Every streaming service includes some degree of latency, the time lag between your real-time program and what your guests see on the screen. If you’re managing a livestream fundraiser, you have to find a way to work around the gap—which can be up to fifteen seconds—to keep your auction on track.

Qtego can help. We’ve developed tech fixes and tested best practices to make sure your livestream fundraiser runs smoothly in spite of time latency.

Timing Livestream Fundraiser Auctions

Qtego technology lets you control what appears on the QSite—the one device solution that keeps your livestream, bidding, donating, and interaction on one screen—so you can easily keep guest attention on the item at hand.

Get Help to Manage Cues

  • Use QSite feature cards to send everyone’s device to the specific item being auctioned as soon as you start talking about it.

  • Be sure the person changing the screens is listening to the livestream, not your in-person voice, so they cue at the right time for the viewers.

  • To account for latency, try to avoid long pauses! Use downtime before a screen change to show a short video, add dialogue, or tell a few jokes.

Use Tools to Monitor Bidding

  • Qtego feeds information to your on-stage confidence screen so you can monitor activity during the event—this is a great way to keep an eye on real-time guest activity even if you’re recording a few seconds “ahead” of what guests are seeing on their screens.

  • Let the QSite show high bidder names instead of having an auctioneer call them out – by the time the guests hear what the auctioneer has said, other bids may have come in.

  • QSite has a built-in timer to alert guests when only 15 or 30 seconds are left on an item. The time stays in real-time to keep the bidding fair and prevents a disconnect if there’s a time lag on the livestream.

Be Creative to Close Auctions

  • To keep bidding fair given varying time lags between in-person and at-home bidders, QSite uses time stamps.

  • Use the countdown timer to close every auction, especially if some of your guests are in person and others are at home watching the livestream.

  • You can still do last person standing – instead of taking the last donation by a hand raise, we use the time stamp to see the last donation that was made.

Handling the timing of a livestream fundraiser—whether fully virtual or a hybrid in-person/at-home event—presents some unique challenges, but Qtego helps you work around time lags to ensure a smooth result.

Have questions about your livestream fundraiser or virtual fundraising in general? We’re always happy to help.