who are still fully remote having the ability to still feel connected.”
Integrating digital and social media into live events is becoming easier and more accessible.
“It gets easier and easier every time as technology advances,” Smith says. “It can be as easy as just having a high-quality video camera and computer all the way up to really advanced A/V.”
Madison Hurley, events manager at the Fayetteville Public Library, says the convenience of being able to attend a meeting or conference virtually has been a major driver of hybrid events.
“There’s definitely a tick upward in group gatherings, but I do think there’s a lot that have that virtual aspect to it, to make it more convenient for people, especially luncheons. Lunch and learns often have a virtual aspect, because it’s more convenient for people to sit at their desks and do it,” she says.
Mary Beth Bowman, director of construction and building services for the city of North Little Rock, says accommodating events with technological needs has been front of mind as the city develops its designs for its planned Conference Center, expected to open in early 2026.
“We’re still in the design process for the interior … but we have thought about the A/V in the sense that we want it to be high-tech and really accessible,” she says. “We know we want state-of-the-art technology.”
Bowman says the center will certainly include video, sound and projection equipment to ensure any event held in the ballroom can be broadcast throughout the space and recorded if necessary, as well as the tech to facilitate digital presentations and speakers.
The planned location for the facility is currently just outside of the area covered by AT&T Fiber Internet, but the service provider reportedly plans to continue growing the network, including in North Little Rock.
“One of the first things clients ask is ‘what is the tech that’s available?’” Bowman says. “We’re aware of that, and we want to address that.”
Once a venue has been selected, organizations must ask how they can put their best foot forward and ensure the digital elements of their event go off without a hitch.
The Red Wolf Convention Center at the Embassy Suites in Jonesboro can accommodate multiple Wi-Fi networks and hardwired connections, which many event organizers use to ensure seamless connectivity, says Kandi Baker, director of sales.
“Everyone knows tech is great until it doesn’t work right,” she says. “That’s why a lot of people, when they do live-streaming, they want to be hardwired in. That was really important when we built this property.”
Often, Baker says event coordinators will use one Wi-Fi network to support event staff and set up a separate network for attendees to prevent any lag in presentations.
While some venues provide in-house production assistance, many lean on the expertise of outside companies.
Bentonville Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Brandom Gengelbach says production companies bring a level of experience, sophistication and quality that generally isn’t an events manager’s primary focus.
“As a chamber president in other locations – most recently Fort Worth – we really worked with production companies. We wanted to have a very professional experience for our attendees, so we’d work with local studios and marketing firms who could ensure the filming and quality and participant experience was going to be top-notch,” he says.
The Red Wolf Convention Center opened in December 2019 and held its grand opening in March 2020, days before then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID pandemic and weeks before a major tornado hit Jonesboro. However, Baker says the venue didn’t need to make major pivots. From day one, it contracted with ITA Audio Visual Solutions, a production company that manages the tech side of all its events. Baker says that’s the best way for the facility to remain up-to-date.
“Technology is always changing, and we always want to be able to provide the best and newest possible,” she says.
The Bentonville chamber is planning to find ways to incorporate virtual attendance into more events in 2025 – for the convenience of its members and to drive revenue, Gengelbach says.
“We do think it could be a revenue stream, could help drive revenue and attendance. The challenge is how do we pay for this in a way that justifies the experience we want our members to have when they’re online experiencing one of our events,” he says.
Gengelbach says content and quality are key to hosting a hybrid event that makes an impact on attendees.
“It’s all about the content,” he says.
“When you deliver the content, there has to be a recognition of an online audience, as opposed to just knowing they’re there representing a box on a screen – but instead engaging them in the comments section, having specific individuals that can staff the curated experience online.”
Pro Tips for Hybrid Events
Chase Smith at the UA Walton College of Business says there are a few keys to hosting a successful hybrid or virtual event:
• A strong, secure Internet connection and professional-level sound.
“That is huge, because when you are hosting these hybrid spaces and you’ve got presenters who are presenting virtually, the last thing you want is your in-person audience to tune out because they can’t understand,” he says.
• Keep in-person and virtual audiences engaged simultaneously. Provide ways for both groups to participate in panel discussions.
“You can throw a QR code on your screen, everyone pulls up their phones and you can capture real, live in-person data,” he says. “It gives you a good, in-the-moment snapshot of what people are looking to gain from the presentation.”
What Leaders are Saying…
• Video conferencing and remote presentations
“There are so many different options out there when it comes to these planning pieces, and all of them look really great, but some of them are incredibly complex… One we’ve used is called Webex, which is a video conferencing software, but they’ve transitioned into a virtual event space… We’ve also reverted to the basics and used Zoom or (Microsoft) Teams for hybrid events because it’s so familiar.” —Chase Smith, Walton College of Business
“I see a lot of Zoom and the occasional Teams. I haven’t seen much outside of those two.” —Madison Hurley, Fayetteville Public Library
Or try Google Meet, another secure and user-friendly software available for free with a Google account and expanded capabilities for those utilizing Google Workspace.
• Real-time engagement
“These free services that are out there – Slido, Kahoot! – you can throw a QR code up there, and take a quick, three-question survey and results can be immediately returned on screen, so the audience and presenter has a really clear picture of what the audience looks like, and that can be expanded into a ton of other things.” —Smith
Social media hashtags on platforms like X and Instagram can allow event attendees to share photos and connect online.
• Video recaps
“The last few years, we’ve really been focused on being able to leverage video production to do a recap… but in a lot of ways, if it’s not something you can capture in real-time – there’s so much demand on people’s time, to go back and spend time watching something, there has to be a real carrot to draw you to do that. I’m proud we’re doing this, but I think it’s at the beginning stages; I don’t think we have a model in place where we’re going to have a large amount of traffic going to the site to access these videos. They need to be shortened as a recap, where you can find out in three minutes what the purpose of the meeting was, key quotes – which involves editing and a much more specialized approach to help that virtual participation.” —Brandom Gengelbach, Bentonville Chamber of Commerce
Live-streaming on sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitch could allow event organizers to reach broader audiences that might otherwise remain untapped.
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