Hybrid events have been evolving since the pandemic lockdowns opened up multiple virtual meeting options for seminars, online learning, conferences and lectures, as our venue finders have seen in enquires.  These meeting formats have been the domain of venues for so long that we have taken for granted that these gatherings are ours to host.   Not any more.   The pandemic has shown that meetings and events can easily be conducted online as well, making bricks-and-mortar auditoriums not a required prerequisite.  So we must adapt and market ourselves to this virtual new world.

Some sectors are now happy for their employees to work from home because meeting apps and software have proven to work well.   Employees save time and money by working from home, with no need to worry about the daily stressful commute, no excessive ever-increasing train fares and  no rail strikes to contend with.

We humans are social creatures and our natural instinct is to come together.    As venue finders,  we help provide the best service for our clients to find  the perfect venue at which to meet and socialize, especially important now having been deprived of meeting up for so long during the pandemic.

For those who cannot get to their physical meeting spaces and venues for all sorts of valid reasons, this is where virtual hybrid events come into their own. There are endless ways to project events to the World Wide Web, opening up conferences to a wider audience from far and near.

You can use hybrid platforms- with interaction such as voting, Q&A,  live comments or even beaming-in presenters and audience  onto the screens in venue. Venues can spend a fortune on a lavish production,  or spend less with well-known meeting apps.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money or none at all… you always can – nothing wrong with that when it is required, but venues can stream your events cost effectively using the many apps and social media platforms in existence.   In no particular order, listed below are just some of those opportunities to allow for remote viewing and participation.  Some are more appropriate for certain events than others and all have strong attributes.

TikTok is a video-sharing app that allows users to create and share short-form videos on any topic. It’s mainly mobile-based, although you can still watch TikTok videos using the web app. The platform allows users to get creative with their content using filters, stickers, voiceovers, sound effects, and background music. 2022 – TikTok surpassed 1 billion monthly active users, making it one of the biggest social media platforms. Live Video Streaming: TikTok also allows users to stream live videos where creators and their followers can interact in real-time. Users can even send Gifts to creators while they stream live. Going live on TikTok has the same benefits as going live on any social media channel: it’s your chance to connect with your audience in real-time. When you’re live on TikTok, viewers can ask questions and engage with you right in the moment. There’s a spontaneity and authenticity that comes with broadcasting live. What are TikTok Lives? TikTok Lives are real-time broadcasts that people watch on the TikTok app. They’re usually short and tend to be informal. Brands, however, often create more structured Lives, like in the case of a cooking show, workout tutorial, or product tutorials. Much like Facebook Live and Instagram Live videos, TikTok live has quickly become a popular way of communicating. Brands can build trust, educate their audience, and increase engagement. How many followers do you need to go live on TikTok? You need 1,000 followers to go live on TikTok. And, you need to be at least 16 years of age.

About Instagram

Instagram is a free photo and video sharing app available on iPhone and Android. People can upload photos or videos to our service and share them with their followers or with a select group of friends. They can also view, comment and like posts shared by their friends on Instagram. Anyone 13 and older can create an account by registering an email address and selecting a username. Instagram, as of January 2022, was the fourth most popular social media platform in the world in terms of user numbers. YouTube and WhatsApp ranked in second and third place, respectively, whilst Facebook remained the most popular, with almost three billion monthly active users

Start a live broadcast on Instagram

This feature isn’t available on computers, but it is available on mobile devices. To start a live broadcast from the Instagram app:

Swipe right anywhere in Feed, then scroll to Live at the bottom.

To add a title, tap Title on the left and enter a title, then tap Add title.

Tap  at the bottom. The number of viewers appears at the top of the screen and comments appear at the bottom.

You can add a comment by tapping Comment at the bottom of the screen.

Tap a comment and tap Pin comment to pin it so that viewers can see it more easily.

When you’re done, tap close in the top right, then tap End video to confirm. From there, you can tap Share to share it to your profile.

Keep in mind that when you save your live broadcast to your profile or download the broadcast from Live Archive, only the broadcast is saved, and not things like comments, likes and viewers. It may take a minute for your live broadcast to save to your phone, especially for longer videos.

To manage a live broadcast:

To turn comments off, tap more options at the bottom, then tap Turn off commenting. Keep in mind that any keyword filters you’ve turned on will also apply to comments on your live broadcast.

To turn off requests to go live with you, tap more options at the bottom, then tap Turn off requests to go live.

Twitch:

Twitch streaming and video games go hand in hand — giving millions of viewers and broadcasters a way to interact and share creative content with others. Streaming has exploded in popularity recently, with Twitch being the most used platform for video game broadcasts. Founded in 2011, Twitch is a platform for live video streaming, offering nearly anything you’d want to watch, from cooking, music, Q&A sessions, and — the leading driver of traffic — video games. It originally started as a spinoff division of Justin.tv, with gaming as the main priority. Twitch is available for streaming on many platforms. You can visit the official Twitch website to watch streams, or use the app, which is available on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and devices like Chromecast and Apple TV. If your device has access to the internet and supports apps, you can probably use it for Twitch. Creating an account is free, whether you’re a streamer or viewer. You need an account to leave comments on streams, as well as to subscribe to or follow other content creators.

Facebook:

Facebook is a social networking website that was founded in February 2004 by Harvard University students Chris Hughes, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg. The idea behind Facebook was to provide an online book of faces for university students to connect and share information. It was initially a social network for Harvard and expanded in the following years to any university. It eventually became a social network for anyone, anywhere in the world.  Facebook Live is a feature that enables individuals and businesses to stream live video to friends, family and followers. Go live on Facebook to broadcast a conversation, performance, Q&A or virtual event. Learn how to make personal connections and create shared experiences with Facebook Live.  Facebook Live is a feature of Facebook that lets users livestream directly to the social network platform. Viewers can react, share, and comment during the stream. A recording of the video is also published to the page or profile so it can be watched again later. When you broadcast a Facebook Live video, it will appear on your page, group or event and may also show up in the Feed or on Facebook Watch. When the broadcast is over, you can edit and share a recording of the Live video on your page. Why are marketers getting so excited about Facebook Live? Because it’s a fun and fairly simple way for them to use the power of video to communicate their brand stories and build authentic relationships with fans and followers — in real-time.  If you want to broadcast from your computer, you’ll need to use a live video streaming tool. This can be a web app that runs in your browser (such as Facebook itself, or a 3rd party tool like Restream Studio, Streamyard or BeLive) or an app that runs on your Mac or PC (usually known as an encoder). There are quite a few that work with Facebook Live, but the most popular ones are Ecamm Live, OBS Studio, Restream,  StreamYard and Wirecast, but there are others.

Youtube

YouTube is a free video sharing website that makes it easy to watch online videos. You can even create and upload your own videos to share with others. Originally created in 2005, YouTube is now one of the most popular sites on the Web, with visitors watching around 6 billion hours of video every month. If you’ve ever watched a video online, there’s a good chance it was a YouTube video. One reason YouTube is so popular is the sheer number of videos you can find. On average, 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, so there’s always something new to watch! And you’ll find all kinds of videos on YouTube—adorable cats, quirky cooking demos, funny science lessons, quick fashion tips, and a whole lot more. While social content formats come and go, livestreaming is tried and true. Virtual events, workshops and webinars on platforms like YouTube Live were crucial during pandemic lockdowns, but do they still resonate now? You bet. The popularity of livestreams stabilized as the world has opened up, and 37% of consumers think livestreams are the most engaging type of content. With streaming on the rise brands will need to fine-tune their current strategy and prepare for the future of YouTube and livestreaming. The YouTube Studio is where you’ll go to manage your YouTube channel. From here, you can see statistics on how many people have viewed your videos, respond to any comments you’ve received, and more. You’ll also be able to access the Video Manager, which allows you to edit your videos, add captions and annotations, and perform similar functions. f you’re already using a video conferencing platform to conduct virtual meetings or events, you might be wondering how to go live on YouTube, Benefits of learning how to go live on YouTube include:

Simplicity. Streaming live on YouTube is an easy and cost effective way to connect with your audience. Anyone with an internet connection can create a YouTube channel for free and live stream to it. Wider outreach. YouTube live streaming lets you reach a larger audience. There are no limits on the number of people who can watch a YouTube live stream simultaneously.

Real time interaction. Live stream viewers can interact with the host, and vice versa. The live chat feature sparks conversation between presenters, moderators, and attendees, and can help guide the content of the stream.

Data analysis. YouTube live streams provide real-time and post-live analytics that provide insights to apply to your next live stream. Data like user duration and demographics help you learn who’s watching your live streams SEO opportunities. YouTube videos show up in Google search results. Your live streams can be searchable and optimized for SEO if you choose.nd for how long.

The first step to streaming live via YouTube is to enable your YouTube account for live streaming. This must be done well in advance, so don’t wait until you’re ready to stream your event to take this crucial initial step.

1. First, verify your YouTube account
2. Next, enable live streaming
3. Wait 24 hours for live streaming to become activated on your account

There are three primary recording options for YouTube Live streaming:

Web cam – The camera on your laptop or device is an easy, software-free way to record.

Mobile cam – The camera on your mobile device is just as easy, but mobile live streaming is restricted to YouTube accounts with 1,000 subscribers or more.

Encoder streaming – An encoder is a tool that creates a digital copy of your video that can be transmitted over the internet. There are two types of encoders for streaming video: hardware encoders and software encoders.

To enquire about finding the perfect venue, make an enquiry and our venue finding team will do the rest, this also includes securing the best rates for you!