Live video and over-the-top (OTT) streaming were already popular before the pandemic hit. They grew significantly during the worldwide shut down, and that growth won’t slow anytime soon. There are best practices a business or organization should follow to gain an audience and find long-term success in the post-pandemic world. It would be best if you considered each of these before attempting to bring your content live.
What is Live Streaming?
In 2021, live video streaming no longer means content flowing solely in one direction. Thanks to ever-increasing internet speeds and online availability, platforms now offer real-time interaction tools that bring the broadcaster and viewer together like never before. Among the options available to content providers are real-time chat, commenting, panel discussions, and more.
Which Platforms?
Don’t get hung up on choosing a platform to present your live content. Instead, follow your target audience and choose the platform(s) they are already using. Instagram Live, for example, is ideally suited for those heavily attached to mobile, while Twitch brings together online gamers. Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and Twitter’s Periscope are other solutions. If your target audience typically avoids social platforms, consider creating a video streaming app. Companies like MAZ, Vimeo and YouScreen, among others, have the tools you need to get your product published on various app platforms -- including Android, iOS, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Roku, and others.
Promotion
Offering live video content is only the first step in finding success. It would be best if you also became savvy at promotion. A good starting point is an email, which you can use to announce upcoming content to current customers, partners, and acquittances. Having a presence on social media is also essential -- even on platforms where you’re not doing the actual live streaming.
Whether through email or social media, your event promotions should answer three questions. These include when the event is taking place, where you can find the live stream, and what you can expect during the presentation. That last point often funnels into another best practice: engagement.
Engagement
The best way to popularize your brand is to make current and would-be customers feel welcomed and part of a community. To do so, offer a robust question and answer forum during and a bit after the live presentation. You could also provide an online location where customers can ask questions beforehand, which are responded to during the live broadcast. Depending on the type of presentation, it would also be wise to identify the questioners by their first name for added familiarity.
Call to Action
What’s the purpose of the live broadcast? Are you promoting a new or existing product or service? Are you providing tips to your target audience? Is the video serving as a testimonial? Make sure your call to action is always apparent during the entire process.
Follow-Up and Post-Production Promotion
You should know who took the time to view your live video broadcast. Send these folks a follow-up email thanking them for being involved in the broadcast and include information on future opportunities. You can also survey what they liked and didn’t like about the video in the email.
A video broadcast isn’t just designed for the live audience; make it readily available for new viewers to watch. You can provide the video on your app or upload it to YouTube or another video service, perhaps to tap into other audiences.
About MAZ
Founded in 2010, MAZ is one of the most popular live video solutions due to its minimal setup and streaming technology that keeps the high video quality throughout the event. Like similar solutions, MAZ fully integrates with iOS and Android and makes it possible for companies to push out TV apps for Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more.
MAZ offers monetization and business tools, all built into the system. These include paywall subscriptions, analytics, Google Ad Manager integration, and more. Small and mid-sized organizations can begin publishing with MAZ through an annual subscription plan, while enterprise customers should make contact to develop a customized package.
