What platform should you use to host an online event? That’s one of our client’s top questions when they start chatting with us, is, are we going to host this on Teams, Zoom? Or is there a better alternative?
My friends, my name is Sam Pearce. I work with Canada’s biggest fans to create incredible online events. And top of mind usually with my clients is the platform and where are we going to host this?
A lot of my clients initially think we’re going to host this virtual event on Zoom and then I’m able to show them something much, much better. So, first of all, why not host it on Zoom? If you’re hosting an online event, at least the style that we do where it’s very curated, very fast-paced. And we present this more like a high production value television show than a typical Zoom meeting.
When I think of Zoom, I think of a lot of people trying to talk at the same time, not necessarily seeing the right person on screen when you want to, which leads you to missing stuff. It’s just chaos altogether. Especially the first time. If you’ve been using Zoom for a while now, think back to the first time you installed it and all the rigmarole you had to go through to get up and running, getting the right password, make sure your webcam’s working and the microphone. It’s chaos isn’t it? So that’s why we don’t use Zoom for any of our events, simply because it’s chaos. I’ve never associated the word Zoom and party. They just don’t seem to mix. What we do instead is we livestream the events using platforms like Vimeo and YouTube. The reason we use these platforms is because they’re really accessible.
All the attendees have to do is simply go to a custom made website that we create just for them. So they type that into their phone. They go to that. Press play. That’s it. It’s as easy as watching a YouTube video, but in fact, it’s live. It’s not prerecorded. They’re not watching something passive. They’re actually engaged in this live event.
We facilitate the interaction through an incredible part of our website that your guests are actually able to interact with me in real-time as I host the event. But we found that to be the easiest. We’ve certainly hosted a lot of events on Zoom because our clients have pushed for that for whatever reason. Sometimes they’re more comfortable with that platform. But in the end, we found that if we have the choice, creating our own platform to host this free from distractions and chaos, nothing to install, no passwords, simply by streaming the events using Vimeo or YouTube has led to our success and the success of our clients in hosting these events and making them truly accessible for everyone.
