Taking advantage of live video streaming solutions for corporate events can help businesses in a multitude of different ways. By enhancing connectivity and opening the event to distant audiences, you can achieve a level of engagement and branding opportunity far beyond what any one room can hold. Taking a little bit of time to learn about the benefits of webcasting and live streaming events can end up opening the way to new opportunities and successes.
What Is Live Video Streaming?
Live video streaming (or just streaming) is when footage is transmitted over the Internet in real time. Think of it like a live news broadcast, except the television is a computer monitor or mobile device.
What Is Webcasting?
Webcasting is a type of enhanced streaming where interactive content is included with the streamed media. For example, if you are streaming a presentation and ask a question, webcasting might enable viewers to press a button or type something into a box on the video page to send you a response in real time.
The Importance of Live Video Streaming and Webcasting
Return on Investment
Streaming broadcast solutions offer a remarkably high return on investment (ROI), which is only likely to increase as video content is expected to make up around 74% of all Internet traffic in 2017. Production is also extremely cost-effective and getting more affordable all the time as streaming technology is constantly improved and innovated.
Connect with Stakeholders
The primary benefit of live streaming events is that it dramatically expands accessibility. A keynote presentation can be heard company-wide. A product launch can be celebrated by consumers in their own homes. Shareholder meetings can be joined from across the ocean. This last one, by the way, is a good example of the benefits of webcasting specifically. Shareholder votes can be important, sometimes pivotal, moments for companies; making sure every shareholder can participate regardless of geographic distance does a lot to promote engagement and confidence.
Save It for Later
Live video streaming can be—and often is—recorded. A common practice with corporate video streams is to take the footage and use it for marketing and promotional purposes later on. This is most often true if the video was of an award or charity gala, product launch or announcement, trade show presentation, or other opportune branding event.
Promote Participation
The main benefit of webcasting is that it allows remote audiences to interact with the video and deliver different forms of feedback in real time. Some streaming broadcast solutions take advantage of this by setting up ways for enhanced viewer participation. The above-mentioned shareholder vote is just one example, but you can also support things like live Q&A submissions, video conferencing with specific people, and other means of turning the idle watcher into an active and engaged participant.
Harness a Wider Audience
As mentioned, a big benefit is that you can bring in significantly larger audiences to an event that offers live video streaming solutions. While the ability to get more participation in your event is undeniably valuable, so is the potential to get your event's message out to more than just the physical attendees. For consumers, this could mean getting to share in a trade show or product demo. For employees, this could mean being able to join in on more immediately practical matters, like training presentations or workshops. Almost any corporate event can be improved by a bigger audience.
Applications of Live Video Streaming
Although any corporate event can harness live video streaming solutions, certain types of events in particular can be uniquely harness using streaming or webcast technology.
Behind-the-Scenes Looks
Sometimes what goes into an event can be just as fascinating as the final result. Streaming a look at what goes on in the preparation and lead up to, say, a product launch or a huge company celebration can let audiences form a more intimate connection with your brand. Showing a peek behind the curtain at the less-than-scripted parts of a business can do remarkable things.
AMA and Q&A
Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) or Q&A sessions are easily expanded to outside audiences through the use of webcasting. In these situations, the nature of the session will depend on the larger event it is part of. A question period can easily be included alongside new product announcements at trade shows, and shareholder meetings are an excellent opportunity to open an executive to the floor.
Bringing in a Special Guest
It's important to remember that live streaming can bring people to your event just as easily as it can bring your event to other people. There may be a guest speaker you really want to include in a corporate event but who is unable to physically attend, or developments may arise that require other participants to be out of town when the event goes down. Video streaming can aid in situations like this by allowing these people to fully participate without stepping a foot on stage.
Highlight Reels
If you'll recall, a benefit of live video streaming is that the video can persist long after the event has concluded. One of the uses to which this footage can be put is assembling a highlight reel of the event that can be shared at a later time. In addition to being a useful marketing tool, a condensed video of the main points of the event can be useful as a way to, for example, summarize the results of a shareholder meeting.
Get Top-Quality Video Streaming with bb Blanc
bb Blanc a full-service, live event company based in Toronto. We pride ourselves on “Creating Event Magic” through the use of the latest technology, top-quality entertainment, unmatched customer service and talented audiovisual professionals. For more information on bb Blanc and the unique additions we can bring to your corporate gatherings and events, feel free to contact us at 416-360-0440 or at info@bbblanc.com.
