Benefits of streaming your next event?

You're planning your next conference and thinking about web streaming some of the show. You wonder about the benefits of streaming and wish you had someone to ask. Besides the coolness factor of pulling it off, what can it really do for you and your company? Here are my top three benefits of streaming your event:

  

Benefit #1 -  A Larger Audience 

Do you wish you could reach more people? The information you provide at your conferences is valuable. Web streaming opens up a world of possibilities for your audience sizes - you're not limited to the people in the room. Inside every organization there are members who cannot attend every meeting or every conference in person. And yes, it would be great to get 100% participation from members, but that may not be possible due to limited financial resources or time constraints. So why not make the conference available online to your non-attending members? And while you're at it, invite potential members to get a sneak peek at your organization. You can also use streaming to strengthen your social media presence when you add social media feeds, like Twitter and Facebook. Viewers can get involved in the conference during question and answer sessions or just by commenting on the feed. 

Benefit #2 Control Travel Costs

Companies are always trying to control spending, and traveling to conferences can carry hefty price tags. The costs of flights, hotels and meals add up. Web streaming your event can curb some of those costs. I recently attended an industry conference and I spent well over $1600 on hotel, food and airfare. I spent about the same amount on conference registration. Utilize web streaming as an integral part of your conference to deliver content and you could see a decrease in travel expenses. 

Benefit #3 Increased Revenue Potential

I know you're thinking about how you need attendance/registration to pay for the event. Well, consider this:  you can offer some of your popular and most-informative sessions as a pay-per-view option. Using a pay wall system, you can generate revenue by allowing access to live events by selling pay-per-view subscriptions. After your conference is over, you can monetize your best sessions in the same pay-per-view manner. You should be able track your viewership data and see what worked and what fell flat. 

There are no substitutions for meeting face-to-face with other people in the organization, or the deal making and networking that comes with being at a conference, but think of streaming your content as adding value to your event. Streaming allows you to broaden the size of your audience while cutting costs and adding revenue back to the organization.

Have some questions about live event streaming?  Contact Kevin Hill. For more information about Igigo Communications, check out www.igigocommunications.com