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You may have pondered taking your event, meeting or training session online in the past, but the last thing you want to do is create more headaches. However, webcasting your event, meeting or training session can be easy when you know in advance what questions to ask.

This will be part of a series of posts about the best practices of webcasting. The series will address the following key topics:

• A brief overview of event webcasting options that illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of
  different approaches to help you decide what’s right for your event, audience, and organization
• What to look for in a webcast provider, including questions to ask about their people, process,
  and technology
• The event webcasting checklist to ensure you’ll avoid any last minute surprises
• Template presenter release form
• Presentation best practices to help your presenters record their most polished presentation

QUICK TIP

Today, I was asked by a prospect if they should be concerned about using popular music on their webcast? My answer? Absolutely! This is not an area you want exposure in. You can use music libraries which are royalty free.

Let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of both live webcasts and Video On-Demand.

Live Advantages

• Bridges distance, allowing people to attend virtually
• Enables interaction between off-site viewers and presenters through moderated Q&A
• Encourages more registrations from people that are not able to travel to the event
• Provides for the creation of overflow rooms for your most popular on-site sessions
• Ideal for a listening session to involve a larger group than the conference room could hold
• Creates opportunity for an additional revenue stream via a virtual conference registration
• Allows critical event sessions and information to be received simultaneously by all on-site and off-site participants

Live Disadvantages

• For effective audience interaction, requires a moderator in the room to review incoming Q&A and read questions to the presenter
• Could detract from on-site attendance, but this is infinitely manageable if you continue to promote networking  opportunities as a major attendee benefit
• Requires dedicated high speed (wired) internet connection in all presentation spaces, which can sometimes be unreliable in certain venues

Video On-Demand Advantages

• Gives both the on-site and off-site attendees access to all recorded tracks
• Lets on-site attendees see all sessions of interest, particularly if they wanted to attend two concurrent sessions
• Enables interaction after the presentation between all viewers and presenters through the asking questions, which can be emailed directly to the presenter if desired
• Creates the option for replay throughout the conference in internet cafes, lounge areas, or on the exhibit floor. The sessions can either be scheduled in a theater format or played on-demand individually via kiosks
• Offers a reference tool, letting on-site attendees focus on the session vs. taking notes
• Generates unique content that can be used in the marketing and promotion for future events
• Creates the opportunity for an additional revenue stream from non-attendees

Video On-Demand Dis-advantages

• Slightly delayed access to conference content for off-site attendees
• Does not facilitate live Q&A from off-site attendees

In a future post, I will answer the following question.

“Should you make content available online only? Or available through DVD/CD/USBs after the event?”

Thanks for reading and if you find this useful, please share it with your colleagues. Thank you.

Robert S. Grossman
President and CEO, Focus Creative Group