Webex Events provides two features that support live streaming — the Live Stream feature and the Agenda. Beyond deciding which live streaming provider to use, you may also wonder whether it makes more sense to use the Live Stream feature or the Agenda feature to show your live streams.
This article outlines general guidelines and pros and cons for each option to help you decide which is best for your event. If you're still unsure after reading this article, feel free to start a chat with our amazing support team using the bubble in the lower right corner of this screen, or reach out to your Webex Events contact.
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General guidelines
The Live Stream feature is your best bet if your event is only a few hours long or has one or two live streams that don't overlap with each other. You can go live multiple times with Webex Events Production Studio and Webex Events Streaming by Restream, so there's no need to create one or two sessions in the Agenda feature. When attendees click the Live Stream feature on the Event App, the stream opens immediately, removing the extra step attendees would take to join an Agenda session live stream.
Live stream Agenda sessions are ideal if your event contains multiple streaming sessions, or if your event has many live stream sessions going on at the same time. The Agenda feature lets you add unique descriptions, speaker information, and more for each session to help attendees differentiate between each session.
We generally don't recommend using a combination of both the Live Stream feature and live stream Agenda sessions because attendees may get confused about where to access each stream. If you want to highlight your keynote, this can be a great option, however.
Live Stream feature pros and cons
Pros
The Live Stream feature is easy to find on the Event App since it's listed along with all your other features.
The Live Stream feature has one link and one stream:
Speakers all have the same link, which reduces the risk of using the wrong link to join the live stream.
Keeping track of only one link and one stream makes it easier for you to manage the stream.
Attendees won't have to juggle multiple links to different streams.
You may need fewer moderators/admins for the live stream.
Cons
If you want to use Chat, Q&A and Polling, or simply see who joined each session, all of that data appears together in Metrics and data exports. This makes it harder to analyze details about what happened in each Live Stream.
The Live Stream feature may not be a good option if you plan to have multiple live streams going at the same time. Clear naming helps, though attendees may still get confused.
If you're running a single stream with multiple sessions, you must commit to one streaming provider. Plan carefully to ensure the provider you choose has the functionality you need for each session. Remember that you can Go Live multiple times in the same studio with Webex Events Production Studio and Webex Events Streaming by Restream!
Agenda sessions have a built-in feature for attendees to take notes on each session. If this is something you want while using the Live Stream feature, you'll need to add a Custom Tab to embed a third-party note-taking site.
Agenda feature pros and cons
Pros
You can have different live stream providers for each session, giving you lots of flexibility with how each session's stream is produced and structured.
Chat, Q&A, Polling, and attendance are much easier to track since each session's data is separate from the others in metrics and data exports.
This is your best option for events with multiple live streams happening at the same time or spread over multiple days.
Attendees can add Agenda sessions to their personal agenda and use the built-in note-taking feature.
Agenda sessions offer a rich information experience and cross-linking to Speakers, Sponsors, Map locations, and more!
Cons
Each session has a different live stream link. This requires coordination and organization to ensure that speakers are in the correct session at the right time.
With multiple individual sessions to launch and manage, you may need more moderators/admins.
Now that you know more about how live streaming works in the Agenda and Live Stream features, read our Live Streaming Best Practices for guidance on hosting an amazing live stream, or reach out for a demo.
Questions? Chat Us or Email support@socio.events