One of the big trends across marketing channels in 2017 is video. Marketers will be using video more for social, on websites, in emails – and at events. As the year kicks off, let’s take a look at the trends for video this year.
Live Video Platforms
Periscope, Facebook Live, Instagram Stories, Houseparty… the number and popularity of live video apps are expanding, and you can incorporate their use in events to enhance the way users process their event experience. Imagine the type of engagement and subsequent attendance you could get from a live address by a top speaker. And live broadcasting by attendees will be on the rise as well; maybe you’ll even encourage it for event marketing (after all, if people see the excitement they’ll want to attend the next one). Don’t miss early adopter status on this event tech trend.
Webcasting
Whether it’s a shareholder, analyst, or all-hands meeting, or a streaming keynote for your user conference, sharing your broadcast with people anywhere, on any device, in real-time, is critical in today’s connected world. Where the apps discussed above work well on the low-end, when you needed a custom-branded solution with seamless polling options, you should collaborate with experts and look at platforms like BlueJeans, Cisco, YouTube Red, Sonic Foundry, or even NASDAQ, which provides a service for its stock exchange customers. When evaluating these solutions, it’s important to look at cost, quality, and reliability to find one with a balance that fits your unique needs. Webcasting has been popular for some time, and as travel budgets are ever-shrinking and remote working becomes de rigueur, it continues its status as a significant trend.
Virtual Speaker / Presenter
There are some very forward events using holograms (think Tupac giving a concert from the great beyond) for speakers and presenters who aren’t available in person, or as virtual greeters. But if this seems a bit too Star Trek for you (or outside your budget), the webcasting technology described above can allow your perfect speaker to be at the conference virtually just as easily as it can allow those around the world to attend your conference. Why settle for your second choice in speaker just to have that person live? 99.9% of your attendees never get within 100 feet of that person anyway! Virtual presenters will be a reliable option in 2017.
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
Consensus says: 2017 is the year that after a decade of talking about it, this is the year VR/AR make it into events. While it may be a sponsor on the exhibit floor that steps in here and uses Virtual Reality as a unique demo experience, this could also be another great way to enhance that virtual presenter experience, create a sponsorship opportunity, and drive excitement for a session at the same time. Have the first 250 people into a session get virtual reality headsets to be “in the room” with your virtual speaker, sponsored by “X.”
Video + Sound + Lighting = Experience
This year is all about the experience. It’s personal, it’s imaginative, it’s captivating. If you’re not quite ready for virtual reality, you can still create a powerful experience with a combination of multi-screen video, booming surround sound, and lighting complimenting each other to put the user inside a story. If you want an example of how this could work for you, let’s talk!
