virtual events Archives

Effectively Using Microblogging to Cover Live Events

Most of us have come across a blog post at some point in our time on the Internet – you’re reading one right now! They’re a great way to share opinions, discuss topics, and express ourselves. With how easily accessible they are for both authors and readers, it’s no surprise that blogging is a popular and widespread function used by individuals and organizations alike. But most people overlook (or maybe aren’t even aware) of a subsection of blogging that’s gained massive traction over the past few years.

Microblogging has quickly expanded to become a popular option for sharing content across the digital landscape, and with good reason – it’s easy, effective, and allows people to engage in a shared space similar to blogs, but in much more manageable, time-efficient sections. As a result, more and more media companies have realized the benefit of microblogging, and are using it to engage with their audience within their own platforms.

An incredibly effective way to do so is by covering live events through frequent, rolling updates on their platform. Live events usually attract significant interest, so providing coverage can help you gain a good amount of attention and engagement. Read on to learn more about why using microblogging to cover live events could be a great option to drive community engagement, especially when supported with the right tools and functions.

What is microblogging?

This is probably the first question that some may want to ask. So what exactly makes microblogging different from regular blogging, and why does it make a difference?

In simple terms, microblogging is about creating shorter, more succinct content for audiences that can be consumed quickly. Compared to regular blogs, audience members will spend much less time on individual posts, so microbloggers usually make up for this by making more frequent updates to their pages so audiences can remain engaged.

Compared to blogs, microblogging involves much more picture and video content, which can be a great way to stimulate audiences without writing in detail. Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr are some great microblogging examples. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Advantages of microblogging

Of course, microblogging has some definite advantages over the traditional blogging format, which is why advertisers, media outlets, and big businesses are jumping on the bandwagon. Here are some of the biggest reasons why microblogging is worth it.

Efficiency

Since microblogs are based around shorter, less detailed chunks of content, they take a lot less effort to produce big results. For example, you can prepare several microblog posts in the same amount of time it takes to write and put up a blog post of standard length. There’s clearly a tremendous amount of value to be derived from microblogging just from how easy it is to prepare content for the format.

Mobile-friendly

It’s official; more people spend their time browsing the Internet on mobile devices than on desktops or laptops. This means that if you’re looking to engage an audience, your content needs to be mobile-friendly. Blogs can be a chore to read through on mobile devices, and scrolling through walls of text is just as appealing as you’d expect (it isn’t).

This is where microblogging and its focus on visual content shine – your audience will happily view videos and interact with exciting photos, since they translate much better onto mobile platforms. In addition, the shorter content segments often mean that you can prepare posts that can be taken in with little to no scrolling at all, which is great for the quick, concise updates that are standard during live event coverage.

Flexibility

Since your content is produced in smaller, more frequent intervals, microblogging allows you to change the subject and direction of your content on the fly. This is a lot easier on your content producers since each post usually takes minutes to conceptualize and write out. In addition, covering new developments, reacting to events, and responding to audience interests are effortless on a microblogging website.

Covering events through microblogging

We’ve gone over the benefits of microblogging, and its clear that the time-limited and fast-paced nature of live events make it very hard to cover them effectively through regular blogs. Microblogging is clearly the way to go, and some of our readers may already have theirs up and running. However, some important steps need to be followed if you want to effectively do live coverage and drive engagement. Here are some of the best tips to make your next event coverage session a huge success.

Prepare and confirm functionality

Before the event starts, you’ll want to make sure that your platform doesn’t have any outstanding issues or bugs that might end up being a problem during the live coverage. Finding and sorting these problems out beforehand will save you a lot of trouble down the line and make your live microblogging coverage a much smoother experience.

Take pictures

The strength of microblogging stems from the added engagement driven by graphic content. While it’s acceptable to provide only text based post updates on your feed, you’ll find it much easier to break up the monotony of your text wall with photos or images of the event itself. If the event is live, consider having someone attend and take pictures. If you’re covering a streamed event, take screenshots of memorable moments and pair them with your text posts for great effect.

Talk to your audience

Your audience will be having conversations based on the event; you should join in as well! Have someone ready to reply to comments, like popular opinions, and generally promote discussion. Not only will you spark added activity and continue to drive engagement, but you’ll be able to show that your platform is involved within the community and cares about what the audience has to say.

Be ready to moderate

Not all discussion around microblogging coverage will be healthy. Plenty of trolls and toxic individuals will likely attend the event, more than happy to spread negativity, toxic thinking, and outright inappropriate content. If using automatic moderation, make sure your algorithms are working as intended, and it’s highly recommended you use live moderators to cover all the bases and put out fires as they start.

Endnote

When done right, microblogging to cover live events can help media platforms boost their reputation as a trusted source of information and discussion. But using the right tools and taking the proper steps to prepare for your coverage is just as important. Our solutions suite offer several practical and highly effective tools that can be used to enhance your next live event blog. If you’re interested in learning more about what we can do for you, contact us today to schedule a demo, and elevate your next live blog event from good to extraordinary.

The Ins and Outs of Event Blogging

While we always have good things to say about blogging, it’s hard to ignore that several subtypes come with their own territory when it comes to building an audience and keeping them coming back for more. Even among these, event blogging tends to be an outlier that gets overlooked by many digital media brands, even though it has the potential to pull huge audience numbers if done correctly. Event blogging also serves as a great way to introduce your digital media brand to newcomers. It entices them to check out your other content and hopefully find more reasons to stick around.

The good news is that event blogging isn’t that different from regular blogging. It’s incredibly accessible and easy to start doing on your platform, and Viafoura’s suite of community engagement tools is excellent for supporting your event blogging efforts. So let’s go over some event blogging tips and how you can start implementing them on your website.

What is event blogging?

Digital media brands are no strangers to blogging, but event blogging may not necessarily be on their radar. In a world where generating stable, consistent views and retaining an audience for as long as possible is ideal, event blogging may not seem like the most effective strategy at first glance. But the fact is that in some ways, event blogging relies on consistency even more than other blogging methods.

As the name suggests, event blogging focuses on covering seasonal topics focused around specific events occurring near a particular time or date. For example, a big concert tour in town, an upcoming awards show, or a convention that’s set to reveal some new technological innovation; all of these are potential subjects for an event blog. The idea is to cover live happenings as the event rolls around, but news and updates in the weeks leading up to the event can also be a focus. Readers that are interested in that event become part of your audience and contribute to the success of your blog and web platform.

How event blogging benefits your brand

Apart from the obvious statistical uptick in views, audience, and potential revenue, there are quite a few reasons why you might want to start event blogging.

For one, event blogging is considerably easier to start up and get running. Since you’re focusing on events that will already be on people’s radars, your blog needs to provide the right information and details to attract a rush of interested audience members. You start an event blog anywhere from a few weeks to a few days before the event and still benefit from it.

Event blogging also puts your digital media brand on the radar as a source for exciting news and coverage. Many first-time visitors tend to find new sources of information and news through event blogging, so having one can bridge the gap between your brand and potential community members who just haven’t stumbled upon your website in the vast expanses of the internet.

Now it might be obvious that there’s a potential flaw with event blogging – it’s all well and good to focus on events for your blog material, but what about the space in between happenings? Sometimes, there just isn’t much going on at all, and the fact is that event blogs are best used to supplement an existing blogging niche.

You won’t be drawing in a huge amount of traffic or a loyal audience base just by event blogging. But on the flipside, event blogging can provide additional value for your blog to audience members and search engines. Combined with how simple it is to start up an event blog, it’s a great option for digital media brands that already have a respectable following to raise their appeal and draw in more of an audience.

Event blogging tips: Step by Step

Now that we’ve gone over the benefits of event blogging, you may have been convinced to start your own. Here are some great event blogging tips and a general outline of how you can go about putting together an event blog.

Choose an event

This may be obvious, but you need an event for event blogging. But choosing the right type of event is just as important as adding blog content for it. You’ll find more success finding an event that’s related in some way to your original niche. For example, if you produce sports content on your web platform, you may want to find a big game or tournament that’s coming up and cover that.

Start early

While you can launch your blog just days before the event and still find success, setting it up for success can take weeks or even months of planning, depending on the scale of the event. You’ll need to figure out a schedule and monitor the official event source for any news or updates on a regular basis to be on top of your own coverage. If you’re willing to put the time and manpower behind it, you can start event blogging very early, especially if the organizers are doing a great job marketing it and producing lots of content for you to cover on your platform.

cover the right details

Focusing on just the facts isn’t the only way to cover an upcoming event; many readers, especially the younger generation, are just happy to be part of the experience and excitement. There’s plenty of content that you can generate on your own still related to the event. You might share some opinion pieces that speculate about the happenings, performances, or results of the event or compile a list of hotels or accommodations that attendees might consider if the event goes on for multiple days. This lets you deliver direct value through event blogging, and new audience members are likely to remember your platform positively as a good source of the overall information.

Update regularly

Try to keep your blog content fresh and flowing. The frequency of your posts will probably scale with how early you start event blogging; you don’t need to post every day if you start covering the event weeks in advance. The key is to avoid dead space between your posts and updates, as this is a great way to lose attention fast in both search engine algorithms and audience members. Your frequency is likely to peak just before the event or if you do live updates during the event proceedings.

Conclusion

Event blogging is an often overlooked way to supplement your web platform’s efforts to bring in and retain an audience for your web community. You’ll probably see some great results by following the event blogging tips in this article, but you should also remember that a brand experience is supported by effective tools that let your members communicate and share their opinions and responses. Viafoura’s suite of community management software is a perfect choice for generating more discourse on your event blog, so contact us today to schedule a demo and see how we can make your next event blogging venture a success!

How the Online News Association Captivated Audiences at a Virtual Event

Spotlight:

Online events can be successful when organizations back them with an audience engagement strategy.
The Online News Association (ONA) turned to Viafoura to prevent passive video consumption and provide a seamless user experience during its digital event, ONA20.
With Viafoura’s support, ONA encouraged its 1880 attendees to be highly attentive throughout the event.
At a time when 53% of people experienced screen fatigue in their daily lives, ONA20 attendees stuck around for an average of 70% of each live video session.
By building outstanding digital experiences, Viafoura helped ONA convince event attendees to view around three live video sessions each.
Virtual events will continue to drive success for organizations in the future — and Viafoura can help companies secure audience interest and attention.

Ever since the pandemic started, organizations have been moving to embrace virtual and hybrid events. However, some industry professionals are still stuck on a common misconception about online events: They’re all unengaging.

Many companies have actually experienced incredible success by building an audience engagement strategy to support their virtual events.

The Online News Association (ONA) is just one organization on a growing list of companies that had an extremely positive experience hosting a digital conference.

With help from Viafoura, the news association was able to captivate 1880 attendees online in its annual event, ONA20. Explore the text below to discover how Viafoura’s partnership with ONA combatted screen fatigue, leading attendees to view 70% of each live, online session.

The Fight To Activate Passive, Disconnected Viewers

Until the pandemic hit, ONA’s annual events were typically held in person, where media professionals could come together and exchange industry information and best practices. But the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020 meant that ONA had to move its event to an online space. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that hosting digital speaker sessions wouldn’t be enough on its own to make the conference impactful and memorable.

With 53% of people experiencing screen fatigue throughout the pandemic, event staff needed to find a way to emulate exciting, in-person social experiences online.

And yet, it seemed like basic event solutions couldn’t engage attendees adequately to prevent passive video consumption.

ONA’s staff knew that an out-of-the-box webinar solution wouldn’t offer attendees a noticeable live chat tool that would stand out from its video streams. Nor would many social tool providers offer a frictionless login experience for users that wouldn’t require people to make multiple accounts or go to another website.

Ultimately, ONA had to capture viewer attention around a distinct social tool, allowing attendees to connect with each other — and somehow not break the user experience or disrupt session speakers.

Paving the Way for Outstanding Event Experiences Online

ONA selected Viafoura as its partner in audience engagement for ONA20, which gave the news association all the tools it needed to create captivating digital experiences.

By embedding Viafoura’s live Community Chat tool next to its video streams, attendees could ask questions and talk without interrupting the session speakers. This meant that speakers could address questions and comments from audience members in real time and collect valuable feedback. And with the addition of chat managers to greet users and prompt conversations, viewers were quickly drawn to the social spaces.

Thanks to these collaborative, digital spaces, ONA was able to avoid passive, unengaged consumption around its video streams. Instead, Viafoura’s tools created a safe, social space where industry professionals could share knowledge and expand their networks.

Viafoura’s live chat was also reskinned to align with ONA’s brand and integrated seamlessly with other digital tools. Attendees could even view the speaker sessions and engage during the event through a single login on ONA’s website.

As a result of the partnership, conference attendees remained active and engaged, tuning into the conference for an average of three live video sessions each.

Learn more about how Viafoura helped ONA capture the attention of hundreds of event attendees here.

Embracing the Virtual Future of Events

Many organizations first turned to virtual events out of necessity rather than preference during COVID-19. However, as demonstrated by ONA, virtual events can be just as effective as in-person events and even bring additional benefits to the table.

For instance, digital events remove travel challenges and can sustain high participation and attendance rates. Not to mention that organizations can provide people with unforgettable digital experiences worth sticking around for with the right audience engagement partner.

“If online events have taught [organizations] new skills and a less costly way to bring people together, it makes sense for them to continue online events post-pandemic, whether they are stand-alone or part of hybrid offerings,” Mark Glaser, a news consultant, stresses.

Whether organizations plan to host hybrid or online events in the future, Viafoura’s tools can enhance the experience around any event, supercharging attendee excitement and attention.

How to Host a Virtual Conference, Webinar or other Event

Most organizations are aware that making connections in person is a valuable aspect of growth and development. But in recent years, there’s been a major shift to fully digital conferences, meetings, and events, which has resulted in an influx of new social engagement and networking methods. As a result, it’s a good idea to understand the importance of virtual events like conferences and webinars, and how to successfully host one through your web platform.

Some businesses have had it harder than others when it comes to making the switch to digital and may be considering holding off on such events until large-scale in-person interactions are viable again. However, you can still take advantage of the positive aspects of conferences, webinars, and panels on an entirely virtual level while also enjoying additional benefits exclusive to this format.

If you’re unclear on how to host a virtual conference, don’t worry; this article will take you through the basics of how to host a virtual event as well as some virtual event best practices. Let’s get started by taking a look at some key concepts.

What Is a Virtual Event?

The majority of the North American population has likely become very familiar with virtual events in the past few years. These events are hosted digitally with content being streamed or shared in a communal setting, which allows people to participate in an event regardless of their location using their digital devices.

Depending on your goals, there might be different types of gatherings you can organize, from virtual webinars to discussion panels to live streams of performances or readings. That’s why the first thing you need to do is determine what kind of event you want to host according to your objectives. Remember that the focus of these gatherings is engaging with the audience like you would, for instance, with live blogging or informational streams.

Virtual Event Checklist

When it comes to hosting virtual events, there are some practices you need to follow.

Determine the length of the event

In the past, public expectation was that conferences would last a whole day, which allowed all participants sufficient time to network and make connections. However, this doesn’t work with virtual webinars. Nowadays, people prefer to register for virtual events that last for a short amount of time, a maximum of 1-2 hours long. Of course, we understand that sometimes this might not be enough for your needs, but note that you can always organize a one-week virtual conference and have all the events spread throughout the week.

Creating an agenda

Just like an in-person event, you need a plan for virtual webinars. Often, panels and conferences are long and can last for several days. Having a proper agenda can allow attendees to choose which sessions they would like to attend. Remember, as a rule of thumb, when organizing an online conference, you should line up all the essential information at the beginning of the event. Then, to close up the entire event, schedule your most dynamic speaker

Rehearsal

If you are thinking about hosting a virtual webinar, a round or two of rehearsal is a must. In this regard, you can find software that allows you to have a practice room, where you can go over some points with speakers, test the quality of the video/audio, and make sure the slides and tools are working before all the attendees connect. In addition, there are some platforms where you can even record your practice sessions. Doing so can improve parts of your online presence to make it more engaging.

Internet connection

Having a solid internet connection is non-negotiable when hosting an online conference or event. Any disruptions in the quality of Internet connection can prompt many attendees to drop off. That’s why every event-hosting software offers you the chance to check all your levels. Remember that it is also crucial to make sure that your speakers and microphones provide high-quality audio.

Virtual Conference Best Practices: How To Host A Virtual Conference?

Organizing and hosting a virtual conference is not an easy task. We’ve put together a list of actions you can take to ensure your online event will go smoothly.

Choosing the right webinar software

Some of the best platforms you can find online for digital events include GoToWebinar, WebinarJam, BlueJeans Events, and even Zoom. To pick the perfect platform when learning how to host a virtual event, you need to look at the platform’s features. Remember to check the maximum number of attendees, engagement tools, analytics, and community chats and plan your schedule and budget accordingly.

Presentation tools

Depending on the type of software you choose, there are different presentation tools you can use. For example, some of them allow you to present a pre-recorded presentation that way, and you can be more engaging with the audience through real-time conversations. Depending on the nature of your event and its intended purpose, some tools may be better than others.

Picking topics and speakers

Like in-person conferences, choosing relevant, engaging topics is key to maintaining engagement throughout your event. Otherwise, your overall conversation might be spread across such a wide range of topics that attendees might find themselves confused, distracted, or unsure of what to take away from your presentations. Also note that selecting your speakers is also integral to the success of your event; try to have a panel that offers different perspectives about the subject. Three to five industry experts would be an ideal amount for most events.

Making a registration form

The best way to plan out your virtual webinar or conference is to create a registration form that tells you the information of the people who will attend. Here, you need to request details like their contact information, age, location, and gender. This form also allows you to share some things about the event, like the list of speakers, schedules, and social links, and also provides some useful data and statistics on your attendees.

Promotion

If you want to know how to host a virtual event, we can tell you that it involves more than just organizational skills. You will also need some marketing know-how to promote your virtual event, and you’ll need to use email marketing and social media to keep your audience posted well in advance. Keep in mind that the objective is not just getting the most number of registrants; what’s important is having the proper attendance ratio scaled for your event so things remain manageable.

Making your platform secure

Having a virtual event means you will be the host of a professional conference. That’s why it is vital to ensure that the platform is secure. To achieve this, you need to look for software that has authentication to protect the entire event. You’ll also need complete administrative control over the event, allowing you to moderate participants as necessary. Various online community management softwares offer these as functions in their software packages, so consider investing in one of them to better regulate your virtual webinar.

Conclusion

In summary, we hope we’ve convinced you that virtual webinars, conferences, and other similar events can be just as productive, profitable, and beneficial as traditional, in-person events. And note that while digital events provide a direct benefit, their effects are proportional to your investment and the effectiveness of your preparations. Consider implementing community engagement and management software to expand your web community and create a space where your brand can develop a dedicated following. Alongside well-planned virtual events, tools like these can help solidify your online presence and help your business grow across the web.

Four Exciting Reasons for Media Leaders To Be Optimistic About the Year Ahead

2020 was disrupted by a deadly virus, shrinking budgets, nonstop work and misinformation, challenging even the most well-established media organizations. Thankfully, change is on the horizon.

Media companies that have powered through this chaotic and unpredictable period are now well-positioned to embrace a brighter future.

“While the pandemic has not changed where the industry was heading, it has cut the time to get there from years to months, with the virus rapidly accelerating trends like a move to digital and working from home,” two writers state on FIPP’s website. “And even though such quick transformation has come as a shock to publishers, it presents plenty of opportunities to bounce back strongly in 2021.”

Industry leaders must now take a step back to identify and take hold of new opportunities to succeed and get excited in this strange, new world.

To get started, here are four reasons why the year ahead will help to revive your sense of optimism in the future of your business.

Benefiting From Larger Audiences

Due to the pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests and U.S. election, media organizations saw their digital audiences climb in size throughout 2020.

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center even revealed that digital news consumers now prefer catching up on the news by visiting media websites directly.

Entertainment-focused media companies, like Netflix, also saw their audiences increase last year as more people sought to escape from reality and stay busy at home.

Between the internet users looking for trustworthy news coverage and those seeking entertainment, media organizations have larger audiences to nurture and monetize. And companies that can prove their ongoing value this year will benefit from sustainable reader revenue.

More specifically, the coming months will be an opportunity for media companies to engage and convert their visitors into long-term, profitable brand supporters.

The End of Trump’s Reign

Media companies have a love-hate relationship with Trump. On the one hand, the past four years and the 2020 presidential election were extremely eventful thanks to Trump, which made for excellent news content and led to a boom in news subscriptions. And yet, Trump popularized the belief that media promotes fake news and reduced trust in media.

“The last four years have been marked by a deliberate and systemic attack on the press by the president of the United States,” explains Gabriel Escobar, editor and senior vice president of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “It has — I suspect — contributed to the lack of trust in journalism which was not great to begin with.”

The transition to Biden’s presidency means that news media companies can finally begin rebuilding their relationships with audiences, restoring trust in the news.

The Rise of First-Party Data

Anyone who deals with audience data will know that third-party cookies are crumbling, triggering an industry-wide shift from third-party to first-party data strategies.

However, the elimination of third-party cookie usage isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

First-party cookies allow media companies to learn more about their audience members and personalize experiences directly on their websites or apps.

In fact, Kayleigh Barber, a senior reporter at Digiday, highlights how Future plc “has seen a range of 50-70% better performance on campaigns that use its first-party audience segment data than campaigns that rely on third-party data.”

By refocusing on first-party data, media companies can understand the identities, habits and preferences of their digital community members and serve them better in the future.

Moving Toward Virtual Events

Virtual events have completely replaced in-person events over the last few months. Gradually, media leaders have discovered that virtual events are cheaper and easier to organize, have no attendee limits and lend themselves better to interactive discussion sessions.

“As we enter 2021, the era of virtual events — even in a post-pandemic world — is here to stay, at least as one way for news organizations to hold these gatherings,” says Rick Berke, the co-founder and editor of Stat, a news media company.

It’s clear that even in-person events in the future will need to be supported with virtual elements to maximize attendee engagement.

Although recent months have created a series of hurdles for media companies to jump over, organizations that have survived until this point are stronger than ever. Media leaders can now look forward to forging strong connections to their audiences with their newfound knowledge in the year ahead.