What are the Benefits of Corporate Live Streaming?

It was the moment that Apollo 11 landed on the moon, accompanied by Neil Armstrong’s legendary words: “Houston, Tranquility Base Here. The Eagle has Landed.”

While there had been plenty of live events broadcast before 1969, none captured the imagination or pushed the capabilities of technology further than the Apollo 11 mission. In the five decades since, technological developments have enabled live streaming to be pushed into a prominent position in society, bolstered by its usefulness during the global pandemic – and it’s a trend that’s set to continue. 

Today, brands and corporations are regularly streaming a range of live corporate events, capturing the attention of staff and key stakeholders for a range of benefits and brand building opportunities.

1. Internal communications

According to a 2021 survey undertaken by Kaltura, 96% of businesses use video for internal communications. Of those, 83% attributed that format to improved employee engagement, and 80% to improved productivity.

The head of your organisation appearing on a scheduled live stream to provide a business update, discuss new product launches, or field live questions can be an excellent way to keep employees motivated.

As well as regular company announcements, the ability to utilise attention-grabbing digital solutions can help re-engage employees who are working from home, on the road, or spread across a number of locations. It can elevate your internal comms from a simplistic, one-dimensional experience to something more engaging and personal, keeping staff informed and aligned with your North Star.

1. Virtual events

Whether it’s a conference, a trade show, an awards ceremony or a product reveal, utilising corporate live stream services can expand the guestlist from a few hundred to a few thousand – and maybe even beyond.

People want to feel part of an event, and corporate live streaming can allow you to involve as many people as possible. By removing geographical and logistical constraints, your event or communications can reach a much wider audience. 

To provide a real-world example, Microsoft’s 2019 Ignite conference provided attendees with an opportunity to meet leading Microsoft figures, hear about the latest products, and network with each other. The result was that more than 25,000 people from 125 countries were able to attend virtually. Moreover, the event was gamified, allowing viewers to collect points by attending sessions and joining live Q&A discussions.

Even after the event was finished, Microsoft was able to upload the live streamed content online, allowing even more people to attend. That content has since been repurposed and used as marketing material, enticing people to sign up to subsequent Ignite events.

1. Cost savings

To hold an in-person event, you typically need to pay for the physical venue, catering, accommodation, transportation, and incentives to get people along – all part of convincing invitees to invest their own time.

With a live stream, these requirements can be whittled down to a few bare essentials. All you need – in theory – is a room, your hosts, and the equipment to film and manage it.

As a result, a corporate live stream is often significantly less expensive than hosting a physical event. The cost of setting up the live stream and putting a talented production team in place can be relatively small when compared to your other event outgoings.

1. Marketing and advertising

With 73% of consumers more likely to make a purchase after watching a live video demonstration, showcasing your products or services via a live streaming event can often have a tangible impact on sales.

Live streaming also offers long-term value. Segments of your live stream, such as an interesting point made by one of your guests, or the moment that you unveil a new product, can be repurposed for use on social media platforms as evergreen content.

1. Real-time engagement

Creating video content for your audience can sometimes feel like navigating a maze in the dark. It can be tricky to know if those watching are going to like what you’re producing, and whether they’ll be there to welcome you at the end.

With corporate live streaming, you can see what’s working, what might need changing, and how your audience is reacting in real-time. Because your audience is able to respond to your stream and interact with others who are watching, their experience is also likely to feel much more personal, and more actively engaged with the content.

1. Improved accessibility

Inclusivity is an important part of doing business in the 21st century. By undertaking a corporate live stream, you can make sure that your event, meeting or conference doesn’t exclude anyone who is unable to attend in-person.

For international businesses, it’s common to have attendees who find it difficult to attend, and to keep up with your event due to language barriers. For those guests, a corporate live stream allows for the provision of live or post-stream translation services, ensuring they don’t miss out.

A similar setup can accommodate guests who are hard of hearing, with closed captions or a sign language interpreter overlaid on top of the feed. The adaptability of your corporate live stream to meet the needs of all participants is one of the many things that make it special, and are largely unique to the medium.

1. Analytics and data

“How did I do?” – those words have been uttered by hosts and guest speakers who have just left the stage for generations. The reply, while often reassuring, is rarely based on anything tangible.

With a corporate live stream, the speaker can see the reaction their words are garnering from the audience as they’re speaking, without having to deal with it in the room. Once the event has drawn to a close, data can be analysed to understand the demographic of the audience, measure the event’s success, and find ways that it can be improved for next year.

How many times, when leaving a conference, have you been handed a survey to fill out? And how many times have you found it in your bag when you returned home, uncompleted? When running a corporate live stream, those metaphorical surveys are filled out continuously, providing live feedback which can be delved into afterwards.

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Before you rush off to set up a phone and tripod, ready to start shooting,  you should know that a successful corporate live stream takes time, effort and planning. While some of the best live streams from the past five years have kept things simple, simplicity still takes planning.

When done correctly, a corporate live stream can be an effective and cost-efficient way for your content to reach new audiences, and to keep your internal or external stakeholders engaged. It can help to improve morale and accessibility, whilst also giving you real-time data that can be analysed to make your events better in the future – live streamed or otherwise.