The following is a guest post.
A great way of marketing your growing business is most certainly through planning a virtual event. There are two ways of achieving this. You may organize a live event and stream it online, or you can just work on the standalone streaming. Either way, you’ll get a chance to communicate with your audience in real time, regardless of your or their geographical position. The text below will provide you with crucial steps you should consider before getting into event organization.
Think about your audience
In order to achieve a good response, you’ll need to get familiar with your targeted audience. You should research and answer a lot of questions. You should know if your audience is tech-savvy. This is very important since your event will be an online feature, and you’ll want your audience present. Another question is if they’re open for that kind of activity. Learn about their habits on social media before making any decisions. A good way to start is to send them surveys and gather their feedback. Once you analyze the findings you’ll know if the virtual event is a way to go.
Choose the right format
As you know, there are multiple formats to choose from while organizing a live conference. The same options are available for virtual events. Think which option is best for you. You can organize a seminar which will be held by one person. On the other hand, you can organize a workshop or trade show. That way, more people will be animated and included in the action. There are plenty of video conferencing services, and if you’re not sure how to make everything going smooth, consider consulting one of them before choosing your event’s format.
Choose the right platform
Once you’ve decided upon the format of your virtual event, you should get informed about platforms which can support it. At the moment, there are more than few options available for live streaming. The most popular services are, of course, Facebook Livestream, Youtube live and Periscope. All of them have pretty much the same package of basic features, so you can’t be mistaken. Don’t worry if you aren’t familiar with live streaming platforms. Most of those services will offer a free trial period, during which you can get familiar with technology and do a few rehearsals before the main event.
Make an audition for a host
Your event should be hosted by a person who feels comfortable performing in front of people. You may choose one of your employees for the task, or consider hiring a professional for that job. The person you choose should be well informed about the company so they can answer all questions coming their way. The host should have perfect diction so the audience can understand every word. That way, you’ll be able to pass all information clearly and avoid misunderstanding with the audience. Think about hiring two speakers who can talk to each other. That move will increase the whole event’s dynamic and will be easier to follow.
Do some marketing first
Your virtual event should be well marketed in order to get a bigger audience. You shouldn’t worry about this too much since social media is the right place for marketing. Some basic methods of online marketing are posts you can create on Facebook and Twitter. But don’t stop there. In case you already have a venue where the event will be held, make sure to show it via Instagram or Snapchat, so viewers can get familiar with it. Introduce your hosts as well by linking their bios and vlogs. Another thing you’ll probably need in order to prepare the viewers is a simple tutorial video on how to log into the live stream. At the end, don’t forget using hashtags and newsletters regularly.
Choose a time and date
Don’t forget to choose a good time and date for your virtual event. Thanks to social media, you don’t have to think about geographical concerns, but should pay attention to timing. The best pick is most certainly a weekend since most of the people will be available. Schedule your event during the early evening. Before clicking „OK“ on your time and date, do some research and see if there are big games or popular shows airing at the same time. You can even put a question about timing in one of your pre event surveys. That way, you’ll get a feedback and the chance of failing will drastically decrease.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are plenty of tasks to be done before you start your streaming. Work on all details in a timely manner, so you don’t find yourself in a situation where you lack time. Feel free to postpone the event until everything is organized perfectly. Let your audience and co-workers assist you in organizing. The bigger your team is, the better product you’ll have, and everybody will feel included and respected.
Leila Dorari is a freelance writer and a business consultant from Sydney. Currently, she is spreading the word about how Merge ICT video conferencing solutions can help businesses prosper. When taking a break from making new marketing slogans, she is either window shopping or exploring new ways to make her life more meaningful.
