Virtual events organiser why do a livestream? With everyone settling down into the new-normal, hosting physical events for corporate conferences or D&Ds still seem like a long way to go. However, with the use of livestream softwares and various technologies, it is still possible to bring an audience infront of your business.
Livestreams are an effective tool as we can leverage on its capacity to generate sales for our businesses all year round. Its accessibility makes it possible for you to tap into markets or reach demographics that have never been done before.
Unlike pre-produced marketing materials such as IGTV or Youtube videos, livestreams are all about engagement by listening in to the viewers in real time and interacting with them. It is less production intensive as livestreams are made to look a little gritty for authenticity purposes and this makes it cost efficient as compared to pre-produced videos.
Social streaming: Facebook
Facebook live stream is targeted at business profiles that wish to connect with their audiences from different communities and demographics. Users of Facebook live streams are usually 40 and above, or the Gen X as we call it. Their applications usually surround more formal events such as conferences, panelist talks and corporate agendas (townhalls/ AGMs). On a Facebook live stream, there are more privacy settings available depending on the Facebook page or group that you are streaming through virtual events organiser . There are allowances on Facebook for live streams on a business page to be crossposted onto other pages, however this is only possible with live broadcasts. As the live broadcast is automatically recorded, you can eventually share it to a group or page. This makes it more versatile than the other social streaming platforms. For most users, going live using the Facebook app is the most efficient way for a basic product. To achieve high quality visual and audio content, all you need to do is ensure that your internet connection is at a higher speed. Facebook has rolled out ‘Live Producer’, a feature for high value productions that require a more expansive set-up. This feature works if you are using a professional camera and have access to a streaming software (encoder).
Social streaming: Instagram
You can’t miss out on Instagram live streams as users automatically get a notification when someone is going live, this gives the profile a boosted presence as their story is bumped to the front of the story feed. Like other livestreams, Instagram live is an unedited video presence for you to engage with your followers via textual commentary and emojis. It is commonly used for media personalities such as celebrities and makeup artists to promote products and share basic tutorials to boost brand awareness and sales figures. Unlike the other platforms, the stream remains on your story for 24 hours after the stream ends and this is great leverage for e-commerce businesses who are doing timed sales events. Otherwise, the streams can be turned into IGTV and be kept on your feed for as long as you wish. For instagram, privacy settings include choosing your followers that are allowed to view your livestream and turning off offensive comments that may occur during the live stream. Users of Instagram range from Gen Zs to millennials and this demographic currently holds a large market share in e-commerce. This site is more preferable for a stream thats less than 30 minutes. Meet virtual events organiser for instagram streaming.
Social streaming: Linkedin Live
Linkedin is a platform for working professionals to connect and share their experiences. Demographics for Linkedin Live spans a wide range of age groups but is concentrated with tech-savvy millennials looking for professional advice. This platform is great for guest speakers and prominent industry figures to hold conversations on current affairs or business trends. Organisations have been known to use this platform to promote their corporate culture in hopes of recruiting talent. Engagement duration on Linkedin Live is usually longer than 30 minutes and after a standard presentation, it is followed by an in-depth question and answer or interviews with stakeholders within the industry. The only downside to using Linkedin Live is that you would have to source for a third-party broadcasting tool such as Sociallive and Switcher Studio. Linkedin will automatically post your video to ‘recent activity’ or ‘page feed’ after the stream ends and you can repost this video onto other social media platforms.
Social streaming: Youtube Live
Some of the commonly used platforms for shoppertainment are actually e-commerce applications that double up as a content community with its own live-stream hosts. Taobao reportedly is home to over 4000 live-stream hosts and they produce content round the clock keeping shoppers entertained and product launches running smoothly. Some of the biggest events in shopping history like singles day sales and 12.12 has its own line-up of entertainment. China’s most famous live-stream host, Viya, reportedly commanded S$6 billion in sales last year just by talking about products in front of an audience. Some of these e-commerce phone apps even have interactive games available for shoppers to earn vouchers and cash rewards that can be redeemed immediately when they check out their carts and so it is unsurprising that they have teamed up with other video game applications on the app store to run their event campaigns. In physical outlets, brands use a variety of ways to entertain their customers, some of the common ones can include interactive touch-screen displays fitted with sensory motion technology where customers can play virtual football games or be transported into another location.
Zoom
Zoom is the current industry leader in livestreams and teleconferences so much so that the word ‘zoom’ is self-explanatory. The demographics for Zoom are rather widespread as its servers and interface allow high capacity events to be held concurrently in the highest quality and this alone has won them a huge market share. The virtual events organiser commonly uses zoom. They service educational institutions, corporate organisations and even religious communities with their webinar feature. The webinar feature allows multiple speakers to present via screen sharing and essentially give the attendees a view only function for a smooth event flow. You can choose to link the live stream to Facebook or Youtube to capture a larger audience. For a basic Zoom account, it is free for all at a maximum of up to 100 minutes per session, consisting of a maximum capacity of 100 attendees each time. To host a webinar, you would require a Pro, Business, Education or Enterprise account that entitled you to the webinar add on and all of its features.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams announced in March this year that its platform had over 44 million daily users, the jump was in part attributed to work from home practices due to the pandemic. For education, Microsoft teams allows teachers to distribute, edit and grade students’ work via the software itself and has distributed breakout rooms that make it conducive for team learning and project discussions. One of its favoured features is its ability to share files within the assigned group/chat and this makes it easier for attendees to refer to any event materials when provided by the host.
Cisco Webex
Cisco Webex was founded in 1995, making it one of the earliest teleconferencing software companies to roll out packaged plans and had a Global network servicing on-demand TV programs. It features a wide range of products and the most commonly used livestreaming services in its portfolio includes Webex meetings and teams where organisations favour it for its collaborative features. Cisco Webex is highly rated on Google for its security features, it has functions to lock rooms and this is especially important for upper management as confidential details could be leaked through hackers eavesdropping on virtual conference rooms. Cisco Webex has data centers globally and this accounts for its high quality video and audio content, which is why it has garnered plenty of praise. Their livestreaming software is famously used in the prime-time TV show ‘Ellen Degeneres’, where the host herself calls participants through a live TV recording. One of the conveniences
Bluejeans
Bluejeans is a cloud video conferencing service and was founded in 2009 before it was acquired by Verizon in May 2020. Its name ‘Bluejeans’ is a tongue in cheek reference to its user-centric focus, wanting the software to be as easy and casual to use just like wearing a pair of jeans. It’s viewers are mostly working adults who tap into the Bluejeans network for its interoperability between platforms and devices. For businesses, Bluejeans by Verizon provides conferencing solutions via partnerships with Cisco, Microsoft Sync and polycom, making it accessible to a wider range of organisations. With its paid plans, Verizon has made standard pricing as affordable as possible starting from $9.99 a month and for video webinars at $83 a month.
If you’re thinking about setting up an online event to generate sales for your business, contact us today!
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