Is livestreaming your next event via smartphone the best strategy?

16 August 2018

 

Australia is one of the leading global adopters of smartphones, with nearly ninety per cent of people nationwide now owners according to Deloitte. The connectivity offered by the devices is an obvious draw – but so is the ability to perform skills not accessible mobily. Armed with a smartphone, business owners can now be their own personal assistant, advertising space and video producer, all on-the-go.

But using a smartphone to shoot and stream content for your business event doesn’t mean the end product will be the same quality as if you’d used professional video production services.

When not to use smartphone livestreaming

Livestreaming is a major content asset available to all businesses in every industry. At its base, all that’s needed is an internet connection, a recording device and a platform to host the video feed. It’s become an instant marketing success by connecting audiences on a more intimate and ‘real’ level to a product or event being promoted.

Smartphones are ultimately limited in the sound and video they can record. Smartphones are ultimately limited in the sound and video they can record.

However, there are numerous considerations which would rule out livestreaming with a smartphone as the most effective strategy for promoting your event:

  • The size of your event space. Larger spaces mean more challenging acoustics which your smartphone will be unable to pick up with its basic microphone.
  • Numbers in attendance. More attendees will produce more ambient noise, which will again wreak havoc with your smartphone’s sound quality.
  • The lighting. Dimly lit venues or being in the room and shooting at a brightly lit stage will darken or wash out your image considerably.
  • Your event aims. If you need to focus on multiple elements on stage at once, a single camera angle offered by a smartphone is unlikely to do the event justice. This point extends to events in which there are multiple speakers, such as panel discussions or Q&A sessions. A single camera and microphone will not be able to pick up the level of detail needed.

When can you use a smartphone for livestreaming?

Livestreaming on a smartphone is useful in certain contexts. For example, if you wanted to offer your audience ‘backstage access’ to an event being setup, or wanted private promotional material between your audience and one speaker, livestreaming is a good option. A livestream through a personal device offers a rougher, more homemade feeling which can be excellent for establishing a certain mood for your event.

However, even in these instances the limitations of livestreaming with a smartphone rather than utilising professional video production services can still present operational challenges.

The limitations of smartphone livestreaming

The practical limitations of smartphone livestreaming include:

  • Your whole event can only last as long as your battery allows. The event production team at HiBlue estimates that livestreaming is one of the most battery-draining things you can do on a smartphone. This limits how much you can do with you event.
  • Security is another major concern. Often livestreamed events via smartphone are performed using a publicly-accessible internet connection, which compromises the data being exchanged on your link.
  • Relying on a smartphone for streaming your entire event is a risk. In general, there is an accepted ten per cent chance of your livestream failing mid-event, for a number of reasons. If this happens while on a smartphone, your whole event is over for your audience and you could lose hundreds of eager eyes and thousands of dollars.

Why choose video livestreaming experts

CMS Australasia can offer you everything you need to livestream your event professionally, securely and with a high-quality finish. We offer full event production and video services, with our own private servers for safely hosting your event stream. We can help you from event conception to pack down and producing collateral video content you can use after the event is finished.

Promoting your event via smartphone has its place – but it’s always better to utilise the expertise of video livestreaming and event production experts for a high-quality finish that will meet the aims of your event and increase audience interactivity. For more information on getting the most out of your next event livestream project, contact CMS Australasia today.