Virtual events are here to stay, even after COVID-19. While this is disadvantageous, it gives us something valuable that has never been available before. With the increasing number of virtual events, there is this one thing that would help performers like you and I improve our virtual show tremendously. And, the improvement is going to be backed by data and my Virtual Magic Show 2020 (Digital Magic) has benefited from this a lot.

What is it?

It is nothing new and it is something that all of us are familiar with. It is the view graph on live streaming platforms such as Facebook.

When a virtual event is held on Facebook, for example, anyone is able to see the “view graph” when you replay the event. This comprehensive view graph gives an overview of the entire virtual event in terms of the number of views at any one time. It allows you to see the number of views before and after a particular segment. It also allows you to identify the most watched segment and that is usually the lucky draw segment.

For live events, we usually evaluate the attention of the audience (hence the quality of the show) during a particular event from the loudness and frequency of the applause. This form of data is never that quantitative to be accurate and the conclusion may vary from people to people.

Now, for virtual events, if the audience does not like a particular segment, they can just leave the live stream, reducing the number of concurrent views. This gives a very numerical and objective feedback that tells you what is happneing in terms of how attractive the particular segment of an virtual event is.

How do I make use of this?

I am sure after knowing what this tip is, you already know how to improve your show with it. I usually begin by locating my show in the timeline and observe the number of views before and after my segment. I will also note the nature of the segments before and after my show. If my show is not the most watched segment during the virtual event, I will find out what exactly happened. Is it because of the start time of my show? Is it because of the segment beforehand? If my show is the most watched segment, I will also analyse why it is the case. You get the idea.

There you have it. This is something that I have been using to my benefit since I started performing virtually. So the next time you are done with a virtual event, take note of the view graph and I am sure you will gain a lot of insights from it.

Hope you’d enjoy this tip and stay tuned for more insights on virtual events.

Thank you!

Modern, Digital & Magical

TK