What is a Virtual meet and greet

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At Patron Technology, we stand for human dignity and fundamental rights, and for justice and equality. Racism, violence, and prejudice will never win in our societies.In full support of our industry’s efforts to recognize too-long overlooked social injustice and to foster a moment of reflection on recent events, we are taking Tuesday, June 2 to pause our normal activities while taking a stand against systemic racism and violence.

We thank all of our clients and industry colleagues in sharing this moment with us.

You’ve made the decision to take all or part of your event online, and now it’s time to take it a step further and ensure you’re providing the same level of connection and sense of community your attendees have come to love and expect. With the right technology toolkit, there’s nothing stopping you from creating memorable, highly engaging virtual experiences your worldwide audiences can enjoy! One key feature you need to make this possible is virtual meet & greets with your artists, celebrity guests, and other talent. 

Our parent company, Patron Technology, provides all the meet & greet tools you’ll need so you can foster greater engagement and boost your revenue with one-on-one and group video chats, recorded messages, and more. And it’s all completely integrated with our platform! Read on to learn more, and kick off your meet & greet planning today.

Why Should I Offer Virtual Meet & Greets?

From fandom conventions to music festivals, meet & greet sessions are a common VIP perk that enhances the in-person event experience by giving attendees the opportunity to meet their favorite artists and celebrities. Our virtual meet & greets solution takes this concept online, enabling event organizers to sell group or individual video chats from the same event page you sell virtual event access, merchandise, and more. Plus, virtual meet & greet opportunities give event organizers and talent a valuable additional revenue stream. Consider also offering pre-recorded messages, giving your talent the flexibility to record a brief video greeting on their own time, and giving customers anywhere in the world, in any time zone, the opportunity to receive a video message from their favorite artist or celebrity. 

For your attendees, virtual meet & greets can play a major role in turning your events into full-fledged online experiences. Rather than simply viewing a series of live streams, your attendees will actually get to have full-on conversations with their idols. Since you’ll be able send them a recording of their session, they’ll have a memorable souvenir from their experience to share with others. This level of nonstop engagement brings your online events to life for your virtual attendees, making them much more likely to become repeat customers. Plus, the potential for sharing their meet & greet recordings and in-session photo ops on social media means these newly created brand ambassadors will further your event’s brand awareness in a whole new way!

How Do Meet & Greets Fit into My Event?

Our virtual meet and greets solution is highly flexible, so it can be used to fit the needs of any event. For example, online fandom conventions can offer one-on-one meet & greet sessions so every fan can have dedicated time with their favorite celebrity to ask their burning questions or share their best fan theories. A virtual concert can provide “backstage passes” with group meet & greets so several people can meet the band before their performance. Even conferences can offer intimate question & answer sessions that can give a limited number of attendees the opportunity to connect with presenters and panelists.

How Does It All Work?

Since virtual meet & greets are integrated right within our system, they’re easy to set up and even easier for attendees to use. With virtual meet & greets, customers simply purchase a session time from your event page, then use a unique access code to enter an interactive waiting room. They’ll then perform their own tech check to ensure their audio and video is working properly. After they enter their session, they have a few minutes to talk with their favorite artists and celebrities. Throughout the entire process, you and your talent have full control. Advanced backend moderation tools allow you to monitor time remaining, crack down on inappropriate behavior and remove anyone who’s not following the guidelines, talk in a secure host chat to coordinate behind-the-scenes, and set up a pre-session question to ask attendees before they meet so talent can use that information to guide upcoming conversations. The best part? At the end of every session, attendees will receive a recording of their meet & greet that they can share on social media, getting your event in front of all their followers!

How Do I Get Started?

Our solution makes it easier than ever to incorporate virtual meet & greets into your online events so you can further monetize your virtual experiences and reach new audiences around the globe. Ready to learn more? Check out our virtually limitless event technology today!

Google Classroom is increasingly becoming a one-stop digital shop for remote education, the introduction of the ‘Meet’ function for students set to make learning life that much easier.

In use since the second term of 2015, Classroom has been an invaluable tool, particularly during COVID-19 enforced lockdowns in the state.

However, until now Meet – Google’s real-time video meeting function – had only been available to teachers, with students having to use other technologies such as Zoom for online collaborations.

The technology is a particular boon for remote locations, where connectedness is more important than ever.

Meet can be accessed from Google Classroom, Calendar or the Meet interface itself, making for straightforward use.

Like a number of similar technologies, there’s plenty of control for the host who can take charge of mute functions for a better experience.

The screen can be shared or a ‘Jamboard’ – Google’s interactive whiteboard function can be used concurrently to inspire collaboration.

“The Department’s focus on innovation and providing teachers with effective, integrated tools, backed up by professional learning and support is helping to ensure they can get the most out of the technology available to them,” said NSW Education Secretary Georgina Harrison.

“This is critical even without the challenges of remote teaching or learning, especially in small schools in remote regions.

“These integrated connectivity tools not only open up a whole range of teaching options for isolated students, they also allow for more effective collaboration with colleagues across the state and furthers opportunities for bringing speakers and specialist teachers into their classrooms.”

Even as some live concerts begin to make a comeback, a face-to-face meet and greet remains off the table for the time being. Fortunately, there are a number of virtual platforms available to help replicate some version of the experience.

Guest post by Randi Zimmerman of the Symphonic Blog

One thing the pandemic has taken away from touring musicians is the ability to meet and greet with fans. Meeting the people who support you the most is one of the best parts of the job, and losing that has created virtual alternatives to fill that void. We miss meet and greets, and I’m sure you do too! Here are 5 virtual platforms to host your next meet and greet safely from home…

Virtual Platforms For Your Next Meet and Greet

Mandolin

With the added bonus of a mobile app, Mandolin is a great meet and greet app that fosters a VIP experience for fans looking to connect with their favorite artists (like you, of course). Whether you’re in a venue or on the couch in your living room, Mandolin is a great option connect with fans and make some extra cash in the process.

Mandolin offers two options:

  1. VIP: One //”One is ideal for artists wanting to host one-on-one events with superfans. Perfect for getting to know your fans more intimately, it’s just like Facetime, but with a host to help manage a queue of those waiting to meet you. And, at the end of it all, each fan walks away with a photo of them and their favorite artists; commemorating the experience.”
  2. VIP: Party // “Party is great if you want to conduct VIP experiences with large groups and don’t have time to meet with each fan individually. It’s perfect for hosting exclusive soundchecks, cocktail hours, and larger Q&As—the possibilities are endless. Here, you can create video rooms with up to 475 fans—where attendees can raise their hands to chat personally with the artist.”

Ready to get started? Check it out right here.

Patron

What is a Virtual meet and greet

Industry cult classic, Patron lets you host meet and greets with features like live celebrity chats, interactive waiting rooms, personalized videos, autograph requests, and more. With it, you can control who attends your virtual meet & greets by providing every customer with a unique access code for their session. During your meet and greet, you can even sell limited edition merchandise, autographs, and other physical keepsakes along the way.

Chatalyze

Another great platform to consider is Chatalyze. With this one you can create a queue that organizes your attendees into a virtual line, keeping you on schedule with ease. Along with a virtual photo booth and digital autograph feature, you can customize the experience to coincide with your branding by adding a logo and custom background skin, embed pre-roll content for fans to view in the waiting room, and more.

Want to check it out? Visit their website and request a demo here.

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Sharpen your skills with these additional resources…

5 Tricks To Get More Out Of Your Livestreams

Ideas For Utilizing User-Generated Content as a Musician

Text Marketing Tips for Independent Musicians

7 Useful Productivity Tools For Independent Musicians

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Looped

Another great platform to consider is Looped. With the Looped app, fans can take a photo with the host using the on-screen camera button and receive a video recording of their call to keep and share. All your fans have to do is purchase a ticket on their website, download the Looped app for free, log-in, and get ready for their one-on-one chat with you.

To learn more, check out the FAQ here.

Cameo

You’ve probably already heard of Cameo for its popular pre-recorded video feature, but did you know they’ve added live calls to the app? The Cameo Calls page has a full list of who is available for conversations and how much it costs for a certain amount of their time. Cameo says that calls can last up to 15 minutes and that the average price for a call is $31 (which of course varies depending on popularity).

As an artist, you can apply to join Cameo as talent right here.

In Conclusion…

What’re you waiting for? It’s time to get back in the game and bring meet and greets back to life. Your fans will thank you for it, and you can get back to connecting one-on-one like the good ole days.