Live streaming companies can bring immense value to your event and your company if done right.
In the past year, massAV has seen a dramatic increase in the number of companies that are integrating live streaming into their event planning. Live streaming is growing on the consumer side, as well. While the majority of content live streamed today is breaking news, roughly 43% of live stream viewers say they watch content live streamed at conferences and festivals.
Companies invest a lot of time and effort into planning events and want to maximize the number of people who can participate, whether that’s in person or streaming the event online. Today’s technology offers a variety of options for event planners, corporations, and venues, but we’ve found people often have questions about the level of service hiring live streaming companies can bring and the benefits of live streaming versus other options.
Live Streaming Companies: the Cost/Benefit Ratio
Most organizations and event planners are well aware of the live video collaboration tools available within an office setting. It can be tempting for some to see what these web conferencing platforms offer in terms of live streaming larger events. While they are relatively inexpensive and claim to provide seamless HD video streaming and interactive capabilities, these products tend to be unreliable.
Experienced live streaming companies provide broadcast-quality video and a professional staff on-site to ensure the program is executed without interruption. While video quality may not be the first priority for streaming your event, it should be. A survey by Livestream and New York Magazine found that video quality is the most important factor for 67% of viewers when watching a livestream broadcast.
Live streaming companies can also bring innovative ideas to the table that give your event a polished, professional look and wow company leaders and investors. The team is there to coordinate with your company on details like camera placement, sound, remote presenters, visual presentations, and remote interactive audience participation. Instead of a set-it-and-forget-it solution, live streaming production companies bring a skilled eye to the event so that each speaker is presented in the best light.
Lower Travel Costs and Higher Engagement
Operating in today’s global economy means that employees spread across a wide geographic area, making in-person meetings expensive and time-consuming. They are also a burden on employees who must take time away from their daily activities and families to travel—and then recover from long flights and jet lag once they are back home.
“Most of our clients are using live streaming because they want to go global,” says Jennifer Giusti, Production Manager at massAV. “It brings their teams together under one umbrella so that everyone can participate.”
For companies where the time difference can impact employees’ ability to watch, live streaming is coupled with on-demand options so they can watch later. By working with your live streaming company to assess how their audience will watch the event, you can maximize engagement, even if everyone is not watching at the same time.
"Sometimes after an event has concluded, we’ll take the recorded live stream and post it online so that the clients’ audience can view the entire stream on-demand. We have the ability to keep the Q&A functionality open, so on-demand viewers can still submit questions whenever they watch the stream. Then, as time permits, the event moderator will respond to all of the in-bound questions from the stream via email," says Giusti. "It’s another way these employees can be engaged, without having to conduct the whole event or stream all over again, which helps keeps costs down for clients."
The same goes for hiring speakers. What if the perfect specialist to present at your company’s next conference is operating in Thailand and unwilling to travel to New England for a one-hour engagement? Or at least unwilling to travel for a price that fits within the event’s budget. Having a skilled live streaming company to coordinate with the speaker so that the streaming goes well provides added value to your event, without the enormous cost of travel.
Live Streaming Companies Provide Better Support
No two events are the same and inevitably, unexpected issues will arise. Using a GoPro camera and a desktop application on your MacBook puts all the support and troubleshooting responsibilities onto your team. If something goes wrong, does your team have the time or the skills to fix it?
Live streaming companies are experienced in not only capturing the event, but in keeping the data flowing so that all who are participating have a seamless experience. Online platforms do not offer the same level of support and service, leaving your company susceptible to poor connections and interrupted events.
Here at massAV, we’ve invested in live streaming because we see the potential this technology holds for our clients. To meet this growing need, we’ve created MAVLive™, our own webcast platform. This diverse service combines ease of use with technical capabilities that allow for a seamless digital experience. With MAVLive™, we provide an experience that makes that digital guest feel important, connected and satisfied.
To learn more about the benefits of live streaming and what a company like massAV can bring to your next event, contact us today.