Various marketing experts suggest that live streaming is easy to adapt and you should start realizing it for your business development. Does it mean you cannot make mistakes while using it?
In this blog, we will be pointing out five mistakes that businesses make while live streaming events.
Live streaming is beholding widespread popularity in business and individual realizations.
Businesses across the planet are using it for marketing, revenue generation, product promotion, and even customer support.
In fact, the video streaming market is growing at an unprecedented rate today and expected to cross the $70 billion mark by 2021.
Therefore, if you want to be a part of this profitable market, you might not want to make these critical mistakes and ruin the ground at the very beginning itself.
Mistake #1: Using social media streaming platform instead of a professional-grade software
Businesses make a common mistake while streaming live events- they use social media platforms in place of dedicated and professional solutions.
Undoubtedly, social media live streaming platforms are free and mediums like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram give an array of interactive features.
It is also understandable that you might already have a good audience base on these platforms, and it would be easy to get viewers for your live event.
However, you must also perceive that these platforms possess some critical drawbacks that make them not so-fit for professional-level implementation:
- Social media streaming does not offer a white-label service.
- You cannot directly monetize the event except for Ads on YouTube and Facebook.
- Ads are not enough for a professional-grade monetization. You need something like subscriptions for the event.
- Security features are not enough to realize at a professional level.
- No control over the rights, as the platform alone will have the sole right on your videos.
- No control over stream quality, totally network dependent.
- Tech support is not up to the mark for professional-grade streaming.
This brings us to our next point, the need for a professional-grade software.
Mistake #2: Not choosing professional software wisely
When you understand that social media streaming is not adequate for your stream requirements, go for a professional-grade solution that eliminates all the drawbacks mentioned above.
You should select a platform equipped with the following features:
- White label- complete adaptation to your brand identity.
- Monetization via creating subscription plans for the event.
- Receive on-site payment using multiple payment gateways.
- Advanced security tools to prevent privacy concerns.
- 24×7-tech support from the corresponding developers.
- Negligible or no latency in the live stream and video quality.
- HD quality streaming with clear audio via top-tier CDN delivery.
- Open API for further development and integration with third-party tools.
- Analytics to analyze the reach and performance of the live event.
Mistake #3: Not testing the live streaming equipment beforehand
Let say, you bought a professional-grade live streaming software and other equipment, and you are all set for the event happening the next day.
However, the next day you find that internet speed at the venue is not enough to start a live stream.
In this situation, the whole plan would just fail, or you would be streaming with extremely choppy video quality.
It happens when you do not account for the variables and not test the live streaming equipment in the actual scenario.
Run a complete test of your equipment in the most strained environments to make sure they would not fail you on an actual day:
- Test the camera and other devices.
- Test the internet speed: Both Upload and Download.
- Check the microphone and its connectivity with the camera.
- Test the mounts for the camera by rotating them in all directions.
- Test the camera position to avoid frequent refocusing during the stream.
- Check all the wires and their stretch to avoid any wear and tear.
- Test the efficiency of the power back in the actual environment.
Mistake #4: Not promoting the live stream schedule before going live
You cannot just expect the audience to know about the event from thin air and drop-by at the accurate time.
It is simple; the audience will come to the event only if they know about it. More importantly, they should also understand what the stream all about is.
This is promotion and is effective only when you are doing it unambiguously:
- Promote your event by engaging people in social media discussions and build a community of interested audience.
- Utilize all of your social media pages and profiles to communicate about the event to your followers.
- Contact other social media influencers who can communicate the same in their own community.
- Post teasers and motion posters on your social media pages and invite users to talk about it.
- If possible, utilize paid Ads on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. People on these platforms are generally interested in live events.
A perfect example would be from Russo Brothers’ recent mysterious pic upload on the Twitter profile that encouraged millions of Marvel fans to come up with their theory for the next Avengers movie. It indeed promoted the movie and encouraged other people to promote it voluntarily.
Mistake #5: Ignoring the live sound quality
No live stream can engage the audience without good audio.
Especially when you are streaming a big event, you might think that people would ignore the audio quality.
As a result, streamers make some cost-cutting and use cheaper microphones for the audio recording.
You must understand that both audio and video play a major role in any live stream.
The audience would not appreciate distortion or poor quality feed on any of the two aspects at all:
- Invest in some high-quality microphones and other audio enhancing devices.
- Use external mic instead of built-in camera mics.
- Use wireless mic if the audio source is far from the camera.
- If possible, get the sound feed directly from the PA soundboard.
- Keep the mic as close as possible to the sound source.
- Use noise reduction equipment to get a clear sound.
Be it an individual stream or a big live event, even the small mistakes can ruin the purpose.
Checking on the pity aspect can result in enhanced consequences and build a community of viewers for your future streams as well.
So focus on creating an impression and let people enjoy the best quality streams, it will ultimately enhance your own brand identity and bring business from the audience.