OPTIMISING HYBRID
CN talks to Liam Quinn , SEO manager at Blue Array SEO , about creating a hybrid event for tech-savvy delegates
unning a delayed event and converting it to hybrid is no mean feat – just ask Blue Array SEO , the company running LondonSEO XL . The event , which brings together SEO experts to discuss market trends , was set to take place in 2020 , with the pandemic grinding it to a halt .
The organisers have , since then , taken the event hybrid and are set to welcome delegates to Shoreditch Town Hall on 4 May . With the business centred in the digital world , its delegates are
Liam Quinn perhaps a perfect litmus test for an impactful hybrid event .
Hybrid materials Being a post-pandemic event , LondonSEO XL has a hybrid element , with a variety of plans available for a catered digital experience of the physical event , focusing on the content side of things .
The conference itself will implement a post-event hybrid content plan , whereby delegates can watch back the content after the physical event . Foregoing the virtual networking and just sticking to content , Liam Quinn , SEO manager at Blue Array SEO , stated this plan was “ for people that might be at the event that don ’ t necessarily want to watch every talk – they can go back and catch the ones that they missed , too .
“ I ’ ve been there , when I ’ ve gone to a talk and thought it was really good , then two weeks later got back into business day-to-day and completely forgotten all the learnings . Having that option of watching a talk back and thinking about how it can help you is
useful for attendees ,” he continued .
Even with its tech-savvy audience , in-person interaction is still key for the conference , Quinn said : “ The reason why we do that in a staggered way , rather than having the live stream , is to try and encourage people to be there if they can . We ’ re trying to encourage in-person attendance and get people networking and back face to face where we can .”
Physical meetings are still being the key driver for an event in the tech space , reinforcing the industry belief that face-to-face connections are difficult to replace regardless of the digital nativity of an audience . CN www . conference-news . co . uk