Live streaming can be a fun, rewarding, and extremely valuable tool for growing your online brand. Live streaming is a valuable content marketing channel for brands to attract Gen Z consumers. This multi-billion dollar industry is growing at a phenomenal pace thanks to all the new technologies and social media marketing platforms available at ease.

It’s no secret that producing a professional and engaging live stream requires a lot of moving parts (both literal and metaphorical), but the payoff is huge when it all comes together. Due to the high level of competition among content creators, we’ll go over some streaming tips and tricks shared by experts based on their experiences in this article.

Live Streaming Tips for a Smooth Pre-show/Setup

Video streaming accounts for the highest percentage of internet downloads among all other interactive content. Gen Z audiences, by virtue of their zombie scrolling behavior while using smartphone apps, prefer to watch a video instead of reading a blog. In recent months, online shoppers have acknowledged that live streaming videos are far more useful and effective in finding relevant information about a product, service, or company while searching online. There are so many ways live streaming can help your brand exceed marketing expectations.

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Let’s find out how this is done effectively.

The first step in the live streaming process is pre-show activities. A solid foundation is required for success. Use these streaming tips to help you set up your streaming device with ease.

• Maintain a simple setup – Every piece of equipment you add complicates your setup. And if one of these components fails, the success of your entire live show is jeopardized! To reduce the likelihood of technical errors, keep your setup as simple as possible.

• Have backup equipment on hand – Even with a simple setup, there is a chance that your equipment will fail. Some encoders, such as the Pearl-2, are extremely reliable, but it’s the smaller components that connect everything, such as cables and monitors, that may fail. It’s always a good idea to be safe and keep backups of your equipment whenever possible.

• Ensure that bandwidth is available – Understand your network! Check your upload speed to ensure that you have consistent upload bandwidth, otherwise your live stream may not be viewable by your audience.

• Allow extra time for audio – After all, audio is critical to delivering a professional live stream. So, remember to give yourself plenty of time to minimize room noise, test acoustics, and configure your audio encoding settings, among other things.

• Use a backup account to test your stream – Streaming to a backup account is a good way to test your stream before going live. Create a new Facebook account with no friends and set all publishing notifications to private. While your backup account is streaming, you can log into your main account and view your broadcast through the eyes of your audience.

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• Check the automated publishing again – When you enable the settings on Facebook Live and YouTube, your stream will be published automatically at a predetermined time. This is referred to as scheduling a live event. Always double-check that the scheduled event is correctly published. (Alternatively, instead of using the scheduling feature, you could simply publish the stream manually!).

• With practice, coming up with topics becomes easier – Are you facing any trouble coming up with topic ideas?

Don’t worry, coming up with content ideas will become easier with time. As you gain experience interacting and engaging with your viewers, you will become more familiar with the topics that most deeply resonate with them.

How to Live Stream Like a Pro

Streaming Tips for a Professional Show

Your pre-show preparations are finished, and your setup is rock solid. What’s the next step? It’s time to go live and look like a seasoned vet while doing so! Make your live show as professional as possible by following these streaming tips.

• Use an external display to keep an eye on your stream – Monitoring confidence is critical to ensuring a dependable and professional live stream. An additional display gives you valuable perspective by allowing you to see your live show through the eyes of your audience. 

• Take a look at the camera, not the monitor –  Reference monitors are a great way to gauge your confidence. Many live streamers (including ourselves) prefer to place the reference monitor directly beneath the camera for easy access, but this placement makes the monitor very appealing to look at for longer than necessary. Refrain from staring at the monitor to check your eyelines into the camera lens!

• Respond to comments in real time – Comments have a limited lifespan, so get to it! If possible, respond to comments live, and if not, do so immediately after the show. Interacting with your viewers in this manner increases engagement and keeps them returning to your show for more.

• Allow plenty of time for pre-show preparation – Preparing for a high-quality live show can take more time than you think! It is critical to be organized and mentally prepared in order to deliver a high-quality live stream. To reduce stress and help you deliver the best possible broadcast, allow more time for pre-show preparation.

• Have someone keep an eye on your stream (if possible) – It is critical to have an extra set of eyes watching your live stream. The additional person assists in providing support and notifies you of any problems that you cannot see, such as audio sync issues and choppy frame rates.

• Add an additional host or guest – Not only is live streaming more enjoyable and engaging with two or more people, but the additional company provides new insights and perspectives to make your live show more interesting. Having a guest on your live stream is also a great way to cross-promote (you promote the guest to your audience, and the guest promotes your show to their audience!).

• If necessary, trim the heads and tails – Don’t be concerned if you’ve had a rocky start to your YouTube streaming career. In the VOD version, you can remove the heads (and tails) for a more polished and professional intro/outro.

• Record your show locally – When it comes to live streaming, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. That’s why, in the worst-case scenario, always record your live stream locally so you’ll be fully prepared with a full, high-resolution backup. 

Streaming Tips to Grow Your Brand

Live streaming aids in the development of your brand’s online presence. Here are a few streaming tips to help your brand reach the greatest number of potential viewers.

• Use Facebook Groups to share your live video – Facebook Groups are made up of users who have a common affiliation or an interest in a specific topic. There could be a Group for dog lovers, live streaming enthusiasts, or entrepreneurs, for example. If there is a topic of interest, you can bet there is a Facebook Group for it. The real magic of working with live stream video content arrives when you enable community interactions. When more members join groups related to your live video content, it helps your brand attract new viewers who cherish the creative artwork involved in the creation of the ‘live streaming’ video content.

• Make use of on-screen text – By default, live video posts are displayed in a user’s newsfeed with the volume muted. Furthermore, because Facebook users typically scroll quickly through their feeds, there’s a chance your video will get lost in the crowd.

• The title text is important – Creating catchy titles can be difficult at times, but a well-written title is extremely valuable. Not only are quality titles appealing to potential viewers, but they are also necessary for SEO (especially on YouTube). Because search engines like Google cannot read video content to determine what your page is about, it is critical to include your keyword in the title, description, and video tags of your video.

• Stream live to more than one platform – Publishing your live stream to multiple platforms, such as YouTube and Facebook Live, is an excellent way to reach a larger audience with minimal extra effort. 

• Maintain consistency – To help build a following, go live on a regular basis. Inconsistent and irregular live stream frequency will only frustrate your audience. Consistency in your schedule also makes marketing and promotion of the show easier. 

These are some of the live streaming tips to help you succeed with your live show. Whether you want to perfect your setup/pre-show activities, produce a professional-quality broadcast, or take your brand to exciting new heights, you can use these streaming tips to gain an advantage over your online competitors.

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]