With more virtual events being put on than ever before, your event’s production quality will need to be at an all-time high to keep up with your competition and impress guests.
Many people attended a virtual event for the first time last year and were more forgiving of technical errors and general clunkiness due to sudden changes brought on by the pandemic.
But now many of those companies will be hosting their second, third, or fourth round of virtual events this year, and the caliber of these experiences is vastly improving.
The point is, your attendees will now be expecting a greater virtual (or hybrid) event experience. Whether you plan on hosting it yourself, or partnering with an event production studio, here are some tips to improve your next event’s production value.
Why You Should Invest in Your Virtual Event Production
As an event host, it’s your responsibility to make your virtual sessions, Q&As, and live streams easy to watch and listen to. Choppy video and poor audio quality might’ve been acceptable last year, but it just won’t cut it moving forward.
Your audience will be expecting a higher production quality. This means investing in high-end streaming cameras and microphones that will reduce any noise that can interfere with your event’s messaging.
It will also enhance your virtual event’s appeal and boost your company’s reputation.
Better Quality = Better Experience = Happier Attendees
Nobody wants to attend a virtual event with bad audio or video. You’ve likely sat in on a Zoom meeting or video conference only to feel frustrated and unfocused because you were struggling to see or hear the presenter.
Give your attendees a higher quality experience, and they’ll be happier attendees.
Tighter Security and Safety
High-quality streaming services like Vimeo, Dacast, and Wowza feature top-of-the-line security and privacy features to prevent virtual event risks.
Live streams can sometimes discuss confidential information or trade secrets that you only want to share with a select group. These services provide security features like passwords, encryption, geographical restrictions, and payment security.
Not sure if your platform works with Vimeo Live? Read Virtual Event Platforms that Integrate with Vimeo
Relieve Stress Behind the Scenes
Investing in the right tools and support will free up your team to focus on other things important to the event.
Most of the popular live streaming and broadcasting platforms have easy-to-learn interfaces that only take a day to begin using, and when you enlist the help of an event management company, you have the support you need to help run the event in real time.
Types of Virtual Event Production Services You Can Benefit From
Since your event is taking place completely, or partially, in the virtual realm, it will require more IT support and technical know-how to run smoothly.
Here is a range of production services you should be aware of, ranging from smaller tasks to full-blown event preparation and execution packages.
Training and Prep Before the Event
You should always run a test rehearsal of your event before going live. In fact, you should have several test runs, but we’ll focus on that more later.
Make sure everyone involved not only has access to the right hardware and software but also takes time to become familiar with it.
Coach your moderator and speakers on the best practices of speaking into a webcam, test their cameras and microphones, and listen to them rehearse their scripts and speeches.
Live Event Technical Support
On-site and virtual support will be necessary if you’re hosting a hybrid event. With a hybrid event, it’s likely you’ll have large LED screens, projectors, and TVs on-site at the physical portion of your event, as well as streaming content.
Make sure you have a dedicated IT and AV staff who can assist you in real-time if and when your cameras, microphones, computers, or screens malfunction.
For the virtual portion of your event, work with a virtual event platform that offers live-time support when you need it. Don’t settle for platforms that have a slow response time. Look for companies that can offer help within five minutes.
Recording and Editing On-Demand Sessions
Some speakers might not be so eloquent in live situations and may fumble over their words. Or perhaps a certain session could really benefit from custom graphics or adding existing video clips. In these instances, it makes more sense to pre-record and edit a session to make it available on-demand.
These on-demand sessions can also make great YouTube videos after your event to attract new visitors to your website.
Event Production Studio
Event production studios are professional sound stages where you can host your virtual event from. The benefit of these studios is they have world-class broadcasting cameras and equipment, and an expert-level staff. These studios go above and beyond the basic HD streaming camera and microphone setup.
For example, Dream Front Labs in California offers the leading technology for presenting your event to the world, including 4K streaming, augmented reality, and an LED cave that can completely change your backdrop to anything you desire.
If you’re looking to truly impress your audience, then consider shooting your next virtual event in an event production studio.
Interested in discovering more hybrid event studios? Read Top 10 Hybrid Event Studios of 2024
Full AV Production From Start to Finish
Want to ensure your virtual or hybrid event is a total success? Then work with a virtual or hybrid event company that will be there every step of the way.
Companies like Encore and Ashfield will do all the heavy lifting and implementation for you. From the initial consultation, set-up and testing, hosting and going live, these companies will work with you to put on your best virtual and hybrid event.
Looking to work with a professional to produce your hybrid event? Check out the Top 12 Hybrid Event Production Companies of 2024
Partnering With a Virtual Event Production Team: How to Get Started
If this is your first time running a virtual or hybrid event, or your attendance is substantially larger than before, you may want to consider partnering with a virtual event production team.
Or perhaps you just don’t feel confident in your own abilities due to technical limitations or a lack of expertise in dealing with speakers.
No problem! This is why virtual event production teams exist. They use their knowledge and expertise to aid your company in whichever way you need.
Here are a few guidelines to follow to align your goals and objectives with your virtual event production team.
Create a Run of Show to Get on the Same Page
A run of show is a detailed, step-by-step outline of your event. Usually, a run of show, or rundown, is in spreadsheet form, and specifically lists each segment, department, and timeline so everybody knows who’s responsible for each action at the right time.
Google Sheets, Slack, and Microsoft Teams are a good way of communicating with your production partner to make sure everybody has access to the rundown and can edit if necessary.
Align on Tech Needed to Support Your Virtual Event
With numerous virtual platforms, cameras, microphones, and other software, it’s important for everyone involved to align on using the same tools to achieve the job.
Use your event’s goals and objectives to help narrow down the search to find tech solutions that satisfy everyone involved.
Need help finding the right tech solutions? Read our Event Technology Guide: Is Your Tech Ready For 2021?
Start Rehearsing Early and Often
It’s likely you’ll run into technical snags during preparation, and now’s the time to fix those errors. In fact, we can almost guarantee you’ll run into technical errors, whether it’s configuration issues, software updates, or microphones that haven’t been turned on. Hosting virtual and hybrid events involve numerous pieces of gear, and the room for error is large.
An orchestra wouldn’t go on stage without rehearsing, and your event shouldn’t go live without several test runs from your AV team.
Last But Not Least, Make Online Safety for Your Virtual Events a Priority
You’ve likely heard about Zoom Meetings getting intruded on by trolls and hackers, known as “Zoombombing.” You don’t want that. Nobody wants that.
Your virtual or hybrid event should be a safe space for like-minded individuals who want to experience a high-production online experience, free from distractions or online threats.
Lots of personal information gets shared during a virtual event, such as private messages sent from one user to another, email addresses, phone numbers, or video and audio from one-on-one video chats, and break out rooms.
Think about the detrimental effect a data breach could have on your event’s reputation. People wouldn’t want to attend another event knowing their contact info and data potentially has been stolen.
It’s your responsibility as the event host to find a virtual and hybrid event platform that features top-of-the-line encryption and security to make sure your attendees’ data stays secure and to ensure online safety for your virtual events.
Maximize Your Virtual Event Production Efforts With the Right Virtual Event Platform
SpotMe is a virtual and hybrid event platform that brings your event to your audience, wherever they are. Our platform is both desktop and mobile-friendly with a social-media-inspired interface anybody can easily learn and begin using.
SpotMe’s studio gives event hosts access to a high-quality live streaming feature that’s end-to-end encrypted, with plenty of interactive features, and built-in analytics.
We take virtual event risks seriously. SpotMe Streaming is based on RTMPS, which is a secure video streaming protocol. This means your streams are secured from snoopers who may want to listen in on your streams. Our live streams are also authenticated, meaning users must be logged in before viewing videos.
Our platform also seamlessly integrates with YouTube Live and Vimeo, offering an easy way to link your existing accounts within SpotMe’s CMS system Backstage.
Are you ready to take your virtual or hybrid events to the next level? Give SpotMe a test drive and start your free trial today.
