Hybrid event management platforms: The New Normal?
How EventTitans are making a name for themselves
The worst casualty of the pandemic wasn’t the fact that offices across the world became ghost towns. Almost all in-person events like town-hall meetings, trade fairs, conferences and expositions, seminars and workshops were cancelled with the onset of Covid-19 in early 2020.
But the trend of virtual and hybrid events are here to stay, as a study published by WebEx explained that 81% of the people surveyed preferred virtual to in-person events. The same study elaborated that 87% believe that events should be 50% virtual even after restrictions are fully lifted.
Virtual events, in essence, should be just as appealing and popular as events hosted in the physical world. The only issue with the amalgamation of the two worlds of virtual and physical events is that the event managers have to juggle the pre-pandemic task of physical conferences and webinars which can tend to disorient and in turn extricate attendees from them.
The top three challenges event managers face to transition to hybrid events are:
1. Cost: The increased risk and complexity associated with integrating the hybrid platforms with various tools and technologies pose a major challenge especially for small and burgeoning start-ups in the event management space.
2. Experience: Creating experiences for in-person attendees which are equally memorable and rewarding for virtual ones pose the second-biggest challenge for the managers. Return attendees are characterized by a smooth and streamlined event from start to finish but the back-end process underlying the main event has to be flawless. Not having a strong support team and proper CRM can prove to be a shot in the foot for any organization wanting to make it big in the event management platform.
3. Bespoke services: Giving all attendees, virtual and in-person, custom-tailored experiences which cater to their specific networking needs and interests is vital for them to keep coming back to the platform. After-event service is also extremely important to keep them engaged long after the event is over.
Most of the event management platforms out there today are now restricted to basic event registration reports and agendas. But if one is looking to streamline the complete event from sponsor onboarding to event feedback and showcase the rewards and ratings to secure sales for their upcoming events, EventTitans (ET) is the go-to platform for these kinds of services. Founded on Jan 1, 2019 by Siva Vangala in the city of Cumming, Georgia, the company has a compact set of workers but a robust platform for hybrid events. What makes ET stand out is the minimal time spent on the engagement process which is achieved by providing holistic support to distinguish each event from the next, and prioritising attendees and their networks. ET has more than 10 applications combined as a turnkey package, so attendees and event managers are apprised of the information flow. They also have their distinct API's, if one needs more custom integrations, whilst also working with thousands of apps on Zapier (a tool which helps automate thousands of tasks between several apps). EventTitans help their event managers to choose the speakers based on ratings from previous events with a seamless design, and create an event to agenda exhibitors and sponsor level with unlimited ticket types. Event organizers can create attendee campaigns to promote their events by sharing and liking their experiences on social media. Attendees can also sell tickets on both a dedicated page and also on ET’s event ticketing website by capturing all the registrations in one location. They can then print custom design badges way ahead of the event or on the spot after self-check-in, or guest check-in process. Some other features of ET’s endless customization features include but are not limited to:
Giving sponsors and attendees the complete digital experience of collecting the business cards directly into their CRM and selecting a random winner every hour or daily;
Managing their volunteer or event staff tasks place and receiving vendor bids;
Managing percentage commission's share on sales and many more.
We are not only a tool, but a humble extension of your team”, as told by the founder of ET, Siva Vangala.
Virtual events for one, are here to stay. It does not matter how and when the world emerges from the pandemic; organizations should plan way ahead for a growing number of hybrid events that have the best of both worlds. Ultimately, a single streamlined and efficient hybrid platform with minimal or no glitches can make a brand shine.
