If you’ve been to a seminar, conference, or another event with technical talks, you know just how helpful these events can be for attendees who were there to learn new things or hear how others in their industry are finding success. In my experience, these talks provide a ton of value to the attendees and that’s exactly why they should be recorded.
Over the last several years, I’ve recorded thousands of hours of content from corporate events. It’s safe to say that I’m probably the most educated video guy there is on certain topics - simply because of the opportunities I’ve had to record corporate events where experts openly shared their knowledge with attendees. As one of the people behind the cameras, behind the scenes monitoring audio levels and switching between cameras and presentation graphics, I know full well the value in recording priceless talks like these.
For that reason, I would like to share some of my expertise from working with clients for more than a decade, some of the lessons I’ve learned and how you can use these lessons to make your next corporate event go smoothly, while capturing a potential revenue stream that could help offset the event expenses, if not exceed them!
Pre-Event Preparation and Considerations
When it comes to planning a successful event, choosing the right venue is critical. Obviously you need a space that can support the number of attendees that’ll be present. But the size of the venue is only one of many aspects you’ll need to consider.
- Does the atmosphere line up with your vision?
- How about the meeting space?
- Can it support your audio and video needs?
- Does the venue provide audio, screens and/or projectors, or will you need to rent that equipment?
- How about catering? Is that be a consideration, or will meals be away from the meeting space?
Selecting the right equipment for video recording and sound amplification is another thing you should consider when planning your event. You don’t have to be an AV expert, but you should be prepared to discuss your needs.
Questions you should consider include:
- How many mics will you need?
- Will you need a podium?
- Will presenters need to share presentations?
- How will attendees ask questions?
- Will attendee questions need to be recorded?
- Do they need to provide their presentations to you, or bring their own notebooks to connect to a screen?
- Will the venue provide house sound, or will you need to rent additional equipment?
If you decide to work with an AV company, they’ll be able to help you work through those questions and provide advice on how to handle each one. That’s exactly what we do with our clients - we try to take as much of that burden off their shoulders so they can plan other aspects of the event without getting stuck on the technical elements.
After considering some of the technical aspects of running the event, you’ll want to begin coordinating with speakers and identifying their technical needs. I've been in this industry for a while now and I’m amazed at how many presenters show up wanting to play a video from the internet only to find out the venue has poor Wi-Fi access.
You’ll want to identify speakers who plan to use video and other elements early so you know what to expect when they arrive.
Along that same vein, during the planning phase, some time should be scheduled to allow for sound checks and testing of technical elements. If any glitches appear during the pre-event checks, there will still be time to fix them before the actual event.
When you’re lining up your speakers, you’ll want to discuss with them your intentions to record the event and get clearance to use their presentation and recordings. If any copyright issues exist, you’ll be able to work through those before the event and get the necessary paperwork out of the way.
I typically provide speaker release forms for each of our clients to help them with this step. Sometimes it’s overlooked, so handling that small thing is usually appreciated!
Key Roles and Responsibilities When Planning Your Event:
- Event Manager / Planner
- Venue Coordinator / Manager
- Technical Director / Media Director
- Speaker Coordinator / MC
- Registration Staff / Volunteer Team
- Marketing / PR Team
- Catering Manager
The Day of the Event
Here are a few tips to help the event go smoothly:
Early Arrival: Ensure you arrive well before the event starts to oversee preparations. Any other day, 15 minutes early might be enough, but the day of the event you should plan to arrive at least an hour early, especially if there are a lot of technical things that need to be tested, or for larger more complex events.
Checklist Review: Review the day's checklist to ensure nothing is missed. I’m a pilot and love just about all things aviation. Since coming to rely on checklists for flying, we've incorporated them into the events we manage and it’s been a game changer. I highly recommend the use of checklists when planning your event and for making sure things run smoothly the day your event kicks off.
Team Briefing: Hold a quick meeting with your team to align on tasks and timings. This is an important time you don’t want to skip because it’s the last chance you’ll have with all of the team before everyone gets busy. This is a great time to remind everyone how important they are to your team and to the success of the day.
Tech Test: Coordinate with the AV team to get a mic check and test the video and presentation tech. This is the perfect time to work through connecting presentation laptops, test mics and multi-media elements, and to discuss the general flow of the schedule. While the technical stuff should have been discussed well before the day of the event, anything that might have changed needs to be discussed here while there’s still time to make last minute changes.
Venue Walkthrough: Check the venue for cleanliness, signage, and proper setup. Just run through the venue and make sure everything is setup as expected and coordinate with the manager to address things that need to be completed.
Emergency Plan: Make sure all team members are aware of the emergency procedures. If the team is unfamiliar with the venue, be sure to identify rally points and the nearest exit for each space or floor.
Communication: Have a reliable communication system for your team, like walkie-talkies, or a group chat app like Signal. Texting might work for smaller teams, but don’t rely on it. Apps like Signal or WhatsApp are better choices for larger teams.
Attendee Flow: Oversee registration and entry points for smooth attendee movement. It’ll be important that attendees get through the registration process efficiently and back to their seats between sessions so the meeting can begin on time. Consider using a meeting chime or bell to notify attendees when it’s time to find their seats. You probably won’t be able to talk over people in the room and hallway, so a meeting chime will help a lot.
Feedback Collection: Establish a system to collect attendee feedback during the event. This could be cards at the tables or in chairs, a suggestions box in the hallway, or a QR code on a slide. Feedback is important to understand what you’re doing well and what you need to do to improve future events.
Stay Calm: Challenges might arise; remain composed and address them as needed. Whenever possible, allow your team to handle the details while you oversee things. If something comes up, be sure to document it so you and your team can find ways to prevent it from happening at further events.
After the Event
After the event concludes, ensure you have a meeting with your team to discuss what went well and what needed improvement. A shared 'debrief' document or spreadsheet is great for teams to jot down their thoughts. Just don’t wait too long after the event so you don’t forget the important stuff.
Get Ready to Monetize the Event Videos
After the event, the AV team will likely need to edit the video they recorded. This could take a few days to a few weeks depending on how the event was recorded and how complex the deliverable will be.
In the meantime, be sure to send out a wrap up email to your attendees thanking them for attending the event and remind them of the video product that is being produced. Remind them of the value of the event and provide a way for them to pre-order the videos.
Promote to Your List and Through Social Media
This email can also serve as a means to reach people who weren’t able to attend the event. For those, the video product will be even more valuable.
This email needs to go out a few days after the event, but don’t wait too long. You want to capitalize on the excitement of the event.
It's also an opportune moment to promote the event videos through social media by posting excerpts, highlights, and short clips from the event. This will extend the excitement and you should be able to boost your pre-order sales through these channels.
After the AV team finishes the edits and makes the video recordings available, you’ll want to send out another email that the videos are ready. Let everyone know how they can get instant access to the videos.
Include a “buy now” button or link in the email for anyone else who wants to buy the videos now that they’re available.
Successfully planning and executing a corporate event requires meticulous attention to detail, from selecting the right venue and equipment to coordinating with speakers and ensuring smooth attendee experiences.
Leveraging technology, such as video recordings, not only enhances the event's value but also offers potential revenue streams post-event. Post-event activities, including gathering feedback and promoting event videos, are crucial for continuous improvement and maximizing the event's impact.
Hopefully these tips will help you plan and monetize your next event!