As most of the country seeks the shelter of our homes amid recent winter storms, we are reminded of how the “work from anywhere” revolution of 2020 has lifted many barriers for organizations of all shapes and sizes to conduct business. No, the pandemic hasn’t disappeared and many folks have been working from home for nearly a year, but I’m convinced this isn’t just a trend. Virtual events and video conferencing are here to stay.
If you can attend a specialized training course or conference remotely instead of in person, why wouldn’t you? You save time and expense lost to flights, rental cars, and hotels. Perhaps you’re a non-profit, and you want to reach the widest possible audience for your fundraiser events. Even once we’re back to ballroom galas and benefit concerts, live-streaming your event to the masses widens your potential donor net and ultimately helps further your cause.
However, here’s the biggest problem facing all streaming events: they can be uninspiring and monotonous if not planned and executed properly. It’s hard enough to hold an audience’s attention when you’re in the same room, but now they’ve got the power to mute you and go make a sandwich. We get it, it’s a new challenge for everyone, but to be brutally honest those of us working in live production have had a pretty sh*t year and a lot of time to work out the kinks. Streaming events can be exciting if done right! Following are a few ways to make virtual events engaging, memorable, profitable and something to be proud of.
Treat it like a “real” event. Seems obvious, I know, but the streaming medium makes it easy to fall in to the trap of simply inviting a few virtual guests to cover some basic talking points and wing it from there. However, much like doing that on-stage, it rarely makes for good content. Write a script, dedicate an emcee, create customized media, plan for a break or intermission, hone your aesthetic—all things you would do for an in-person show. You want to make sure the event has a controlled, well thought out flow to keep your audience engaged. A script helps keep you on-mission and on-schedule. An emcee helps with transitions and the general flow of the event. Creative use of media can help break up too much “talking head” action and help diversify your programming, not to mention provide opportunities for sponsorships. If your event is a conference or really anything longer than roughly 90-minutes, you’re going to need to give your audience a break, so build those in to your schedule as needed. Added production value through lighting, music and video elements will help keep your audience interested. Whatever the topic or objective, in-person audience or not, you need to treat like any show and focus on the attendee experience. Headline will help you put all the pieces together for success.
Choose the right venue. We’re equipped to facilitate your event from nearly anywhere. Studio space, theatre, ballroom, office, conference room, living room or kitchen—we’ve got the gear and will make it happen wherever you see fit. If you don’t have a space of your own, we can connect you with one of our venue partners to find a solution that gives you the look and feel you desire, with or without an in-person audience involved. We’ve produced live streams from performing arts centers, hybrid events from hotel ballrooms and 100% virtual programs from back-office conference rooms and in each we achieved the professional look and feel our clients desired.
Pre-record whatever you can. If the event is 100% virtual with no in-person audience, perhaps you can produce the entire thing in advance. We live for live events, but they come with the inherent risk of moving parts. Much like thorough planning of a live event, pre-recording helps eliminate variables and gives you an opportunity to tighten up your program and make sure your content comes across exactly the way you want before your audience sees it. They never have to know it was pre-recorded. Many late night “live” events on TV are pre produced but generally regarded as live because they maintain that excitement and energy. We can help you create such content and take care of the “live” playback to your audience.
Don’t underestimate your value. If you’re offering a training program or other professional development, you should probably be selling tickets because you’re offering something of value. If you’re a non-profit hosting a fundraiser event, perhaps consider doing a hybrid event with an elevated ticket for in-person attendees with a free stream to encourage donors at home. For all of the above you should also seek out sponsorship support. There’s nothing that says virtual events can’t be an excellent fundraising opportunity for your organization, you just have to create an event worth supporting, and Headline Productions can help you do exactly that.
Every client has different needs. That is one of the reasons we love what we do. Taking an idea from concept to execution is an exciting journey. Let us help you build a virtual event that people want to attend.
