Host a Virtual Press Conference Using MaestroConference

MaestroConference’s innovative technology makes hosting a virtual press conference simple and easy.

Our platform’s full range of options for inviting, managing and following up with the press provides your brand with the tools it needs to run an effective press conference at any time, from anywhere. This is why numerous campaigns and advocacy organizations, such as Obama for America, Hillary for America, Bernie Sanders for President, MoveOn.org, the Democratic National Committee, Greenpeace and the Sierra Club, are already using MaestroConference to address the press.

INVITE individuals to your press conference using a web page and register them automatically. Here are a few invitation options:

• Post the web page link on the group’s website or social media channels, thereby giving anyone who registers direct, easy access to the event info.
• Email the web page URL to specific people or groups, providing you the flexibility to invite as many or as few people as needed.
• Manually registering individuals for the conference ensures those guests automatically receive a calendar invitation with call instructions. As a result, individuals do not need to click a link and register themselves, increasing the likelihood your guests attend.

A detailed list of registrants is available to the host at any time so they can see who has signed up for the event. The host also can block unwelcome guests from dialing into the press conference. Note: An unlimited number of individuals may register for the event, but the number of callers who can attend is limited by the host’s subscription plan. If it looks like guest attendance will exceed the plan limit, hosts can just upgrade their plan to accommodate the larger number of registrants.

MANAGE the press by controlling each caller’s microphone. This ability to control mics gives the conference host the flexibility to format the event to their specific needs. Starting with introductions and remarks, the primary speaker’s microphone is on, and all other microphones are muted.

MaestroConference’s dynamic features provide some ways to hold an orderly Q&A session:

• First, participants can indicate they have a question by virtually “raising their hand” and be called on in whatever order the host chooses.
• Second, the host can call on individuals to speak and participate regardless of whether or not a “hand” is raised.
• Third, questions can be submitted beforehand directly on MaestroConference’s registration page, which enables the host to review the prospective issues in advance.
• Fourth, before the conference starts, the host can plan whether to call on individuals who submitted questions or simply answer the questions and in what particular order to address each question.
• Finally, participants can type and submit questions to the host directly on the platform in real time during the live event.

The Q&A session is where the MaestroConference platform truly shines as a useful tool for powering press conferences. Our platform’s “whisper” function allows staff members, assistants or the PR team to speak directly to the respondent in private without being heard by the larger audience. This gives the team the unique ability to maintain a private, real-time line of communication with the respondent so that, for example, while the respondent is answering a question, he/she could be “whisper” reminded of important talking points or facts to highlight.

For a quick tutorial on how to host press conferences with the whisper function, watch this two-minute video:

FOLLOWING UP with attendees after the press conference is super simple because the platform automatically provides:

• An audio recording of the entire event (video recording is optional)
• A list of all attendees, including the exact times they dialed in/out of the press conference
• A list of all registrants even if they did not attend, including their email addresses, phone numbers and website links (if required).

These lists of attendees and non-attendees can then be uploaded to the host’s CRM for follow up via email.

MaestroConference’s unmatched level of interactivity is the next best thing to meeting in person, making large-scale, virtual events more engaging and impactful. Our platform’s full range of options for inviting press, managing Q&A between the speaker and audience and following up with all registered guests after the event make it a uniquely powerful solution for hosting a successful press conference.