Online events are becoming the new norm thanks to the changes in workplace location. As we have been slowly picking up on how to be effective in team meetings and calls, we need to put these skills into a broader environment.
Choose your technical approach
You can either utilize an app like Microsoft Teams or use external equipment to stream your event.
Using Microsoft Teams can often be simpler as you don’t require any other hardware other than a laptop or PC. Of course, if you have a production set up to support streaming this can also be a great option but does require more thought and effort.
Having Roles Assigned
Simple events can be streamed from one person’s laptop and can be extremely effective to a small audience. However, if you are looking at a larger event it is often good practice to have a team around you with roles and responsibilities.
Some example roles would be:
Organiser- Schedules the event and ensures all participants have the correct permissions
Producer- Typically acts as the host of the live streams
Presenters- Presents audio, video or a screen to the live event. They may also be required to moderate questions and answers if required.
Attendee- A viewer who watches live that can participate and ask questions.
Public or Private?
When creating an event, you must choose whether you want the event to be public or private. A private event will require attendees to login to join whereas a public event anyone would be able to join if they have a link to the event.
Scheduling
It is important that everyone is aware of the time and date of your event. Ensure you sent them all the information required with potentially a follow up email closer to the date to ensure they don’t forget. If you are using a program like Teams you can create the event link prior to the event and add it to everyone’s calendars through this process.
Practice your event
Always ensure you are aware of the tools for delivering the event to the best capacity. Never leave anything to the last minute because there are always shortcomings when it comes to technology, so the best preparation is always going to benefit you. Ensuring things like mics and cameras are working and the presentation files are all up to date and event ready could mean the difference between a successful event and a very lackluster one.
Showtime
Encourage your attendees to join early to the event so they can mingle and ask any questions but also to ensure everything is working and they can watch with ease. You can have a welcoming slide with a beginning time so that everyone is totally aware of then it will start and finally you can ensure all the questions are answered during the presentation or have a solid platform after for people to ask anything further.
After the meeting
Having downloadable content can also be a creative way to keep everyone informed after the event. Having things like:
Finally, following up with attendees prior to the event can be helpful in networking and even can boost sales.
