In any case, exactly what has driven this fast take-up of occasion live streaming? One main consideration has been an emotional decrease in the costs related to a top-notch live streaming help. Customarily, live streaming was frequently observed as an expensive additional that drew vigorously on limited time spending plans. This made a bar to section for some, little to medium estimated associations, alongside a significant part of the general population area. Be that as it may, the present serious live streaming market has seen costs reduce to a small amount of their past levels. This has made it more open to associations.
Occasion live streaming has seen determined development in the course of the most recent couple of years. Recognized by any semblance of Facebook and Twitter, live streaming empowers associations to draw in their clients, accomplices, and representatives in manners at no other time conceivable. Simultaneously, it has torn apart numerous conventional settings. This is the way by which we characterize occasion live streaming: “permitting mass investment to a far-off crowd in an encounter or event”. From AGMs to music celebrations, for some associations, live streaming isn’t an issue of “if”, yet “when”.
The Rise of Event Live Streaming Services
Events in Singapore can enhance their reach to more customers and sponsors with the growth of event live streaming services. Event goers may have genuine interest in a particular event but are unable to attend due to personal, financial, or other reasons. To be able to view live content remotely would be an attractive alternative. For free events streamed online, there is potential for these remote viewers to turn into local attendees at future events, thus event live streaming can assist in long-term event growth. Sponsors will have increased interest in an event that can give wider exposure and promotion of their brands to the Singapore public. 40% of marketers believe an increase in brand awareness is the most widely felt benefit of digital marketing; live streaming is an efficient means to do so. High-profile brands that are experienced in live broadcasting products can utilize event live streaming in Singapore as a trial run to assess potential broadcast and decide whether it would be suitable to sponsor or run their own events.
Event live streaming services have been made possible due to larger access to broadband and mobile service. With the rise of 3G and 4G enabled smartphones, now a user can effortlessly use high-quality video from just about anywhere. Social media also has a role to play, particularly the recent growth of the Twitter “live-tweet” and Facebook “live” functions and the success of video platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo. Social media and video streaming are becoming ever more integrated, leading to an increased market potential and demand for live streaming from both event organizers and sponsors.
Benefits of Event Live Streaming Services
One of the most compelling reasons for event live streaming services is the pressing need for companies to become more global at the same time that budgets are being cut. It’s becoming less and less possible to fly employees in from around the world to meet in one place, yet the value of getting these people together is at an all-time high. A live streamed event that includes remote participants is an attractive alternative to a significantly more expensive all-hands meeting. Live streaming also has the potential to reach a far wider audience than would be possible through in-person events, thus increasing the impact of the event. An internal survey of Thomson Reuters employees found that most had interest in participating in live events. Only 25% said they would be willing to spend more than a few hundred dollars on any given event, which reinforces the attractiveness of live streaming.
Imagine being able to attend a conference in London or San Francisco from your office in Singapore. Imagine being able to interact with the speaker, in real time, as if you were actually there. Imagine being able to do the same with your co-workers, a bonding experience that is also efficient and cost-effective. These are just a few of the scenarios possible with event live streaming services, something that is really catching on in Singapore. We will look at some of the benefits of these services, though it is becoming clear that the possibilities are endless.
Choosing the Right Event Live Streaming Service
Video and audio broadcast quality is definitely a consideration, given your audience will be accustomed to high production standards on TV. Find an event live streaming service provider that offers the full range of video and audio production, encoding, and internet streaming resources. A viewing experience should not be marred by buffering, so make sure they can deliver at any internet connection speed. Some companies will try to sell you more expensive internet streaming for better quality, but a good event live streaming service provider should not require different plans for optimal viewing. In terms of contract duration, you want to avoid long term contracts in case the service is not what you expected. Ideally there are providers that offer free trials with no commitment, allowing you to test their service before fully committing.
There are a handful of event live streaming service providers in Singapore, but you should be careful when selecting one. The last thing you want is to be stuck with a provider that does not meet your requirements. There are several factors to consider when selecting a provider, such as cost, video quality, and contract duration. Cost is often the deciding factor in choosing a provider. You should pick one that offers a flat rate and does not charge extra for going over your bandwidth limit. Although free services are tempting, it is best to avoid them as they are generally unreliable.
Factors to Consider
Event objectives It is important to fully understand the key objectives of the event. Specifically, what does the event host want to achieve from the live broadcast? Factors to consider might be to extend the brand globally, provide an additional service to existing customers, or gain a new revenue stream by broadcasting the event to a wider audience. Having a clear understanding of what it is the customer wants to achieve will help to better identify if, and how, an event broadcast could benefit them.
Choosing the right event live streaming service: factors to consider When seeking the right online broadcast solution for an event, customer needs and budget will be the key factors impacting vendor selection. Considering that every event is different, specific requirements must be clearly identified and documented.
Implementing Event Live Streaming Services
Live streaming an event should never be a decision made on the spur of the moment. It requires a lot of careful planning and preparation in order to determine the content to be streamed, the target audience, and the availability of necessary resources. When it is decided that the event should be streamed, a project leader should be appointed to manage the preparation process, starting with the formation of a team to set objectives and identify resources for the project. It is likely that the event that is being streamed is quite a large production and involving the streaming of it will require the cooperation of many departments and thus the objectives unable to be set by the streaming team alone. Once this is done, decisions on what content is being streamed and to what audience can be made. Often the target audience can be everyone at the event itself, as well as people who cannot attend the event and wish to view it from another location. It can even involve people in a different country depending on the nature of the event. These decisions will affect the type of content being streamed and the resources required, so it is important to be aware of any external viewers when planning the stream. This would then lead to the identification of the type of platform that will be used to stream the event, but details on this will be discussed in the following section.
Planning and Preparation
A successful live streaming experience begins with adequate pre-event planning where the various logistical, operational, and technical aspects of the webcast are considered. A dedicated cross-functional team should be appointed to discuss and define the event objectives and to brainstorm and list all potential issues and constraints likely to be encountered. One of the main considerations for a live-streamed event is the target audience. As the technical capabilities of the audience will vary (in terms of internet connection speed, monitor resolution, software availability, etc.), so will the many different ways a live-streamed event can be executed and implemented. The event scope and objectives will determine if the event is suitable for streaming. Live-streamed events are particularly suited to reachable global audiences where the “live” aspect brings an unprecedented level of interactivity. Other common event types include training seminars, internal and external company announcements, and press conferences where an in-person audience is not national or international. If the event is to promote discussion and collaboration among the participants, it may be more suitable to stream only a portion of the event or to conduct the event in a studio setting recreating the environment to suit an online audience.
Technical Requirements and Setup
A CDN is a Content Delivery Network. This is a service that can host the live stream and distribute it to a wide audience. This is an alternative to using YouTube or other social media for a live stream. Using social media is a simple solution, but it may not be the most effective. This is due to the multiple services offered and when promoting the live stream, the audience may not have the patience or knowledge of where to find the stream at the time of the event. An event page can also be cluttered with comments and other activity. This can cause a distraction and in worst-case scenarios can attract internet trolls to the stream to cause trouble. A CDN provides the customer with a link to the stream that can be shared to direct viewers to it. This is a clean and effective solution to driving traffic to the stream. It can also be closed to the public or have an access code for private events. This offers security to the stream from unwanted viewers. Due to the range in features of CDNs, it would be best to research companies and find one to suit the needs of the customer. This can be anywhere from a free service to something that is quite expensive.
Webcasting software comes in two types. There is software that is installed on a computer and used for a wide range of projects. An example such as Windows Media Encoder. The second type is software that will be available from a website and used as a tool. An example of this would be Ustream’s webcast tool. With either type of software, there are options to stream for free or pay to have an ad-free experience and increased options for videos. This will be a consideration if there is a budget for the project.
The basic requirements for a live streaming setup include a capture device, webcasting software, and a CDN if delivering the stream via the internet. A capture device is an essential part of a live stream setup. This is a piece of hardware that will take an audio and video source and encode it to be sent to a computer. Video can be camera footage and audio can be a musician or a mic on a person. The encoded source can be sent to a computer via FireWire or USB and viewed through the computer to be webcast.
For the live streaming project to be a success, the technical requirements and setup must be considered. This can range from basic to a large amount of funds depending on the type of event. The setup and requirements may also vary greatly.
Ensuring a Smooth Live Streaming Experience
Static and audio interruptions are the last thing we would want during a live streaming. At times, these issues are caused by network problems and may not be server-side issues. In order to detect the source of the problem, we do a trace route to the streaming server. This would show the network path and transit delay of the packets and indicate if there are any problems or congestions of the network routes. If we host the streaming server in Singapore, we need to ensure that the viewers from overseas will have no problem accessing the server. In cases where we use shared web hosting, there may be too many other web services running on the same server and this would affect the live streaming. Step up to a dedicated server hosting. The reliability and stream performance would be better. A higher end would be to use a Content Delivery Network (CDN). This will replicate the data on the streaming server and delivering it to a cache server in Asia, Europe, and the US, thus delivering the content fast to viewers from any location.
Firstly, we ensure that the venue for the event is equipped with a reliable and fast broadband internet access. Event venues in Singapore are usually equipped with broadband internet access. However, the typical internet access may not be sufficient for live streaming. Internet speed and quality are crucial for live streaming. The internet connection should not be shared with too many users as this would reduce the available bandwidth for the live streaming. We ensure that there is sufficient reserved bandwidth for the live streaming. An alternative way is to use satellite broadband. This would be very useful in events and exhibitions where the venue may not have fixed telephone line broadband access.
Coordinating two live events and streaming them live in Singapore and also overseas to generate international exposure, it is important to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted live stream to the targeted audience. Here are some measures we take to secure a quality live streaming experience. By doing so, the viewers would not feel shortchanged or feel that the live stream service is unreliable.
Maximizing the Impact of Event Live Streaming
By exploring the event live streaming from a marketing perspective, the potential reach of the audience can be vastly expanded. As mentioned, the internet is a global broadcasting medium and event live streaming enables event organizers to tap into the international audience. There are many casual viewers who would not be willing to pay the admission price to attend the actual event but would be very interested in an ‘online ticket’ at a lower cost. It is also a good alternative for those who are unable to obtain leave, cost and time effective from traveling to the event location. With regards to competitive gaming events, given the large quantity of gaming fans worldwide, event live streaming is the best tool for increasing the event’s level of competitiveness by exposing the tournament to a wider pool of talent. All these reasons make it vital for event promoters to build awareness and encourage viewership of the live stream. In order to build viewer awareness, promotion and advertising of the live stream is essential. Existing event websites and advertising media can include the schedule and information of the live stream. It is helpful to create a designated page or link on the website that is easily visible to visitors. Event organizers can also utilize social media as a free and effective tool to connect to existing and potential viewers, going further to create a Facebook event and linking the live stream within the event page. While guerrilla marketing and flyering at the event location is not directly related to online viewership, it can have the indirect effect of increasing onsite attendance which can also increase the chance of onsite spectators becoming online spectators in the event of a delayed or replay broadcast of the event.
Promoting and Marketing the Live Stream
Spreading the word about the live event should also be done through leveraging social media, an audience engagement tool which is rapidly becoming more popular in this day and age. Social media is a huge part of the modern Internet culture and it is often the first place people will check when looking for news and updates about something, making it a very effective means of promoting. The use of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram should be heavily utilized by the organization hosting the event and the live stream production company. Videos and images related to the event can be posted on the various platforms with the intention of engaging the viewers and provoking a response to share or like the post, giving the content more exposure. Capturing the target audience’s attention via social media will result in the most effective lead-up to the live event. A call to action with a link to information about the live stream should be included with each post shared so that users can find out more.
Promoting and marketing the live stream is, without a doubt, a major determinant of the success of a live stream. The days and weeks leading up to the live stream can make or break the execution of the event. As previously discussed, visitors are much more likely to watch the live stream if they are prepared for it. In order to maximize the number of viewers of the live stream, the pre-event promotional technique is an essential tactic to get the word out. It is vital that camera crews are constantly reminding viewers when the live stream will take place and where they can watch it. This can be achieved with on-screen text and verbal reminders by presenters during the production of videos of other events.
Engaging with Remote Audiences
Enhancing experiences hinges on remote audience engagement and interaction. Companies such as PVP Live have developed systems specifically designed to facilitate this. Interaction with remote audience is achieved by including a “Live chat” function in the live stream and encouraging discussion about the content of the live stream and the event. Audience interaction can be encouraged through use of incentives such as promotions and giveaways to remote viewers. These could range from free event merchandise and products, to being included in exclusive competitions with lucrative prizes. The prize incentive has been proven as an effective way to increase viewership numbers for event live streams, and it also increases the likelihood of viewers returning next time there is a live streamed event. To improve the experience of the remote viewer it is important to ensure the stream quality is as high as possible, this includes having the ability to view previous content from the live stream. This can be achieved by the live stream being divided into chapters which are easily accessible, and allowing the user to pause and rewind the stream. Viewing previous content can be vital to certain audiences, for instance eSports fans may have missed a particularly exciting game from a tournament live stream and wish to view it in its entirety at a later time.
Analyzing and Leveraging Live Stream Data
As most businesses turn to live streaming to market products, generate leads, and increase sales, it is important to understand how live streams can impact a company’s bottom line. There are two levels of live stream data that can be analyzed. The first is aggregate data; this type of data is the category overall of everything from views to engagements. While calculated, the insights are directional and therefore we are unable to point out anything specific. But they do offer some value to the marketer or company owner who is looking to compare their success to similar companies in their industry. The second is user-centric data, this type of data is targeted specifically at each individual viewer and therefore offers conclusive insights that can provide a true understanding of where the company/brand lie in the eyes of its consumers. User-centric analysis can be done using contact lists, IP addresses, or cookies to identify who the viewers were. After identification, the events that this viewer attended can be compiled and filtered through to find every instance of their engagement. This method takes very calculated analyses of each viewer and compiles them into an easy-to-read one viewer. With a solid understanding and ability to define viewer engagement, coming with rightful comparisons to typical consumer behavior trends, and correlating engagement to any event goals, it is possible to gauge how successful an event was at capturing a viewer’s interest. By setting benchmarks and KPIs, one can compare between different events and measure an event’s success at building viewer involvement.
