Live streaming is becoming a more common practice with live events, and selling to your online following. However, live streaming can be a logistical and technical nightmare. You need to make sure what you’re getting out of it is worth your effort. But how do you know? Well, I’m here to help. Below are my top 3 things to consider when live streaming. If you have any questions at all give us a call at 310-372-8218.

1. How will I monetize my live stream?

At the end of the day, you’re a business and need to justify why you are live streaming. If you’re live stremaing to build a following, eventually you will need to figure out how to monetize that following. There are many ways to monetize your content. Here are the most common:
A. Sell tickets to your event. You can select different levels of virtual viewers that get access to specific events. It’s like buying access to one game, or a full season, or all breakout sessions, or exclusive VIP backstage access.
B. Sell sponsor air time. This is when you host a public event and share it all across all platforms. You want to get as many eyes on the stream as possible because you are sell someone else’s product.
C. Solicit action from viewers. This is a bit different than playing a commercial from a sponsor. This is when you host a public live stream, but solicit action from the viewers. For non profit fundraisers this could be asking for donations. For retail this could be a flash sale using the QVC shopping style asking viewers to make a purchase in the live show.

2. Engagement is the name of the game.

One of the greatest aspects about live streaming is that you can engage with your live audience. Making them feel like they are apart of the event is very powerful. When linking of producing an event you need to ask your self, “Am I just live streaming an event that is already happening, or am I creating a show for my virtual audience?”. It’s one thing it live stream an event, but once the stage is empty, so will your audience count. By having a live stream host fill transitions and break time this gives a new reason to watch the live stream, and keep people engaged. Many brands that have a largo following will do live streams, but not see the results they want. They may have a lot of views, but no sales. Engagement is the name of the game. It doesn’t matter if you have one camera or ten. If you can find the right tools that make it exciting to interact with your brand you will see much better results.

3. Production Value

Speaking of cameras. How much production value do you need for your live stream? Here is what I tell my clients. Your production value should reflect the quality of your brand. Think about what effort your audience would expect from you. If you’re a casual travel blogger and you want to show your viewers something, sure, use your phone. If you are hosting a conference and are charging for access or hosting a show to sell a product, you better bring your A-game. These are two extremes, but you get the point. Don’t get too caught up in the technical aspects, that’s why you hire a live stream company to help you. Think of what you want your virtual audience to see and experience, then work your way backwards from there. All of the tools and platforms are constantly evolving. If you have an idea and you’re not sure if it’s possible, ask. I personally love new challenges because it allows us to be ahead of the curve.

With that said if you have any questions or have a project in mind. Please give us a call at 310-372-8218. We love new challenges and can’t wait to work with you. See some of our featured projects on our live streaming services page.

Cheers,
Brian