Meet and greet events are a great way to get to know your fans better. While events like YouTube FanFest and Vidcon have plenty of meet and greets with YouTubers, many creators host their own events too.
Virtual meet and greet events
As most of the world is shut for social gatherings due to the pandemic, virtual meet and greet events are on the rise. You can easily organise virtual events right from your YouTube channel. Just host a live stream and let people join in.
- Let your subscribers know about your virtual meet and greet session atleast 1-2 weeks in advance. This should give fans enough time to see the announcement and schedule time to attend. You can make regular YouTube community posts, Instagram stories and several other content to spread the word.
- If you’d like to sell tickets for the event, you can partner with a ticketing platform to do so. Doing this will ensure that only a limited number of people can attend the event. You can also earn additional revenue by selling tickets.
- Schedule the live stream on your YouTube channel atleast 24 hours in advance so that viewers can set reminders to the event. You can also add countdown timers on other platforms like Instagram and Facebook stories. Meanwhile, continue posting about the event on social media.
- Before the event starts, set up your livestream using streaming software like OBS. You can use online video conferencing apps like Zoom to host the meeting. Do a test run to see how the event looks on-screen and adjust the settings on OBS as needed.
- If you have sold tickets to the event, ensure the authentication process of the tickets is in place. You might need a team of moderators who can take care of these technicalities. Some ticketing platforms also have their own virtual conferencing software that can handle these things.
- Start your call! Share the meeting link with viewers or ticketed participants and allow them to join. You can choose to bring people in as groups or one-by-one, based on your comfort and the number of people joining in.
In-person meet and greet events
As the world begins to open up, you can also consider hosting in-person meet and greets. When compared to virtual events, in-person events are a lot harder to organise. You need to take care of the location, manage a team of organisers, and also ensure social gathering norms in the area.
- Decide on the date and approximate area/city for the event. Announce these details on social media, at least a month in advance, and ask your fans if they would be interested in attending the event.
- Based on the responses, you should be able to figure out the size of the event you want to host. This can give you an idea of how many people to expect, how big the venue should be, how long the event can go on, etc.
- Book an appropriate venue in the area for that given date. You can now announce the finalised venue on your social media.
- On the day of the event, keep a board/hoarding at the venue so that your fans can find you easily. If the venue allows for it, create dedicated spaces for queueing, waiting and meeting. Ensure that you’re in compliance with a social gathering and social distancing regulations in the area. You can hire a team to manage this.
Whether it’s virtual or in-person, meet and greet events are a wonderful opportunity for your fans to get to know you better. A well-organised event will leave your fans with treasured memorable moments. This also gives them a chance to meet like-minded people who share similar interests.
Interested in getting your YouTube channel seen by a huge audience? Get started here: www.flintzy.com