Virtual Event Success

One of my favorite guys, Robert Metras, invited me to Google+ about a week and I’ve been having a ball trying to get up to speed about this new social networking platform. While clicking around, I saw a post by Bryan Person:

Intrigued, I decided to test out the hangout myself.

I created a public hangout (what’s known as a room in Google+), then invited others to join me. Robert and Andreas joined me at different times, so I was able to try out a bit of the functionality.

Here’s what I liked…

Public vs Private Hangout

If I want the whole world to join my hangout, I simply start it. But if I want to make it private, I can choose which circle I want my hangout to be visible to. So, in Bryan’s case, because he only wanted his co-workers to join, he created a circle in his company’s name, added his co-workers (who have to be a member in Google+), then used the drop down as you see in the image below to choose which circle to invite to his hangout.

YouTube Videos

I was surprised and pleased that if I wanted to show a YouTube video, I can. I simply press the YouTube icon which appears at the bottom of the hangout screen and then, I’m taken to a page where I can search for the video I’d like to play. I chose the video review that Amethyst Wyldfyre did of my book, as you can see in the image below, and played that into the hangout. While the video plays, all participants are automatically muted.

Interactive Chat Tool

In all the webinars I’ve ever hosted, participants crave the need to pass notes in the virtual classroom. The Google+ hangout offers a chat tool (red arrow in the image below) where participants can share information with each other. That’s me and Andreas Duess in the image below.

Mute/Unmute Participants

When Robert joined me, I took a screenshot of the icons that appear below his picture (see red circle in the image below). The green microphone means that Robert can speak into the hangout. If need be, I can mute him by clicking on the green microphone and turning it off.

As for what I’d like to see improved:

• The ability to host more than 10 people – the hangout has a maximum attendance of 10 people.
• The ability to upload other media, such as slides, images, photos and audio.

If you’d like to see the Google+ hangout in action, check out this 21-minute video featuring Bryan with Kami Huyse, Neville Hobson, Lionel Menchaca, and Shel Holtz.

Do you like the possibilities of using Google+ Hangout as a virtual event platform? If you’ve used it, what other improvements would you like to see? What marketing possibilities do you envision using Google+ Hangout?

Update: Amy-Mae Elliott provided tips on how to record your Google+ Hangout conversations.

If they can’t access your virtual event, then you might as well not produce it.

Many businesses get caught up in how they’re going to deliver their virtual event content. And it’s understandable why – you could spend anywhere between $10,000 to $25,000 on a virtual event platform.

Make it easy for your attendees to connect to your content and you’ll get positive feedback and testimonials months after your virtual event ends. Because at the end of the day, no matter how great your content was, no matter how stellar your speakers were, if your technology fails at any point during your virtual event, attendees will rate your virtual event poorly.

Most times, the failure of the technology has nothing to do with you as a virtual event manager. It could be that the user is using a Mac computer and your virtual event platform only works with Windows, or, they may be so fearful of technology that no matter how simple it is to use, they will throw up their hands in frustration and say it doesn’t work. It’s not unusual for attendees to ask for their money back if they have trouble connecting to your virtual event.

You can avoid all of these problems by using one of the oldest technologies in the world to connect your audience with your content. The telephone is the easiest tool you can use to deliver your virtual event content. Why? Because there isn’t a learning curve, plus it’s less intimidating than any other tool.

Everyone has a telephone, and they know how to use it. You simply give a 10 digit phone number and access code to all those who sign up and pay for your virtual event, then on the day and time of the call, people dial the number and are connected to the content. Simply use a conference bridge line service in order to connect with your attendees, and deliver your content.

Recommended Resource: Looking for a telephone bridge line to use for your next virtual event? Check out Virtual Event Bridge Line for your needs. Get your first 21-days for just $1.

I want to thank VAnetworking.com for inviting me to present a brand new topic called How to Manage a Multi-Speaker, Multi-Series Virtual Event. It was the first time I presented that topic and the close to 50 virtual assistants who showed up gave me alot of great feedback.

On the virtual event, I said that I would have a review of Maestro Conference and Instant Teleseminar. Well, I went one step further. I also reviewed GoToWebinar and VereConference as well. I won’t have these reviews up until after August 12th once the 10 Day to Produce a Better Virtual Event ends. So stay tuned until then.