After an online event has finished successfully, it is the follow-up that will determine whether it was a success or not, just as with offline events. We will explain what kind of indicators you should use and how you should follow up in order to respond efficiently to the increased number of followers.
It’s no secret that 2020 was a year full of challenges. But, for people who knew where to look, it also brought with it opportunities. Our virtual panel discussion, Bright Spots, Big Thoughts, brought together a handful of those amazing people:
The conversation unintentionally, but unsurprisingly, shifted to focus almost exclusively on virtual events – how to have great ones, the unexpected opportunities they offer, and why they’re here to stay.
Here’s what they had to say – and how you can put it to use as you’re thinking about your own virtual offering.
Yes, video allows you to stream your virtual event. But it also allows you to go deeper with storytelling.
Our panelists saw the biggest success when they used video to:
To continue the experience of your event beyond the virtual, you can experiment with non-video ways to create moments of connection with your attendees. Some ideas that our panelists shared:
For some of our panelists, video was only a very small part of their strategy before 2020. They knew successfully utilizing video would be crucial moving forward – but felt overwhelmed by the opportunity.
Their advice? Start with simple video projects you can accomplish quickly and easily. Over time, as you gain confidence, expand your video offering.
When you host an in-person event, there’s no denying the obstacles to scaling – location, venue size, travel limitations, schedules, and so much more…
When our panelists first pivoted their in-person offerings for virtual, their primary goal was to retain their current customer base. With their successful switch to virtual, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra retained 99% of their subscriber base – a huge success. They never considered they’d be pulling in new attendees too, until they dug into their analytics and saw that people were tuning in from other states and even other countries. So they evolved their strategy to expand that growth and reach beyond their immediate region with their world-class music offering. The result? They’ve seen subscriber growth in just a few months.
What started as a happy accident turned into a shift in strategy.
The lesson? Pay close attention to your audience’s viewing habits — in a virtual world, you have more access to analytics than ever before — and use that information to evolve your strategy for growth.
“Hybrid” is a word you’re going to be hearing a lot in 2021 as the world continues to shift. The question is no longer, “Is virtual here to stay?” The answer to that is a resounding, “Yes!” The question instead is, “How will we integrate virtual and in-person experiences in a way that is intentional and engaging?”
In the words of Ben Raber, “video is where the future is.”
January 26, 2021 marked an important day in Brightcove’s history. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences recognized Brightcove with two Emmy® Awards for excellence and creativity in technology and engineering. We’re proud to join a distinguished group of honorees that have had a material impact on television and video viewing experiences.
For video technologists, an Emmy® is the highest technical achievement award that exists. Only a handful of organizations in the history of television and television arts have been honored with an Emmy®, and for contributions of major importance. We’re talking about the people and companies who invented CCD camera sensors, LCD panels, and even streaming.
At Brightcove, we live and breathe video every day, and we’ve always stood behind our technology and our talented team of engineers, developers, and innovators. This recognition proves what we’ve always known: We are shaping the future of the most powerful means of communication ever invented.
While these Emmy® Awards were given to Brightcove, our customers are the real winners. It is because of them that we reach farther and push harder to extend the boundaries of what’s possible with video. We could accomplish nothing great without their support.
See below for more details on the awards we won.
Our encoding technology, Brightcove Context-Aware Encoding, won an Emmy® Award in the “Development of Perceptual Metrics for Video Encoding Optimization” category.
For our customers, this patented technology enables dramatic reductions in media distribution costs, such as network-, storage-, and CDN-related costs. It also eliminates guesswork, manual entry of encoding parameters, and any possibility of human error. For audiences, this technology enables the delivery of higher quality video, increasing viewer engagement and satisfaction.
Our transcoding technology won an Emmy® Award in the “Development of Massive Processing Optimized Compression Technologies” category.
This technology is at the core of our Brightcove Player and Brightcove Zencoder products. Zencoder enables our customers to quickly compress and convert thousands of videos in parallel, with minimum delays and high reliability. Our player helps to securely and reliably manage extremely large amounts of video content at scale. In other words, this technology helps our customers save precious time and money.
While we may have won these Emmy® awards in 2021, this recognition has been years in the making. In fact, some of our researchers have been thinking about and working on this technology since the early 1990s. Since the mid-2000s, Brightcove has been pioneering cloud-based transcoding and cloud-based online video platforms as categories of products.
We didn’t need another reason to keep pushing our video technology to new heights, but these awards are certainly motivation to continue to create new innovative technologies for our customers, and to make video encoding and delivery as robust, efficient, and easy to use as possible.
Q&A sessions play an important role in online events just as they do in offline events. They are not only a way of resolving participants’ questions, but also a key to increasing the satisfaction of the event, as they can help to raise questions that are difficult to ask offline and make it possible to visualize the empathy of participants other than the questioner. In this article, we will introduce how to solicit questions and provide answers, as well as services that can be used for this purpose.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the most influential tech event in the world, gathering attendees from across the globe to showcase the latest and greatest in technology insights and innovation. This year’s event included a focus on the rapidly changing world of entertainment, and because video plays a key role in the way that we now experience everything from films to concerts to sports, Brightcove is ready to help the entertainment industry transform like never before.
Here are some major highlights from this year’s CES event, which featured executives from WarnerMedia, SpringHill Entertainment, Nike, General Motors, and more.
Entertaining audiences, whether it’s through films, sports, or other content, is something that has always needed to change with the times. But today, as we begin 2021, the changes are coming fast and furious and often result in a huge—if not total—transformation in the way that audiences are reached.
SpringHill Entertainment, the production company created by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, acknowledged at CES that the pipelines of distribution are now the main focus. Viewers will ask, “which streaming service will I choose to watch my movies? My sports?” That makes it necessary to focus deeply on engaging consumers and keep them connected to a brand. Nike echoed similar thoughts, emphasizing the importance of finding new creators and avenues to constantly build out content, delivering it fast while monitoring feedback.
The pandemic was certainly a catalyst for the rise of streaming across the world, but providers of entertainment and content now see streaming as an indispensable asset. And why not? Once you think beyond the limitations of a physical location, it’s exciting to imagine how streaming can connect with audiences across the world while offering viewing experiences that truly innovate and engage.
DC Fandom, the powerful virtual event platform created by DC Comics, thrilled over 22 million viewers at its recent virtual event. And major film studios, such as WarnerMedia, are releasing first-run content through streaming services, doing away with the traditional “opening box office numbers” as they change the way they evaluate a film’s success.
Consumers know that they can easily access fantastic viewing experiences, so as time goes on, they’ll just expect these experiences to become more and more amazing. Already, with the increased number of people staying at home, the sales of computing and smart home devices has taken a big leap. As those devices embrace new enhancements in design and aesthetics, we’re also seeing rapid changes in platforms, streaming services, and other technology.
Altogether, it’s focused on giving the viewer a no-holds-barred seamless viewing experience. And whether it’s entertainment, cloud services, digital health, or 5G connectivity, consumers will continue to have a demanding relationship with their screens that insists on the best with absolutely no patience for a less-than performance.
With the continued evolution of the entertainment industry driven by video, Brightcove is ideally positioned to power this expansion while paving the way for the best and brightest video innovations that will delight audiences and build brands across the world.
Our passion lies in our ability to push video beyond every expectation, and we look at 2021 and beyond as the latest step in our exciting journey to showcase the potential of this truly amazing storytelling medium. If we can help you tell your story, build a brand, or reach new audiences, please get in touch and see why Brightcove is video that means business.
Planning an online event is not that different from offline events in the basic aspects. However, by planning with an understanding of the unique characteristics of online events, you can increase the satisfaction of both participants and speakers. In this article, we will focus on the ‘time allocation’ aspect, which is often overlooked when planning online events, and introduce some key points.
Many companies are looking for event formats that don’t require participants to gather in one place, just like conferences and seminars, and holding events online is becoming a natural option. So, Brightcove will be explaining what online events are and what you should consider when holding them in a series of 9 articles titled “The Complete Guide to Online Events”.
After a year like 2020, we all could use a little more good news. So we’re starting 2021 on a high note and shining a BRIGHT light on a few of our amazing customers who are using video for good. These customers all know that there are some stories that can only be told with the power of video.
Malmö, Sweden is one of those hidden gems in Europe you may have never heard of. Sweden’s third largest by population, it has spent years quietly undergoing a major transformation to become a leader in social, economic, and ecological sustainability. While video is commonly used for business, the city’s unique strategy for municipal communications has earned praise throughout Europe and has created an important platform for its citizens. From green roofs and rainwater ponds to new bike trails and using food waste to fuel city buses, sustainability initiatives are shared with residents via video to gain their support. In Malmö, engaged and informed residents are great for the environment – and video makes it possible.
“We want to continue to explore ways to use video and remain a sustainability and communication leader for our citizens. We can tell the stories of environmental efforts around the city and also show projects where we are making sustainability-based improvements.” – Mikael Hellman, Visual Communication Manager for the City of Malmö
Inspiring Interns, the United Kingdom’s leading graduate recruitment agency, thought there had to be a better way to apply for a job, especially for new graduates looking for their first position in a competitive market. So the agency turned to video to disrupt and transform its recruitment program. By enabling graduates to record personalized curriculum vitae (CVs) for the companies they wish to work for and hosting them on its website, Inspiring Interns has started thousands of graduates on their career paths. For candidates, video CVs showcase their personality, professionalism, and passion in a way that’s just not possible with a PDF. And for employers, video has helped broaden their perspective and opened their eyes to candidates they might not have considered from a traditional CV. The agency credits video for helping to better match the right applicants with the right jobs, leading to happier employees and employers.
“It can be difficult to stand out in a competitive job market. The video CV enables applicants to inject their unique personality into an otherwise faceless process. Employers have told us they hired people they might not have hired if they just considered their paper CV. But what they saw on video really impressed them.” – Ben Rosen, Founder & CEO at Inspiring Interns
SEEK, the #1 employment marketplace in Australia, strives to help people live more fulfilled and productive working lives. More than just a job posting site, SEEK’s evolving collection of video content and expanding library of resources helps millions of Australians with everything from career advice and mid-career changes to small business guidance. During the COVID-19 crisis, for example, instead of just posting an article about how to manage mental health and work demands, viewers could watch resident SEEK psychologist Sabina Read speak directly to them, addressing issues and questions with great care and concern. SEEK will continue to be a valuable resource by responding to people’s emotional needs, no matter what challenges lie ahead.
“[It was important to] create a destination for candidates and hirers to visit for tools and resources on every step of their career journey. Telling great stories in a beautiful way is one of the most important attributes of video.” – Pip Duncan, Head of Production at SEEK
FacingDisability.com is where questions are answered, support is offered, and strength is found for patients and families living with spinal cord injuries. The suddenness of a spinal cord injury can often be overwhelming and leave families feeling unprepared and isolated – and this is exactly how Thea Flaum felt when her daughter Vicki experienced a spinal cord injury at age 19. With the creation of FacingDisability.com, Flaum channeled her fear and frustration into a mission to let patients and their families know, “You are not alone.” The site offers extensive video content from doctors, psychologists, therapists, rehabilitation experts, and, above all, people living with spinal cord injuries to provide unvarnished truths and invaluable insights. With these videos, Facing Disability creates human connections just when people need them most.
“What you’re getting are honest, human responses. Video gives you the power of the image, the power of the close-up. So from the very beginning, we insisted on broadcast-quality video.” – Thea Flaum, Founder at FacingDisability.com
We’re honored to partner with these incredible organizations, and we applaud the amazing work they do every day. Keep watching this space for others that are using video for good.
Picture this. You’ve recently subscribed to new software, and now you’re having issues synchronising your data and information to start using it. Unable to find answers online, you pick up the phone to contact customer support, only to be faced with an automated voice menu… or to be put on hold indefinitely… or to be told that an IT specialist will get back to you within three to five working days.
When their problems are more routine than the above example, customers are quick to search for a solution online – contacting customer service is the last resort. But even when a customer searches online for troubleshooting tips, what they usually find is in a long written format that can be hard to follow.
The simple fact is that getting answers to questions, no matter how complex they are, is usually an exercise in frustration – and that’s not a good look for your brand.
Customers don’t want to waste time with trial-and-error troubleshooting or waiting for attention from a customer service rep. This is where the customer service department can leverage a self-service content strategy to quickly answer customer questions and even reduce the number of inbound calls. At the heart of this strategy is video.
Let me explain with an example. Brightcove worked with Xero, a company that makes innovative cloud-based accounting software, to launch Xero TV, a comprehensive library of video tutorials and explainers that address the most frequent queries and concerns and show how to troubleshoot simple technical problems.
By firmly rooting its customer service strategy in video, the New Zealand company, which has over one million subscribers, has been able to boost conversion rates and bolster customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Xero TV put a lot of effort into ensuring they have engaging and useful content for their customers, wherever they are in the sales funnel, and their efforts have paid off with an increase of 150% in average video viewing time. In addition, they have been able to roll out global initiatives in a precisely tailored manner that ensures every customer gets what they need when they need it.
When customer service is made more accessible, it saves costs by reducing calls for common inquiries while delivering better results for customers with more complex inquiries that require personal intervention.
Once you post a video on your website, how can you demonstrate that it’s generating the results you want?
As a basic rule, determining whether the content is successful depends on how many times the video was watched and the actions your customers then took. When you’re looking at video playback data, views are important, but there’s so much deeper you can go.
With video analytics, it should be a simple matter of tracking performance and following up with relevant communications, depending on which video and how much of the video or video the customer has watched. For example, if you’re prioritising B2B customers for an in-person follow-up, then analysing which videos produce the strongest engagement will allow you to optimise those efforts. And if you keep track of this in an integrated customer database, then you can monitor the performance and effectiveness of your entire communications program.
The return on investment that results from using video content for customer service is potentially immense. Whether you’re a small business, mid-size commercial bank, or large software provider, video enables you to attract and retain customers, reduce overhead, and accurately measure the success of what you’re doing.
If you want to know how we can help you build a video strategy for customer service, marketing automation, and much more, talk to us. We’ll show you why Brightcove is video that means business… for your business.
