A seemingly simple yet incredibly valuable innovation conquered the World Wide Web in 2016. Internet giants like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch are getting the most out of this live-streaming video trend, and it shows no signs of slowing down. As a matter of fact, it is estimated to grow to a staggering value of $932.29 billion by 2028. If you’re running a business, then it is your responsibility to capitalize on this and make live-streaming an asset for your brand. If you haven’t done so yet, it’s time to learn how to live-stream events.
How to Live-Stream Events for Your Business
In the past few years, video has become part of everyday life for most people around the world. From TikTok, to streaming movies and TV shows on Netflix, HBO Go, and Hulu, to video conferencing for work with Zoom, live-streaming is the new craze for consumers. And here’s a fact for businesses: it’s here to stay.
Brands and businesses are getting a piece of the pie, too. While in-person events are still limited, live-streaming events have become the next best thing, giving brands and businesses the opportunity to connect with their audience on a global scale in real-time. It’s not solely for brand awareness, it’s also an incredible way to create a paid experience, generate revenue, and even maximize profits with virtual tickets.
How to Live-Stream Events: A Complete Guide
If you would like to get started on live-streaming events for your business, here is a detailed guide for you.
Start with a plan
Live-streaming requires multiple moving parts. Thus, you need to have a good plan. not only to put everything in order, but to identify your intentions and goals right from the start.
Here are some questions to address when planning:
What type of event are you hosting?
What’s the purpose of the event that you wish to stream live?
What do you wish to achieve?
Is it to generate revenue from the event?
What’s your budget for the event?
Choose your business live-streaming platform
There are a bunch of streaming platforms out there, and choosing one can be quite confusing, especially for first-timers.
Most live-streaming platforms today come with HTML 5 video players, which you can easily embed on your website, app, and social media platforms.
You can never go wrong with professional video streaming platforms such as Dacast, Vimeo, Flowplayer, etc. These platforms can provide sufficient bandwidth for you and your viewers, and they come with lots of nifty and convenient features for a successful broadcast. These platforms can handle a large number of viewers, which is typically what happens with business events. This is incredibly useful for reaching a larger audience in remote locations.
Take the time to research for the right platform and compare and contrast with others to see which one fits your purpose.
If you’re planning on monetizing the event through the live-stream, then you need a platform that offers monetization opportunities. Look for video streaming platforms with subscription, pay-per view, and advertisement features. The good thing about professional streaming platforms is you have control of what ads to show in your streams. Unlike free broadcasting platforms like YouTube, your viewers will not experience untimely and unwanted ads in your video streams.
Also, white-label video players allow you to create and embed your unique watermark or logo to your original content. This means you can protect your videos from piracy, etc.
Facebook and YouTube, however, are great destinations for viewership. Both platforms have a huge potential audience. If you want more people to see your stream, then you can promote it thoroughly ahead of time. You can use ads or “boost post” to get the word out there. It would be a shame if no one shows up for your big live-streamed event. You can also reach them through email (and ask for RSVP) or sell tickets as well.
Invest in good quality video equipment
This can be daunting for anyone new to video recording. Thus, you should take your time to research a few options before making any decisions or purchases. This way, you get the best value for your money.
If it’s within the budget, you can’t go wrong with a feature-packed live-streaming camera. This ensures professional-grade video recording, with great video and audio quality.
Other essentials you need to have include a tripod, microphones (lapel mic, handheld mic, or shotgun mic), and video encoder.
A video encoder works by taking your final video and audio stream and converting it into a language for the internet to read and show as a live video.
Note that streaming takes a lot of processing power, this could slow everything down, or even cause your computer to crash. Thus, it would be best to use a hardware encoder rather than a software encoder.
Choose a professional video production company
The quality of your live-stream is also integral to the success of your event and your ability to achieve your goals. Working with a professional will guarantee you get the best quality video production.
Another bonus to hiring a professional videographer for your business’s next event is that they already have the equipment and skills you need. You can focus on planning the event, and then they will take care of filming the live stream on your behalf.
Embed your live-stream
Professional live-stream services make embedding super easy. Simply get the embed code from your live-streaming channel and paste it to your website. If you make it easy to embed your live-stream events, then it will be easy for others to share on other platforms, giving you extended reach.
Test run before your live stream date
A trial run is absolutely essential, yet many people fail to do this part. Once you are live, your audience will be there. This makes it difficult to fix and troubleshoot problems.
Also, make sure you test your streaming setup so you can spot any weak links that may need backup options.
Run through the entire system. You (or your presenters) can use this opportunity to practice their parts.
Also, don’t forget to test your internet speed to make sure it’s fast enough for a live-stream.
Stream!
This is the fun part. Switch your channel to “Online” and start streaming!
Be confident and comfortable with yourself. Encourage your audience to participate via a Q&A plugin or chat. Get everyone involved, and more importantly, have fun!
Final Thoughts
As you can see, streaming live events involves a lot of elements. Make sure to take into account the various factors involved during the planning process, or be diligent in choosing a video production company to work with. This will unleash the full potential of live-streaming for your business to maximize results.