71.1% of event organizers say their biggest challenge is connecting the in-person and virtual part of their audience.

What do we learn from this? People are struggling to make their hybrid event a success. Why? One of the many reasons is that they aren’t using the right platform for the job. 

• Platforms are the vehicle that drives your event and brings your audience together. 
• They can either be the reason your event shines and makes a lasting impression or falls flat and is quickly forgotten. 
• A strong platform is the foundation of any hybrid event, meeting, or conference. 

In this post we’ll break down what 10 of our favorite platforms have to offer and give you the most straightforward answer to the question: “Which platform is best for my hybrid event?”

First, we need to establish what this article is not about. This is NOT an article on why you need a high-quality platform. You’re not interested in low-quality platforms and neither are we. 

You’re here because you want to know which high-quality platform is best for your virtual or hybrid event.

Why can’t you just choose any high-quality platform for your virtual or hybrid event? Because even if it’s  high-quality, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good match for you.

To illustrate: A Michelin-star restaurant chef is obsessed with producing only high-quality dishes. But he wouldn’t create every dish exactly the same. Why not? Because every guest will have different preferences and different dietary needs. 

Just because every ingredient on the menu is high-quality doesn’t mean it’s always a good fit. Serving spaghetti bolognese to a gluten-free vegan won’t cut it. 

The same is true with hybrid and virtual event platforms. The list or “menu” of hybrid and virtual event platforms you are considering is varied and of the highest quality. But each feature or “ingredient” that makes up these platforms won’t fit everyone’s preferences or needs.

How can you know what you will want or need out of a virtual event platform? Consider: 

• What are my specific goals?
• What is the purpose of my event, meeting, or conference?
• What features are most important to me?

Not sure where to start? Our team offers free consultation to help you answer these questions.

Listed in no particular order, here are 10 great platform options for virtual and hybrid events.

Why choose Adobe Connect?

Adobe Connect reigns as king when it comes to customization. Adobe Connect’s Custom Experiences give you total control of every aspect of your event. 

Virtual Velocity’s Adobe Connect production support team can create customizable, reusable, and secure virtual experiences that are as engaging as real-life interactions.

Custom Pods

• • Extends your Adobe Connect room’s capability
  • Create functional, resizable windows
  • Choose pods from either a set pack or build a custom one

Interactive Storyboards with Custom Layouts

• • Design custom content and layouts according to your style

Shared Room Templates

• • Create a more consistent and efficient experience by creating room templates
  • Create, share, save, and reuse custom pods, layouts, and content

Virtual Backstage

• • Enjoy a virtual backstage where hosts and presenters can work together without disturbing the virtual meeting in progress
  • Prepare and share content, layouts, and notes before and during events

Why choose Bizzabo?

Bizzabo is the go-to software for those wanting a hassle-free experience. Use Bizzabo to enjoy a completely immersive event without the pain of dealing with several platforms that do not speak to each other.

Manage like a Pro

• • Bizzabo’s suite of capabilities gives you total control over your event
  • Use marketing tools to expand your audience
  • Easily connect your sponsors, partners, and attendees

Keep Your Audience Engaged

• • Turn passive attendance into active participation with Bizzabo’s event engagement solutions
  • Build personalized experiences tailored to your audience
  • Encourage networking

Analyze the Results

• • Understand what’s driving your event’s success using data from Bizzabo Event Experience OS 
  • See session attendance and various adoption insights 
  • See engagement level data and user feedback
  • Discover what will impact each attendee the most using Bizzabo’s AI engine

Why choose Cvent?

Cvent’s event platform simplifies even the largest or most complex events allowing event planners of all types to easily manage every aspect of their event. Use Cvent’s tools to automate tasks and simplify your planning process.

Plan & Promote

• • Automate personalized marketing, build awareness, and promote your brand 
  • Manage content, requests, and centralize exhibitor tasks
  • Promote and market your event
  • Utilize event data

Engage Your Audience

• • Peer into attendees’ activities and interests 
  • Capture, store, and follow up with leads
  • Score insights such as session attendance and appointments made

Turn Measurements into Action 

• • Understand insights based on your attendees’ engagement and activity 
  • Create a more efficient follow-up process by combining your engagement scores with your MarTech systems

Why choose Google Meet?

Google Meet uses the same light and intuitive interface as other Google products, such as Gmail and Google Drive. Create a clean, modern experience that integrates beautifully with Google Workspace.

Ease of Use

• • Join a meeting with just a few clicks
  • Start or join a meeting directly from Gmail
  • Use an interface that most are already familiar with

Interact Live

• • Learn what’s on your audience’s mind with built-in polls and Q&A features 
  • Instantly gauge their interest and address concerns on the spot

Rich in Features

• • Apply endless visual effects to your feed such as background blurring and virtual backgrounds
  • Relax knowing your meeting’s information is safe thanks to Google’s top-notch security

Why choose Hopin?

Features or convenience? Why choose when you can have both with Hopin? Hopin is obsessed with replicating the experience of in-person events while bringing all the benefits of going virtual.

The Same Rich Experience – Large or Small

• • Use Hopin to build events of all sizes
  • Set up a conference for hundreds of thousands of people or create the same experience for a small dinner party size crowd

Create Any Kind of Event

• • Build the same rich experience for in-person, hybrid, or all virtual events
  • Set up any kind of event like fairs, trade shows, networking events, conferences, broadcasts, summits, forums, workshops, online courses, and webinars

Set Up and Launch in Minutes 

• • Build a virtual experience that mimics an in-person event with personalized receptions, stage areas, expo halls, and breakout rooms
  • Send categorized ticket types
  • Customize everything to match your brand
  • Make adjustments even after launching live

Why choose Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft has become synonymous with modern technology for a good reason. And Microsoft Teams carries on the reputation. Microsoft Teams looks and feels top-notch, is extremely reliable, and integrates wonderfully with other Office 365 services. 

Seamless Integration

• • Work in harmony with your company setup by connecting to over 700 other apps
  • Use Office apps, Sharepoint, and other Microsoft tools to deliver the best content
  • Enjoy Microsoft Teams for free with your pre-existing Microsoft Office 365 Business or Business Standard subscription

Enjoy Incredible Security 

• • Microsoft’s stellar reputation for data and user security gives you peace of mind
  • Microsoft Teams’ multi-factor authentication and in-transit encrypted data means your personal information is safe and sound

Why choose PheedLoop?

Life’s too short to be stuck in the past. That’s why PheedLoop’s forward-thinking virtual event solution is the platform to choose if your goal is to get your attendees excited to log on.

Bring Your Event to Life

• • Recreate the impact of meeting face-to-face with Pheedloop’s virtual attendee networking tools
  • Breathe life into your event with engagement tools such as private messaging, 15 gamification options, and live polls

Automate Workflows

• • Work smarter by skipping repetitive tasks such as registration, speaker follow-up, and notifications

Exhibitor Management

• • Give exhibitors more control and simplify their workflow by using PheedLoop’s exhibitors portal and mobile event app

Manage Speakers

• • Create a unique portal for each speaker to oversee their profiles, see feedback, and manage engagement tools

Why choose SpotMe?

SpotMe is trusted by large companies and users of all kinds. And it’s easy to see why. SpotMe is flexible, highly customizable, and uses engagement tools that will keep everyone on the edge of their seats. Whether you’re expecting a crowd of 10 or 10,000, SpotMe works for events of all sizes.

Leverage the Power of Flexibility 

• • SpotMe capitalizes on flexibility by creating a venue accessible on iOS, Android, Mac, or Windows
  • SpotMe does away with complicated setups and allows users to connect from anywhere 

Extremely Customizable

• • Use color palettes and banners to create a custom-branded experience
  • Use SpotMe’s Backstage to send out personalized agendas, use tags, and build themes

Engage Like a Pro

• • Leverage SpotMe’s engagement features to make sure people are checked in mentally
  • Make your event a digital community with SpotMe’s activity feed
  • Schedule workshops, create breakout rooms, and even add live captioning and interpretation in 100s of languages

Why choose Webex?

There is a reason this world-renowned platform is trusted by 95% of Fortune 500 companies. Webex by Cisco is fully inclusive, incredibly flexible, and offers security so robust even Fort Knox tips its hat.

Webex Has a Killer Reputation

• • 95% of surveyed customers said they trust Webex for large-scale meetings
  • 91% of surveyed organizations are likely to recommend Cisco Collaboration

Highly Effective Yet Elegantly Simple

• • Curb distractions by utilizing audio intelligence with Webex
  • Use Webex Assistant to take notes, control in-meeting actions, get live transcriptions, closed captioning, and automatic highlights
  • Host virtual events with up to 100,000 attendees
  • Encourage participation with live polling, chats, moderated Q&As, and emoji and gesture recognition

Why choose Zoom?

Trusted by everyone from your grandma to over 70% of the Fortune 100, Zoom is as easy to use as it is versatile. Whether you expect several dozen or several thousands of attendees, Zoom has you covered.

Deep Skill Set

• • Zoom’s basic conferencing tools and options make it incredibly easy for everyone to get on board 
  • Zoom’s incredibly versatile functions make it a great choice for complicated meetings. Zoom offers an impressive list of basic, advanced, and supplementary features such as:

• • • Apps and Marketplace
    • Zoom Phone
    • Team Chat
    • Whiteboard
    • Zoom Rooms
    • OnZoom

Multiple Platforms

• • Zoom has multiple platforms available to meet the needs of all meeting types
  • Zoom Meetings allow for more interactive sessions where you’ll want more audience participation
  • Zoom Webinars mimic a lecture hall or auditorium-style feel for larger audiences

Of course, our list doesn’t include every great platform out there. Some other platforms that we’ve tested and love include:

• GoTo
• Toasty
• Butter
• Vowel

Our team at Virtual Velocity knows the technology but that’s only half the battle. We know the challenges involved, the people it affects, and how to make an event unique for every client. 

Do you need help choosing the right platform for your event? Are you wondering how you can get the most out of your platform to drive engagement and make a lasting impression?

Our goal is to make sure you have the best virtual or hybrid event possible. How can we do that for you? Shoot us a message telling us your goals and we’ll unbiasedly recommend the best platform for your event.