Webcasting, webinars and virtual events are not new to AV companies. Many of us have been assisting our clients with their streamed events for years. In the past, planners would use webinars to provide education for their Association members or Corporate staff and clients. Planners would sometimes rely on webcasting when a keynote speaker suddenly could not attend the event in-person or they wanted to expand their event by offering a hybrid solution. Not all planners bought into the virtual side of events.
Today is a different day. Stakeholders are now asking planners to recreate their entire in-person events to virtual. This is a challenging concept to grasp if you have not planned a fully virtual event with multiple elements including breakout rooms, tradeshows and networking opportunities. The good news is that this is all achievable with the right platform that fits your needs.
Now planners are forced to learn more about the digital world than they have ever known before. It is not an easy learning curve. If you search ‘virtual event platform” or “webcasting” on your internet browser you will be overwhelmed by all of the options that are out there and what makes it more difficult is that all of the platforms have different features and benefits. There are plenty of “do-it-yourself” platforms but those are making the assumption that the planners are not only extremely computer literate but also have the time and staff to program the content themselves.
Now more than ever it is important to partner with a technology company that offers different platforms and methods of streaming. “One size doesn’t fit all!” It is key to have honest and open discussions regarding your needs vs wants with your AV partner, so that they can help determine what will be the best fit of platform for you.
