When I speak with clients about webcasting, I often get asked “Why would I want to webcast my… (fill in the blank)”.
In almost any case, it can be answered with one word – Reach. Events, meetings, graduations, and just about any special event are bound by two main factors: time and location. The event happens once, and once only. It happens in one spot, and that spot can’t be moved. It happens in a place with so many seats, at a certain time of day, etc.
How can webcasting help this? It removes the time and location boundaries. Seating is no longer limited, as many viewers can watch as you like. More and more, viewers can watch from anywhere – at home in bed with a laptop, commuting on the train via their smartphone, or in the park on their tablet. Viewers unable to make it can watch where they like, without travel expenses. If they can’t be there because of time, they can watch the event later, again, wherever they like.
One of the more popular webcasting experiences is college graduations. In the past, schools have limited the amount of tickets available to each graduate since the campus venue can only hold so many people. Grandparents and others may not be able to travel to the school’s location. Parking on campus that day may be limited. Or, the graduate’s family is from another part of the world. Webcasting had solved these limitations.
Another example is the quarterly company meeting. If your business is located in one building, and everyone is present that particular day and time, that’s great… but when does that happen anymore?? Webcasting can allow employees to view important company info like they are there. In some cases, satellite campuses can project the webcast on a large screen so they can watch as a group. Sales force employees in the field can watch via mobile devices, and international employees can watch the event live or afterwards when it’s convenient for them.
So it’s not “why would I want to?”, but “when are you going to?”. Think reach.