What is a virtual audience platform and where can it add real value in a world of endless webinars, on-demand content, and virtual meetings?
To start with, let’s roll back to March 2020. Lockdown was introduced and live events were off the table. The need and want to communicate was still there but doing it in a face to face environment was not allowed.
Virtual events to the rescue!
As we started conversations with our clients and those presenting on the virtual stage, the question most often asked was “How can I see my virtual audience?”. You might be thinking “But why is this important?”.
Let’s step away from corporate events for a second and consider a true performer and entertainer, Robbie Williams. Without doubt, he knows how to engage with an audience and put on an unforgettable live show. However, if you strip away the two-way interaction he has with his fans in the crowd, you may as well be listening to the track on Spotify! This is what virtual events can feel like when presenters are simply staring at their webcams, delivering a presentation with no two-way interaction with those watching remotely.
Thankfully, there are solutions available and we have our very own virtual audience platform, AllTogether.Live.
What is AllTogether.Live?
AllTogether.Live has been built by event production professionals to service the needs of virtual and hybrid events. Audience members can join an event and be a part of the live audience with the presenters able to see them sit in the virtual audience. At any time, a virtual microphone can be thrown out and individuals can participate as though they are right there in the room.
We’ve already seen the difference this makes with presenters reacting to their audience, having banter with individuals and generally adapting their presentation to include the responses they are getting, something which feels very natural and makes for far more engaging and entertaining viewing from the remote seat.
Why can’t we just use Zoom?
After understanding this principle, we are often asked another question: “Can’t we just use Zoom?”. The answer to this is a simple question: “Do you want to have a professionally produced event?”. Zoom is amazing and we use it all the time for virtual events but it is not a virtual audience platform.
For starters, individual participants have far too much control for our liking with their camera and microphone, meaning an event can easily be ruined by multiple people talking at once or as we had the other day, someone taking part in a piano recital in the background. With AllTogether.Live, we decide who is live and when. We’ve got producer tools built-in to allow us to monitor and talk with individuals before they go live to ensure they are ready to go before they start talking.
If you have reached this far in this article, hopefully, you are starting to see the value that a virtual audience platform like AllTogether.Live can bring to a virtual or hybrid event. Whether you are organising a conference, awards show or even a concert, AllTogether.Live can be utilised to elevate the audience experience to a new level and deliver a truly memorable event.