The plus side is we have all been able to attend talks, conferences and webinars from all over the world and if you are like me it has allowed me to attend events I would not normally have been able to either because of distance, cost or both.

I like the idea of hybrid events but what are they? This is what many are still trying to work out and...the cost. A hybrid event could prove more costly and you might not have the attendance in the same way. Does that mean it is going to cost more and bring in less revenue? I guess there will be a lot of people pouring over Excel trying to figure that out.

For many events I would have added live streaming and was in some cases a nicety for those who couldn’t attend and wasn’t treated as important as the audience that were physically there. And often the live stream was free of charge.

Now it is important to get it just right and you need to know that connections are going to work.

At a squeeze I could have done a basic live stream single handed. Things have stepped up a level and now there will be more gear and crew than before.

I seems a hybrid event will mean interacting with the online audience, that is taking questions. It also could mean some of your speakers are remote and will not only mean projecting them at the venue but also streaming them too. This could mean wrangling multiple Zoom calls or callers. Someone looking after the questions. Then there is the person mixing all this together. That is three additional people right there.

Now you have:

• A camera person
• Live streamer/vision mixer
• Zoom or online call manager
• Question wrangler

With the online call, lets call it Zoom, you should do rehearsals and check this in advance. The Zoom manager can check their systems and make sure they are familiar with sharing the screen if they need to and to find out what their connection and system is like.

The other things about the virtual conference and hybrid event is the extra work now in recording talks and other content for playback. This can work well but there is the extra time in organising, filming it if necessary and editing. Many record the talks themselves but might still need some help and editing.

Let’s not forget the graphic designer who will need to create the elements to make sure it all looks nice.

This might all sound daunting but we have been doing this for many years now and we don’t just sit back and do the deliver the technology but help you produce it and talk the stress from you and your team.

This all does add a lot of value to your event and is exciting as it is a live event.

If you want to know more do get in touch.

I guess the problem is with something like making video is you need more equipment and bit more time that using other social media where the message can be short and all you need is computer, smartphone or tablet to quickly add something. But good things take time so making a video may take more time but can have a lot of value. To be honest it does not have to take that much time depending on what you want to do.

The question for many is how can video help my business or that they do not have a budget to make a big promotional video. Firstly all businesses I can think of can benefit from having some video online and you do not need to create a promotional video to get noticed. You watch TV and there are adverts there to promote businesses surely that is what you need. Not necessarily, I would not put someone off from creating a promotional video which again does not need the big budgets of yesteryear. Many businesses and individuals get a lot of traffic by simply offering advice or how to guide. I can think of many examples where this can be useful.

• Keeping customers informed by video can be really powerful, recording a seminar or product announcement and putting that online will not only keep your existing customers happy but also let prospective customers know more about you. Look at Apple, they may have really well staged product annoucements but people are always tuning in to see what they are doing and how their products work and how they will benefit them.
• If you are selling something that needs setting up or assembling then a video how-to guide will show you have gone the extra mile in helping them and probably easier to follow than many printed guides. I video can show the nuances of setting something up that may not come across that well in a text based guide. As good example of this is when I needed to replace something on our washing machine and found a video on how to do it as well as links from the company on what I needed to buy from them including the tools.
• Giving your customers advice will not only keep them happy but potential customers may like the advice or what they see. If you are giving free advice then you may well be at the top of their list when they need your service. I can say this has worked for me, I have many how-to videos and when people want training they often contact me first. There are many professions where this could be useful from accounts providing accountancy advice to gardeners giving tips on how they can maintain their garden throughout the year. What if you are a photographer, then advice on how to take better travel photographs or how to capture your children will help keep you in mind.
• Staff profiles done as a video helps introduce people to key people in your team, people will feel like they know you.

These are just some examples there are so many more and as I said many of you already have the tools to create good quality videos.

If you want to learn how to create your own professional quality videos and how this can help promote your business then drop me a line by clicking here to go to my contact page.

Gary

This week they had the 100,000th participant and had the pleasure of photographing a group of enthusiastic students as they came along for a visit.

Photographically the Centre of the Cell is inside a pod that is very dark which pushes the limits even for the camera I use which is know for good results in low light conditions, the Canon EOS 5D Mark III.