Your event streaming checklist

Your event streaming checklist

Running an event online rather than in-person might make you feel slightly removed from your guests, but it is still an experience that they're investing time and money to attend, and you want them to come away feeling it was worth their while. Below are some tasks and things to keep in mind leading up to the start of your stream to ensure you make a good and professional impression so that your viewers will want to attend more of your events in future.

Content and equipment

You'll likely already have a good idea of the content or information you're sharing before you start selling tickets (after all, creating an event does require an initial idea). But the type of event that you're hosting will impact the way you need to set up your stream, from the physical equipment that you may need to buy, to the platform you choose to host your stream, so it's important to nail this down early on before you start selling tickets.

For example, are you hosting a webinar where you can record & edit your video beforehand and then upload the finished product? Or is it more of a festival vibe where you have some musicians and DJs livestreaming from different locations? Or perhaps you'd prefer an interactive Zoom call where you can have a conversation with your attendees? All of these options are possible when you add a stream to your Quicket event, but you'll need to decide which format best suits your event.

We've listed out a few pros & cons of some streaming services here and the minimum equipment that you'll need here. Both also have links to more in depth descriptions, and we highly recommend doing your own research to choose the best set up for the concept you're going for.

Test, test, test!

We really cannot stress enough the importance of testing before your event opens. Streaming relies heavily on technology and you need to make sure that all the different types of tech you're using work well together and work well consistently.
  1. Make sure you've tested your camera, audio / microphone, and internet connection at least 24 hours before the event opens, then test again 2 hours before the event opens. 
  2. Do not rely on wifi for your live stream - rather used a wired connection, and test your line speed before going live. You should maintain an upload speed between 3 and 5 Mbps.
  3. If you have multiple people connecting in remotely as part of your stream, be sure they have also tested their equipment and internet connections before going live.
  4. If you're live streaming from South Africa, check the load shedding schedule to ensure you don't lose electricity in the middle of your stream.
  5. Make sure you're comfortable using your video encoder (such as OBS), that you've tested using your server details (provided by Quicket if using Quicket Hosted Streaming), and that you remember to press record while streaming if you need a local copy of your stream once it's finished.
  6. If you're uploading a video file for your stream, be sure that you've finished filming and editing 48 hours before the event opens, then upload your file to Quicket at least 24 hours before it opens. Depending on your file size, it can take a while to upload, and if you run into any issues you'll want to give yourself and Quicket support staff enough time to help sort it out.
  7. If you're providing a link to an external platform for your stream, make sure you have tested that the link works 24 hours before the event opens.

Communicate your event information

The best way to communicate your event and streaming information to guests is to use the tools we've made available to you. This ensures that each of your ticket buyers has access to the information about your event, but it also heavily reduces admin for you.

If your event is on a platform such as Zoom where you'll need to provide a link and are unable to embed the video on your Quicket streaming page, you can include instructions that your guests will see when they open up your Streaming page. The link to your event (e.g. the Zoom link you provided us) will be available for them to click, as well as a block of text with your instructions, such as a Zoom password, that they can use to access your Zoom channel.

Here are some other tools outside of our streaming feature that you can use on Quicket to communicate with your guests:
  1. MailChimp: if you have a MailChimp account (or if you don't - it's never a bad idea to create one) you can link your event guest list with your MailChimp account to send an email to your guests. Click here for helping linking your MailChimp account to your Quicket account.
  2. Ticket confirmation email: you can add a personal message to every purchase success email that goes out which means every ticket buyer will have the information you provide in their inbox. Simply click Checkout >> Ticket Settings in your event dashboard, and slide 'Include a message' to ON. NB: Do not slide 'Send custom mail' on if you're streaming, as this will remove your event streaming information from your ticket buyers' emails. Only use 'Include a message'.
  3. SMS your guests: If your event has funds (i.e. it is not a free event), then you can send an SMS to all of your event attendees who provided their mobile number at checkout. There is a small fee, but it's a very efficient way to communicate event changes and information. Click here for help sending an SMS to your guests.
  4. Use your guest list: If you don't have a MailChimp account and would like to email your guests, you can simply copy all of your event attendees' email addresses (which you can find in your guest list) to email them from your email account. NB: be sure that you BCC your attendees' email addresses.

Talk to us

At the end of the day, you want to be able to open your online event with confidence, knowing that you've done all you can to make sure it's a hit. If you have any questions or concerns, please address them with us before the day of your event. While we try to have support staff on hand during event streams, we cannot guarantee that someone from Quicket will be available to help right when your stream is supposed to go live. Give yourself and our team enough time to help iron out any kinks before the stress of event day sets in.

You can reach out to us on support@quicket.co.za or phone us on +27 21 424 9308.

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