Six practical tips for your first live stream

Live streaming refers to real-time recording and broadcasting over the internet. However, it can be an intimidating thought for first time streamers. How will I sound? Will I come across as confident? Will my nervousness show? What if something goes wrong? These are the few questions that run through a first time live streamer’s mind. Here are a few tips that will help you start with kick-ass live streaming. 

Who is live streaming for? 

Live streaming appropriately done can prove highly beneficial for your brand and business. One major concept that live streaming works on is creating a gush of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) amongst people, helping you gain more online audience. Webinars, live Q&A’s, live streaming, can help you reach out to a larger audience, making your web footprint even bigger. Sharing of content by the viewers can pull in an even greater number of audience.

What more does live streaming offer? It is a great interactive tool, as it allows the viewers to ask questions in real time and feel more connected. Also, it is a great weapon to captivate your audience along with some other advantages:

• Better Social Media Ranking
• Cost-Effective
• No post production hassles

How to begin live streaming?

Learn about the key initiatives that help you live stream like a pro. 

1. Prepare your live stream

Not everything in life has two takes, so is the case with live streaming; there is no second chance. Hence, it becomes imperative to prepare yourself well in advance once you are built up what kind of content you want to present or create on a live stream. Preparing in advance prevents silly mistakes and also gives you a boost of confidence. Key things to remember while preparing for the live stream are:

• Have a clear outline of the topic that you will be discussing
• Create resources and have them handy as per your requirement
• Practice dialogue delivery

2. Get the equipment

When planning to go live for the first time, you do not need any fancy equipment unless it is a part of some huge event. Most content creators live stream with minimum equipment, like an HD webcam or a mobile device with a camera, a microphone, a computer, and a robust and reliable internet connection. 

You can achieve high quality streams with minimum equipment; all you need to do is run multiple tests to ensure there are no last minute hiccups. A solid backup plan is crucial in case some technical emergency arises in the middle of the live stream. For example, the internet stops connecting, then you must be ready with a backup connection or a hotspot connection. 

3. Choose your platform wisely

One of the most accessible and engaging platforms for live streaming is social media. Social Media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube are great for audience engagement and live streaming, with free live streaming tools.

There is a variety of live streaming software’s available, in current day scenario which enable live streaming on various platforms simultaneously. While some businesses opt for paid live streaming services to add more value to their production, it isn’t really necessary. 

Making a choice between these social media platforms can be tricky since they are just as good as the other. So ultimately, it all boils down to where your target audience is. 

4. Promote your live stream

What is every first time live streamer’s nightmare? The answer is having absolutely no viewers. The only thing that can get people to tune in to your live stream is promoting it well. There needs to be strong circulation with details about the live stream. To ensure a maximum audience, here are a few ways to promote your live stream:

• Create social media partnerships with influencers and content creators with a broader audience.
• Encourage people to share details with their friends and family.
• Send details via email.
• Make social media promotions in the form of exciting posts.
• Start a countdown to your live stream to keep the excitement levels up.

5. Minimize background noise

One of the biggest hindrances to a smooth live stream is background noise. Ensure being in an environment that is in your control. This allows you to minimize background noise and any other sort of movement. Invest in equipment with a high quality audio level to have a successful live stream. Switch places while doing a test run to check for minimum background disturbance, as it hampers the audio clarity while streaming.

6. Maximize the Output of your live streaming 

For the first time live streamers, it is imperative to have clear goals in mind. While being confident and enjoying your live stream, focus on what you began with this for. It could be to strengthen your connection with the audience, get more followers, make your product or service more visible, etc. Interaction with the audience, responding to their queries, and dropping questions to which they would respond are great ways to increase audience engagement.

Eventually, one does get better with time; however, to speed up the learning process, it is essential to take the following measures:

• Record your live video to analyze key points and mistakes
• Optimize your results
• Watch other successful live streams and assess the differences
• Make small snippets of your live stream and make them available for people to refer to

What type of live streaming should you opt for? 

Right decisions and conviction are the driving forces of success for your first live stream. While spontaneous live sessions are a great way to treat your audience and surprise them, it is only beneficial if you have a strong audience engagement built in. 

But for the first time live streamers, it is important to build a hustle and create noise about their live stream to get noticed and notify people. Understanding goals and capacity will help determine success. Also, scheduling live streams often, maybe weekly, can help build viewership.  

While there are multiple options to choose from, live a live webinar, Q&A, interview, demo, and many more, you need to analyze what will bring maximum value to your business and your audience. 

                       “Live Streaming is content and audience-driven.”

Bottom Line

The tips and suggestions shared will surely bring ease to your first time live streaming process. Also, practice makes a person perfect, meaning the more you stream, the better you get and the less intimidated you feel. Being prepared boosts confidence, however challenging the first time might be.