Noontime Performers Livestream

During a typical semester, Noontime Performers is an opportunity for talented student musicians to gain exposure by playing music in communal areas (Lower Level Dining, Courtyard Café) in the Illini Union. In 2020, this effort turned virtual. With the help of the Illini Union Multimedia Team, we marketed student performers via Facebook Livestream. I created weekly social media features and reminder posts, created digital sign/web banner posts to direct web traffic to the videos, monitored the comments section for song requests, and even connected with local news stations and media outlets for external exposure. By the end of Fall 2020, 54 performances had been recorded with over 18,000 cumulative livestream video views on the Illini Union Facebook page. Our Noontime Performers were also featured by UI7 Live News, Smile Politely Magazine, and landed a weekly live feature on Urbana Public Television.