Stefano’s top tips for expanding the reach of your event online

IET London: Savoy Place is the home of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, where an in-house team of eight dedicated AV professionals work to deliver expert tech solutions to the many talks, events and meetings held at the city centre venue every year. 

Stefano Raun-Byberg, our AV Manager, like a lot of people has had to work from home in recent weeks and the demand for future events to be held digitally has seen his focus shift to looking at solutions such as video conferences, live streaming and web meetings.

Here, Stefano sums up some top tips for expanding the reach of your event virtually. 

Finding the best solution

Branding

When delegates are physically unable to attend your event, the branding options become even more important. You might have to stream your meeting from your own living room or spare bedroom, but that doesn’t mean you can’t customise your background. Zoom, for example, allows you to create your own backdrop during video conferences.

At Savoy Place, we custom-make signage for events, moving away from static banners or printed signage that not only takes up space, but also might not be as visible for delegates watching online. 

This will become even more important once we are back to hosting events in situ – there is an expectation that hybrid meetings will become more popular and the digital component will become essential. Digital branding also has a much shorter lead time and can be more flexible! 

Sound quality

One of the most annoying things for delegates is being unable to hear the speaker properly and this is especially important if the event is being streamed or filmed. The choice of a microphone – especially for larger events – is paramount.  

I’m a big fan of using a lapel mic for speakers, which is discreetly attached to the speaker’s clothing and provides clear audio, giving them the freedom to move around the room.

They’re also ideal if you’ve got multiple speakers on stage, meaning handheld mics are not passed around. This looks a lot more professional when an event is filmed. 

Sound is important for smaller meetings, too. There is not much point of a video conference if people can’t hear the speaker. Making sure you mute your microphone when you’re not talking is essential, and can avoid embarrassing background noise, too! 

Wi-Fi

There currently isn’t an industry standard for Wi-Fi in venues, and you can get a lot of different speeds and charges out there. The same can be said for people’s homes. 

If you are relying on streaming your event or interacting with delegates online, make sure you choose a venue with suitable Wi-Fi for your needs, and if you are streaming from home make sure your Wi-Fi can handle the bandwidth.

I would stay away from shared Wi-Fi with open networks and no passwords, as these are not particularly secure and can be slow.

At Savoy Place, we offer free, dedicated Wi-Fi for this reason. 

Interactive presentations

We always recommend using Glisser or Slido for interactive presentations, which include lots of interactive elements.

These systems are great for events with delegates in different locations, as you can ask them to sign in to the event using their phone, ask questions along the way and get them involved in interactive sessions even if they are not in the room.