Live streaming events has become more and more popular since covid 19. It has allowed more people to see events if they haven't been able to attend or if they missed out on buying tickets when they were released. 45% of organisations that live stream events reach out to a wider audience (source) which shows that live streaming is important when wanting to connect with that wider audience.
Live streaming engages all types of viewers and it can help more people feel a sense of connection between them and the host of the event as it feels like someone is speaking to them. Through streaming you are able to capture the tone of the event which can help showcase what your brand and business has to offer, this can build better awareness and engagement as you are sharing these moments with more people.
Here's a few reason why you should think about live streaming your event;
By live streaming your event you are able to reach that wider audience while still maintaining the experiences for the people who have attended the live event. You're able to communicate to the online audience in real time, you can open up a live chat so they can ask questions and discuss with the viewers how they are finding the event. This will start communication between the viewers themselves as well as with your business. This will maximise the impact your event has as you are making the audience feel a part of what is going on from home and you are giving them a more exciting experience when watching the stream. It will help provide better interaction with your business as more people will be able to interact with the online event while it is going on.
As people are still worried about covid and might not feel comfortable with attending the event offering a live stream which helps those who don't come along feel more involved with the brand. This shows you are happy to cater for all your audiences and that you don't want anyone to miss out on the experience you are giving to the live audience. It will help include people from around the world as the live stream can be opened up to anyone. This will help get your event more known by more people, which will make them more interested in the next events you hold as they are able to see what you offer.
Everything within the last 2 years has moved online, more people have gotten used to the online world which means more people will consider going onto the online events you are putting on. It has become the new normal for many people, and 93% of event professionals plan to invest in virtual events moving forward (source). This shows that people within the industry know that they need to invest more into live streaming their events as that's the way events are now moving towards and they know more people will want this from them.
When live streaming your audience will be actively engaged, you can let your audience ask questions and show that they are interested and enjoying the event that is going ahead. If you have someone asking the audience questions as well as answering any question the audience will have, this will encourage more participation and keep the audience engaged in what is happening in the live stream. Your audience will be able to engage with the content on a deep enough level to ask questions and comment on the event that is happening. Likewise, by asking the live stream audience question it will help them feel included with the event as they know that if they were there live they would be able to ask and answer questions. It gives a more real life feel to it.
Similarly, watching video can help audiences reach out to you, by having a positive experience with your business will make customers more likely to come to the event next time or buy the product or service you sell to them. 73% of people are more likely to make a purchase after watching a video (source), this proves that video is extremely important as you want people to come to the events you're putting on and you want them to buy what you are selling to them. If people enjoy the live stream you put on they will more than likely buy a ticket for the next event you put together.
Live streaming is a great opportunity to encourage attendance to the next event, 30% of people who watch an event livestream will attend that event the following year (source). This shows by putting your event out to the online world will help push tickets for the following year growing the audience behind the event. Live streaming will help you get your event noticed by more people who don't know the event is happening, and if they enjoy the live stream they will know that they will enjoy the live event as well.
By making your event hybrid you are able to analyse the number of people viewing the event online, you will be able to see who watched the event and the demographic of the people that attend it. This can help you find out how many would have bought a ticket to come to the event and help you see who could be attending the future events you hold. 80% of event organisers were able to reach a wider audience with virtual events (source), therefore using a virtual aspect can help you get an understanding of how many people might come to your next event and help you see the amount of people who do prefer the live stream content.
Knowing the type of audience that joined the live stream will help when promoting the next event and help you understand how to reach this new audience. This will help when advertising as you will know how to advertise to your next audience and make the event known to the audience you didn't know was there.
Live streaming content can be repurposed into lots of different materials, you can create teaser videos to help promote the next event or use snippets to use on social media to keep your audience engaged while your events are not happening. Video is able to condense hours of work into a few short clips, this makes them easily shareable to any social platform. This can help get the event seen on every platform you promote yourself on, this then will make it easier to promote yourself. This give you more marketing content to post from the events you have live streamed making it easier to get your next events out there to the public.
Similarly, you are making people aware of future events. You are able to show off what previous events had to offer and use this footage to show what your next event has in store. 66% of event planners are using video as part of their marketing strategy (source) as video helps build more excitement around the event and around your business. You are able to push content you have captured into your marketing strategies which will help when increasing the engagement between the audience and the event.
Live streams are the best way to generate better engagement, you will be able to have more of an impact on your audience as you will be opening up your event to a much wider platform of people. Through the use of live streams you are able to grab the audience's attention from start to finish as there will always be something for viewers to see and feel a part of.
Live streams can help you understand your current audience better by seeing what they prefer doing, if they prefer coming to the live event or just viewing it from their home, but it will also help you reach a new audience. It can help change the way your business markets itself next time and help you know the type of audience you need to be selling to.
You want to be making sure you're getting your live stream right, you don't want to be experiencing any delays in audio or visuals as you want to be keeping the online audience engaged and happy with what they are watching. If there is any technical difficulty people will start to lose interest as they wont be getting the most out of it. This is a risk when you do it yourself, therefore making sure you hire professionals that know how to live stream so you avoid problems and they will help make sure the day runs as smoothly as possible.
If you are interested in live streaming your event get in touch with one of the team to find out how we can help.
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