Careful planning leading up to the livestream
The thing that will have the biggest impact on making your livestream event video a success is planning. Errors and hiccups can really take away from the experience. Be clear on the type of experience you want to curate. Not just about what you want your audience to see and hear, but how you want to make them feel. What impact do you want to have? How can you reach across the digital divide and really connect with your audience?
Set a realistic budget for your event
It’s vital that you allocate the appropriate budget to ensure that you have all of the resources required to run a smooth and successful event. You only have one chance to get it right. So it’s really important that you have the right team, resources and time allocated to achieve a successful result.
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Rehearse before the live stream
If possible, it’s ideal to conduct a full tech rehearsal the day before the live event. That way you can ensure that everyone involved is on the same page. And identify potential challenges that need to be overcome prior to the event.
Don’t just replicate a live in-person event on Zoom
There’s an energy to live, in-person events that makes them so special. Simply doing the same thing on a webcast just won’t achieve the same effect. This is a different medium. So it needs to be approached in a different way.
Allocate plenty of set up time
Even if your live event is only an hour long, it’s ideal to allocate at least a day, or two half days, to set up, test, rehearse, and run the event. You are putting on a show and, as already mentioned, you have one chance to get it right. Allocating sufficient time will reduce stress, and the potential for things to go wrong.
Encourage engagement and interaction
For your audience, watching a livestream event doesn’t naturally have the same level of intimacy and connection as being physically at an event. So it’s important to find ways to engage them. For example, encouraging discussion and interaction via Social Media can help them to feel involved. Give your viewers an opportunity to pose questions via the chat pad. Or have them engage in an activity that bonds them with other audience members.
Redundancy
For smooth and successful livestream events, it’s important to analyse the process and identify potential weak links. Redundancy is good practice because it means having a backup for anything that may go wrong: If you’re relying on the internet connection of the location, even if it’s fast, it’s important to have a backup 5g bonded connection. Backup audio, lighting, cameras etc are important too.
Contingency
Have a plan in place for your presenters in case of a hiccup: e.g. you cross to remote zoom interview but your interviewee’s audio isn’t working. You may then cut to a pre-recorded video, some banter, or an alternative. Even the most masterfully planned events can throw curveballs at you. But if you’re prepared, you can sail through them with poise and grace.
Review
Once the event is over, and you’ve celebrated your success, it’s important to conduct a review. What worked well? What can be improved? What have you learnt from this livestream event to make your next one even better?
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Ryan Spanger is one of Melbourne’s most respected and sought-after video production professionals. Ryan founded Dream Engine in 2002, and specialises in helping medium to large corporates, government departments, and the non-profit sector to connect with their audience more effectively by using video.
