Maximise your Event's Reach, Accessibility and Profits with Live Streaming

It’s 6:58am on a lazy Sunday morning. “Mamma! Daddy! I’m up!”. That’s my wake-up call: my toddler announcing loud and proud that she is ready to go for the day, a full two minutes before my alarm clock was set to go off. So I get up and get ready for work as it’s the last day of the ‘Cúirt International Festival of Literature’ and GK Media have been Live Streaming the majority of its online programme this year.

It has been a really exciting time for all at #TeamGK as it’s the first ever international festival that we’ve streamed over an entire week. There are numerous events each day that we have been live streaming from the beautiful Town Hall Theatre in Galway City. The set-up for each event is completely different but it’s these challenges that we love, especially when we get to meet and film so many highly renowned writers and broadcasters at the festival.

Embracing innovation and new technologies has always been the ethos of GK Media. We first introduced Live Streaming as a new service back in 2018, but it was only when COVID-19 arrived that people suddenly realised the importance of virtual productions. Thankfully then we were fully equipped and ready to go LIVE which was of huge benefit to both our existing and new clients.

Live Streaming has quickly become one of GK Media’s most highly sought after services. Thankfully our long-sightedness paid off and we are able to Live Stream any event (from music gigs to stage productions, to conferences or AGMs and more: the sky is the limit!) across any platform (Zoom, YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, website embedding, etc.) using a multi-camera set-up in professional HD broadcast quality.

In a world where the remote enjoyment of public or private events and functions has become part of our ‘new normal’, live streaming represents a key tool to enhance the delivery of contents for many businesses worldwide.

Even now as we begin to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel and hope to return again to attending live events in-person, a lot of companies have already decided to embrace the old and new by hosting live audience events again but with live streaming for a virtual audience too as the benefits are simply - global! Companies now realise that the potential reach of their audience is beyond four walls, and that they can scale and increase turnover exponentially by embracing a remote, international audience hungry to digest their content and participate in their events.

Financial benefits aside, live streaming has certainly made the world a smaller place by promoting audiences’ simultaneous engagement, no matter where they are tuning in from. Think about it: all of a sudden you have the opportunity to deliver your contents to folks who, for different reasons, would have never been able to attend your event in person. Not to forget that reaching out to more people than ever before will also make your organization stand out from the competition.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that live streams and broadcasts come in different sizes but they can always be tailored to the event’s needs and specifications. They can be private and password protected, paid and ticketed events, public and completely free of charge, enhanced through Green Screen Technology (i.e. logos, background design, Live Captions and PowerPoint slides can be added) and delivered via a range of different platforms.

So what’s next? If you don’t want to be left behind in the race to global accessibility you should invest into Live Streaming your events by purchasing the necessary equipment or by hiring a creative media company in your area to look after your broadcasts.

At GK Media we provide Live Streaming Services for clients based all over Ireland so don’t hesitate to get in touch by emailing info@gkmedia.ie for further information.

5 Reasons to Hire an Expert to Manage your Social Media

It’s 10:30pm on a random mid-week evening and it’s finally time to put your feet up, watch a movie and chill before bed. You are half-unconscious on the couch until you remember: social media posting. Oh no. You didn’t post anything today. Or yesterday. Well, you actually can’t recall the last time you published some fresh content on your business’s social media accounts.

Truth be told, a lot of start-ups and SMEs don’t have the time or the resources to manage their Social Media Platforms on a regular basis and end up missing out on the biggest (and cheapest) opportunity they have to promote their business. Occupied with the day-to-day running of their business, Social Media Management often slips to the bottom of the priorities list.

So you know how important it is to build your businesses’ online presence, but you don’t have the time or skillset to do it. Is there a solution? There is in fact, and they are called a social media manager.

Unsure if this is the right business decision to make in line with your marketing budget? Read on if you still need a bit of convincing and discover the advantages of outsourcing your Social Media Management.

1.     Eye on the prize

Social Media Experts do this for a living: they are constantly on Social Media so rest assured they are the first ones to know about all the new tricks and trends to navigate any platform. They analyse and adapt all tools available to the very specific business needs of each client, enhancing their social media presence through customised and original content.

2.     Too many cooks spoil the broth

Many SMEs allow multiple staff members to simultaneously access and maintain their Social Media Platforms - which is a big mistake. Whilst it’s perfectly OK to manage your Social Media in-house (as long as enough time and resources are allocated to this task), this is a job that can only run efficiently through a designated cohort. Consistency should be your motto when it comes to social content creation and this is something that can only be achieved by a tight team who is able to maintain the same vision, concept and visuals across your different channels. It is definitely not something for everybody to “chip in” for.

3.     Consistent and Reliable

A Social Media Expert will schedule and publish the right amount of posts according to your Social Traffic peak times in order to optimise your organic reach. Once again, consistency is key as there is no point in over-posting one week and then go missing in action the next. A good balance in social content posting is essential to achieve regular engagement with your fan base.

4.     Your Right Hand Man

When you hire a Social Media Expert, the first thing they will do is to take time to get to know your business, branding and vision. Their job is to research and create appropriate and original content that will match your company and your customer base. They will also draw up a Social Media Marketing strategy for the following six to twelve months where together you can set goals: enhancing brand awareness, growing your customer base, driving traffic to your website and more.

5.     The Proof is in the Pudding

Social Media Managers know what content is best for you because they monitor and analyse the data your content generates. This way, they know exactly what works and what doesn’t. They are able to understand complex analytics and learn how to use this information to maximise your performance and make your brand shine amongst the mountain of online content.

GK Media have years of experience in Digital Marketing and Social Media Management. We are always very excited to help our clients reach the top in the intricate world of Social Media and relieve them from what they see as a daunting task.

Check out our Social Media Management Packages and don’t hesitate to contact us if you wish to discuss a plan to suit your specific business’s needs.