It’s no surprise that the value of live video within the corporate space has skyrocketed in our increasingly digital world. In fact, 60% of marketers use webcasts and webinars in their communication strategies. Embracing corporate webcasting solutions can help bring your employees and stakeholders together, no matter where they are. But how do you get started?
How to Create a Webcast: 5 Tips for Corporate Webcasting Solutions
What is a Webcast?
A webcast is a live stream of an event or meeting hosted online, though they can be pre-recorded and viewed again. Webcasts typically feature a “One-to-Many” approach: one organizer broadcasts to a large audience. With that in mind, it’s critical to choose the right technology partner and keep your audience engaged with your webcast’s content.
Focus on Continuous Value
Before you start the cameras, there’s some planning to do! The first step to successfully creating a corporate webcast is to think about the value the event may have long-term. Remember, you can make your webcast available for audiences after the event has ended. This helps any viewers who may want to review your content, but also provides a way to share your webcast with stakeholders or viewers who did not watch your original video.
The other element of continuous webcast value is it gives you plenty of video collateral to rework! You can edit the webcast content and use it for your social media platforms, website, or other digital marketing needs.
Practice is Essential
Practice makes perfect! Corporate webcasting is more accessible than it has been previously, but making your webcast successful requires practice on camera and behind the scenes. We highly recommend doing a few practice rounds with your relevant departments and production team. Not only will this help smooth out any presentation fumbles, it gives you the opportunity to test out all of your technology elements. Confidence is key with corporate webcasts!
Choose the Right Partner
Now, we might be a little biased for this portion, but selecting the right technology and production team is crucial! You might have content creators internally, but 42% of marketers surveyed say creating video content through an outside agency has resulted in better videos. So we suggest looking outside the box!
Here at StagePost, our biggest priority is making sure your webcast is seamless and engaging for everyone involved. Your ideal production team should have plenty of experience in live streaming, top-of-the-line cameras, lights, audio and the latest live streaming technology. They should also have extensive experience with streaming platforms and a deep understanding of your company’s branding.
Overall, when choosing your production partner, choose a collaborative team with an innate understanding of the value of corporate video.
Don’t Forget to Promote
It’s happening! You’ve planned your webcast, rehearsed your presentation, and chosen your production partner. Now, it’s time to tell the world.
You should utilize standard tools like emails, invites, and calendar reminders, but we recommend adding a more personalized approach for your stakeholders as well. You want to get attendees excited to see your webcast, right? This is a great opportunity to tease your webcast content with a video email.
Engagement is Key
Due to its format, webcasting can make audience engagement a little more difficult. But don’t worry, there are a few ways you can encourage audience participation!
To boost your connection with the audience, try these strategies:
- Live Q&A – This method allows audience members (you can pre-select them if you want) to ask questions in a moderated approach.
- Quizzing – This approach is a great way to see if your viewers are retaining your webcast content.
- Polling – This is similar to quizzing, but it allows you to see what your audience thinks of your content while the webcast is streaming. Be sure to practice for all polling outcomes in your rehearsal!
Let’s Get Started on Your Corporate Webcast
A successful corporate webcast means engaging your stakeholders and community in a way that’s exclusively unique to your brand. Planning ahead and implementing a variety of strategies will help you maximize the effectiveness of your webcast. Ready to craft your corporate webcast with a collaborative, experienced production team? Give us a call today to get started!
