For two consecutive years, Exemplar Financial Network contracted Lakeside to help execute a fully remote event complete with hosts and skits during breaks, 30 live speakers, breakout rooms and even a tequila tasting.
Events Have Transformed
Live streaming is now the norm, not the exception. According to Live video is expected to grow 15-fold by the end of this year (2022) and reach a 17% share of all internet traffic.1
Smart organizations are very quickly adopting their business practices and technology stack to take advantages of the educational and marketing opportunities. Especially when, “45% of audiences would pay for live video from a favorite team, speaker, performer, or influencer.” 2
Live events are still king as they are mostly distraction free. They are the best way to build connections and have a private conversation. Unfortunately, finding people that want to invest their time and resources into a live event is difficult. Especially in areas such as accredited education events.
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Dr. Jean Lawrence educating both the in-person and virtual audience on Functional Blood Chemistry. Image credit: Lakeside Marketing.
Hybrid Events Have Emerged
Over the past 5 years, technology like OSBOT AI 4K camera robots that tracks movement (see above), highly-adopted Zoom webinars and meeting software and professional associations loosening rules that allow for special category continuing education hours for live-webinars have made it easier for organizations to go hybrid.
According to Livestream, conferences and concerts are only behind breaking news as the most watched live streaming content, with 43% of people participating. 3
Setting Up Your Hybrid Events
Live events are pretty straight forward for most folks. Hire a speaker, contract the hotel to hook up the audio, and show people to the coffee or cocktails and bathrooms.
Scheduling speakers and selling tickets was hard enough! Now, you really have to up your game! Trust us, it is worth the hassle with 67% of audiences who watch a live stream purchase a ticket to a similar event the next time it occurs.
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Event Mailer and screenshot of Eventbrite Ticketing Page produced for two independent sales organizations. Image Credit: Lakeside Marketing.
// Checklist: //
- Ticketing software that integrates with a Zoom Webinar or Meeting Room (like Eventbrite)
- Email, in-person and social media promotion
- Video Equipment (such as the OSBOT AI Camera and tripod)
- Audio Gear (to mic up the performer(s) and patch them into the room and streaming software like Zoom)
- A good quality Internet connection (be cautious of a hotel’s network)
- A reliable laptop
- Specific roles and duties
- A team who has done it before for the assist
Typical Duties
When thinking about your event team, you should really think about how a team can be utilized to quickly perform duties to get you to market as fast as possible. We suggest starting by assigning the following duties to skilled team members with deadlines based on the time needed to sell-out your event.
// Duties: //
- Book Presenter(s)/Gather Presentation Deck, C.V., Headshots/Apply for Credit Hours (if required)/Book Transportation and Hotel Accommodations
- Build Event Landing Page/Tickets with Integration to Live Streaming Software/Develop Printed Posters and Mailers
- Promote Event/Email Strategy and Templates/Social Posts/News and PR
- Purchase Equipment/Test Audio and Video Gear
- Train Presenter(s) with Test Session on how AI cameras work (i.e. “Hand Up Next to Body” to set camera, “L” hand motion to zoom in and out, presenting and playing to the digital audience)
- Moderating Questions and Chat During Presentation/Introducing Presenter/Entertaining During Breaks/Technical Support During Event
- Edit and Upload Recording/Email Attendees
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Event Mailer and postcard produced for an independent sales organization in Chicago. Image Credit: Lakeside Marketing.
Marketing Your Hybrid Events
Give your team enough time to develop content and test integrations.
Because of the work and investment to running hybrid events, you’ll probably looking to do a series of events. This is the right strategy because you’ll get better each time.
// Marketing Assets: //
- Old-Fashioned Mailers to Your Customer List
- Email Series
- Social Media Posts (Think Collaboration)
- Event Landing Pages with Tracking Code
- Calling top users/clients
- Text Campaigns
- PPC Advertising (Especially Performance Max)
Consider a Membership Event Model
If you are doing a series that is spread out in a large geographic area, consider a membership model.
Membership models are attractive when your product demands an educated user-base. Especially when continuing education credits are needed by licensed professionals.
Live events are expensive. So, some of our clients have opted for a limited number of live events and unlimited live-streamed events with access to recordings for a set time frame.
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Live Streaming Accredited Healthcare Event with Dr. Klepzig. Photo credit: James Jackson, Visual Paradise Films.
Preparation is Key
Prepare your organization’s future by fitting a hybrid model of live streaming your next in-person events. Hybrid events allow for on-demand content creation and flexibility of attendance. We are happy to help you reach your goals with over 20 years experience in the event space.
- https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/executive-perspectives/annual-internet-report/white-paper-c11-741490.html#_Toc532256809
- https://influencermarketinghub.com/what-is-an-influencer/
