Having a professional setup is going to be crucial for public speakers and presenters moving forward. Zoom fatigue is real and if you think sitting in your basement office, popping open your laptop and going live is going to get you paid, you’d be sorely mistaken.
I discovered that since COVID-19 impacted the events and conference industry, speakers are DECREASING their prices by about 50%. They simply can’t bring the same value to the table that they were bringing to a live event.
Why is that? Why can’t they bring the same enthusiasm and experience? It boils down to three main ingredients:
1) Interaction. In person, people can come up to you after you present and ask questions or network. On Zoom it’s not so easy. Sure there’s the chat room but if you’re attending a longer event, your messages will get lost in the noise. If you’re attending a shorter event, good luck finding an event coordinator that will leave the Zoom open long enough for you to stay after and get your question in. By leveraging an in-studio environment, we provide TV screens so you can see comments in large text right there in front of you and call out great questions as they come in.
2) People value events less because they’re happening from the comfort of their own home. Think about it – you can go out to dinner and a movie and pay $50 a person or you can order some Chinese takeout and watch Netflix. One costs about $25 and the other costs nearly 4x that. In a world where people are penny pinching at every turn because they’re out of work, you need to figure out how to bring value. This is where an expert livestreaming studio can come in handy. They can provide you with the tools you need to create an immersive and interactive experience. Take for example the networking coffee breaks that you love so much at live conferences. People thought that could be imitated with Zoom breakout rooms and in a way it can but the business deals aren’t going to happen the same way. Using unique virtual experience platforms will allow you to give your audience the leg up they want. But it’s not going to come from a low-priced option like Zoom. Hint: if you’re looking to make a wildly successful virtual event, ask us how we’ve partnered with some of the best firms for making networking happen.
3) Public speakers got complacent. There. I said it! I know I’ll catch some flak for this but coaches, consultants and presenters felt like they could easily start charging $10K, $20K even $50K to speak for 45-60 minutes. Who do they think they are? Gary Vaynerchuk? It was easy to ask for astronomical prices because these ginormous events were having upwards of 10,000 attendees (think a Tony Robbins event) at well over $1,000 a ticket. Of course they could afford it and they knew that big speakers would put butts in seats. Well, I hate to break it to you but the industry is changing. The ones who can deliver a spectacular virtual experience will win in the end.
I have to give a shout out to Irvine Nugent of www.irvinenugent.com in the photo above because he took the initiative to work with me to develop a video that shows how dynamic he will be as a virtual speaker for his clients. In his video he spoke to the fears and concerns that event planners have.
If you’re looking to up your game and make sure that your virtual events and presentations go as smoothly as possible. Please don’t hesitate to reach out. ZMBmedia is excited to welcome you into our new studio located in Baltimore Maryland that was designed specifically for livestream productions. Contact us today at www.zmbmedia.com