When it comes to Instagram Live events, less is more
Tonight was supposed to go differently. Due to COVID-19, I have been staying at home with my husband to do my part to flatten the curve, like so many people are. Producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland have been hosting a series of producer battles, for the last month or so, and tonight’s scheduled battle between Teddy Riley and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds was highly anticipated.
I logged onto my homegirl’s Zoom watch party, put on my favorite lipstick, poured myself a gin cocktail, and got my scorecard ready. This was, after all, the one of the first things I had to look forward to in weeks.
So you could imagine my extreme disappointment when I saw it all fall apart due to Teddy Riley’s terrible sound issues, including audio feedback, as well as a basic failure to understand how Instagram Live worked in the first place.
It’s easy to understand how this failed so terribly. If COVID-19 hasn’t taught us anything else about Instagram Live, it’s that a lot of our favorite artists do not, in fact, know How It All Works. Many of them have at least one person who normally manages and designs Instagram and other social media content for them and in the absence of that person there exists a steep learning curve.
But that’s not the only thing Teddy screwed up last night. There are some key elements that make for a successful virtual event, especially when using Instagram Live. By adding so many extra elements—a band (when he should be social distancing!), all the mics in the world, a step-and-repeat—he made it harder for the viewers to enjoy what should have been a simple set up with decent audio. Babyface, on the other hand, kept it simple: a studio, one mic, and likely a laptop connected to a speaker.
In short, Teddy tried to use high tech elements to a platform where low-tech thrives.
Last week, I did a presentation with my Raben Group colleagues about online advocacy during the coronavirus, and I would encourage you to check it out! A lot of the principles given apply here, too. So let’s get into the keys to a great online event:
Keep the technology simple.
This is the first place Teddy effed up, and it affected being able to pull off the other necessary elements to make it a fun, successful event. All those bells and whistles become overwhelming when you are working with a platform like IG Live, especially when you are new to using it in this way. It just makes technical difficulties even more magnified.
Instead, focus on an event that has the potential to make a high impact.
This should have been an easy win for both Teddy and Babyface. These are R&B legends, for goodness sake! That alone could have made a huge impact had that first step—low production value and technological requirements—been executed well on Teddy Riley’s end. Unfortunately, it ended up being like watching two of your uncles trying to figure out video calls on the family Zoom party.
And then, prioritize high-quality content that engages your audience in a positive way.
Once again, Teddy failed to do this. He focused on being flashy and put creating good content that the fans would love on the backburner. Even most of the engagement was a failure—the comments were filled with frustrated viewers trying to explain to Teddy that there was an echo. Not a good look at all.
The biggest failure of all though, was that Teddy was selfish and did not care about the viewer experience. It didn’t matter that his fiddy-leven mics were causing a terrible echo. It didn’t matter that his colleague Babyface was recovering from the coronavirus and that his technical difficulties made this a waste of time and energy. Virtual events like these depend on the person producing the content to put the audience’s needs first and foremost. Right now, people need to feel good and have fun during a time where leaving the house to do that is ill-advised. Folks had been waiting for this particular produce battle for weeks only to be let down because of issues that had an easy fix. Teddy had one job and didn’t get it done.
When it comes to virtual events, less is more. Focus on giving the audience some great content to enjoy, and keep the tech you are using simple and easy to use.
In other words, be more like Babyface.