Do more. Be more. 😀

It is understandable if you are not satisfied limiting your trade show booth activities to only those who attend the show and you want the entire world to see what you’re doing, then live streaming might be for you.

Starting in 2016, live, do-it-yourself social video began to shake things up. Suddenly the focus switched from scripted, pre-recorded footage to a more organic and interactive live video experience.

WHAT ARE THE MAKINGS OF LIVE- STREAMING

Live streaming is, in short, broadcasting a live video feed over the Internet. To do this, you need three components in place.

AV or Production Provider –

These are the people who are behind the camera and those dealing with the production.

Streaming Provider –

These are the people who capture your video feed, compress it and stream it over the Internet to the viewing platform.

Viewing Platform Provider –

A viewing platform is the website your audience goes to, to view your presentation and interact with your presenters and other live and virtual attendees.

It sounds complicated, but your part is simple. All you need to do is determine what content you want the world to see, and then choose a way to deliver it.

By live streaming your booth activity and content, you are expanding your audience beyond just those who can attend the trade show. Journalists, bloggers, and potential customers in their offices around the world could tune in and attend your product launch or in-booth presentation. Many viewing platforms also give the viewer the ability to interact with other viewers and direct questions to the presenter.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SHOW SPECIFIC CONTENT SUITABLE FOR LIVE-STREAMING

In-Booth Product Demos –

How to do it?

Focus the camera on the product stationed in your exhibit design being demonstrated and not the person doing the demonstration. Have the camera zoom in to frame only what the viewers want and need to see.

Above: A SAAS company that does not have a physical product, but made use of the booth space by showcasing handcrafted chocolates and macarons that tied in with the special benefits of their software.

Press Events –

HOW TO DO IT?

Assign someone at the live event to look out for questions coming in from the viewing audience and feed them to the speaker. That person would act as the in-person representative for the entire viewing audience.

Above: Large monitor on a edge lit panels draws attention. However, note that if you are  having a press conference in a smaller liner space - 10x20 or so, it is wise to get approval from show management before you go through the rigor of setting it up.

Interviews With Company Executives – HOW TO DO IT?

As with the press events, you can open up questions from the viewing audience. Remind your executives to look directly at the camera when answering questions from the virtual audience. It’s the virtual equivalent of eye contact.

Product Launches –

– HOW TO DO IT?

Be sure to have someone monitoring the chatter taking place on the viewing platform. It’s as if you were in the live audience and were able to hear what people were thinking or whispering to one another.

Above: Island booth design 20x25 with a defined space for jugglers or magicians that can make your product launch

OTHER CONTENTs SUITABLE FOR LIVE STREAMING FROM YOUR BOOTH SPACE –

Q&As – if you often receive a lot of questions about your products or services, live social video can be a great place to field them.

Interviews – Consider having one of the event’s featured speakers stop by your booth. An interview with one or more your suppliers or business partners can also be of interest to your core customers.

Behind the Scenes Videos – Video gives your customers and prospects a chance to learn more about company, processes, or staff than what’s revealed on your website. Live video can give them a rare peak into the personalities and daily activities of your business.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SERVICES AVAILABLE FOR LIVE-STREAMING

Now that we’ve whet your appetite for live streaming, it’s time to talk about the services available. For our purposes here, we’ll break the service options down by free (or freemium) services and professional services. Free and low-cost services such as Ustream and Livestream have the advantage of fitting within just about any budget while professional services can run in the tens of thousands of dollars and more.

Free and Freemium –

You should ask yourself two questions before deciding to go with the inexpensive and free options. How edgy is your company and how important is this broadcast?

You could use a free service and your smartphone video camera to live stream an in-booth product demo or interview. You could even do it over Wi-Fi. But there is a good chance the feed will be very choppy at best .

Professional Providers –

Some companies can provide all three components we mentioned above, and some providers offer just one or two components. What you get for your money are professional camera operators, backups if the feed goes down and support on the viewing platform side.

If your live stream is important, you probably want to go with professional providers. An example of an important event would be a product launch or press conference where you expect a good amount of media representatives tuning in and interacting with your presenter.

Whatever service you decide to use, live streaming is a great way to expand your audience beyond just those who are attending a particular show. If you already have product demos planned, why not experiment a bit and live-stream one or two?

12 Livestreaming Platforms for you Explore.

Plan Ahead for Live Video’s Quirks

Not every staff member will feel comfortable “performing” in front of your smartphone lens, so identify your star talent and do some practice sessions before going live.

Since audio quality and connectivity can fluctuate at an event, you may want to shoot portions of your videos in a room with a hardwired Internet connection, where you can also better control the acoustics.

Of course, you’ll also want to be sure to promote your live streams in advance, sending reminder notices so that you have a waiting audience when you go live.

By embracing the ephemeral nature of unscripted live social video, you can lend an added sense of urgency, interactivity and virality to your trade show marketing.

8 Tips for Virtual Only Live Streaming

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