How live-streaming can help improve event revenue

0
1968

This footage has been kindly captured by our friends at First Sight Media – firstsight.media

Speaking at last year’s Event Tech Live from the Conference and Creativity stage was Gallus Events’ William Thomson. William used the talk to demonstrate his reasoning behind why organisers should be live-streaming their events.

Describing the benefits of “online events”, William listed five main reasons why he was an advocate for them:

  1. The audience is unlimited, and organisers are not restricted to having a venue with a certain capacity.
  2. They are much cheaper as online attendees do not require feeding, heating or facilities.
  3. The environment benefits – online events generate less waste and do not require much travel (if any at all).
  4. They are easier to market. If companies are spending marketing budgets online, it only makes sense to drive prospective clients to an online product.
  5. Finally, the advancement of technology over the years has caused fewer problems/difficulties when setting up a live event.

Webinars, live-streaming, hybrid events and online training are all examples of online events. William engaged the audience to dissect specific examples of online events and how they can benefit different companies.

Offering his audience some context, William described his first online event back in 2007, which cost viewers the same amount as it did to physically attend. He sold 200 physical tickets and 125 online tickets.

He agreed that the three main fears of live-streaming are: technology failing; no audience; and not be able to deliver real value. Many companies today still experience these concerns just as he did in 2007.

“You just don’t know what people are willing to pay for if you never try it.”

Starting with one event in 2007, William now runs several online events. He encouraged his audience to defeat the “hurdles” that may be discouraging them from investing in online events and reap the benefits for themselves.

Event Tech Live, Europe’s only free-to-attend show dedicated to event technology, will return to the Old Truman Brewery on 6th-7th November 2019. To register for updates, please see here.

You can find more information about Event Tech Live at www.eventtechlive.com

Molly Hookings
Author: Molly Hookings

Molly joined the editorial team in March 2019. She has several years’ experience working in broadcast and journalism, as well as marketing and PR. Past experience includes working for the BBC and independent publishing houses. If you have a story you think Molly might be interested in, please email: molly@eventindustrynews.com