Webcasting or holding a virtual event is actually a decades old technology. With today’s restricted travel and need for social distancing, the technology has come to the rescue of businesses around the world. They need to connect with their employees, customers and the public. Whether an awards ceremony, all hands meeting or virtual conference, more companies are using the internet to connect people scattered around town, around the country or around the world. They are also looking for real-time, streaming remote meeting solutions.
Webcasting vs. Live Streaming
So what exactly is webcasting? How is it different from conference streaming or a virtual meeting? How does it work and why should companies use it?
In the event production industry, webcasting usually refers to the ability to broadcast video and audio from one place to many places in real time or after the event via a link. Usually, there is no interaction with the audience, whether they are watching live or at another time at home, an office or another location, via their phones, devices or computers. Odds are you’re familiar with this type of solution to stream special events online.
Many organizations and companies have used webcasting as a way to capture keynote speaker presentations at a bigger live conference or in-person meeting. Or perhaps the speaker can’t be there in person. They record the speaker, session or event while it is happening and broadcast it live via the internet. Then the session is placed online for future viewing. That’s called a hybrid live or hybrid streaming event.
But what happens when you want the entire event as a virtual conference? And you want the ability for attendees, wherever they are, to be able to ask questions, view video or media, or provide feedback to speakers, panels and the larger group? Virtual attendance is what’s needed in this case.
Virtual Corporate Event Streaming
Virtual corporate event streaming includes interactivity between the meeting host and the remote participants. Interactive web events can happen at a variety of levels. Event planners can conduct attendee polls (multiple choice questions) and conduct social Q&A (attendees ask questions and can bump up previously asked questions by liking them). Or they can even simply switch from presenter to presenter and location to location as the meeting schedule demands. The difference is that all of this happens in real time, controlled by the host of the meeting.
Interactive live stream events require a level of expertise to manage both the technology and the flow of the meeting. Think of that expert like the director of a live television show. The director decides who is “on camera” at any time. They switch views depending on the flow of the meeting. In an interactive virtual conference or special event, remote meeting attendees see who and what the meeting organizer wants them to see – a person, a video or other media, or each other.
With interactive web events, there are big challenges, of course. Lighting and other remote locations issues for the presenters can make or break the remote attendee experience. Media materials, video and other considerations can also constrain the effectiveness of standard video conferencing applications. Those applications (or a non-professional meeting organizer) might not be able to handle the agenda or bandwidth, either.
The Enliven Live Event Streaming Solution
That’s where a professional event production company like Enliven comes in. We’ve been live streaming events, both interactive and non-interactive, for several years. We’ve offered these services to our in-person event clients to enhance the conference or meeting experience. Now, we’re making this technology and service available as a true solution for today’s meeting, event and conference needs.
In our increasingly interconnected business environment, global attendance at corporate internet events via streaming is an ideal solution for companies seeking to connect in a cost-effective, safe and secure manner. Whether your meeting or event is 10 people across town or 1000 people across the country, or 10,000 in locations around the globe, Enliven can coordinate a virtual, live streaming and cost-effective experience that will exceed your business goals.
