While video content has been growing in importance for the last decade, it’s no secret that the pandemic pushed this medium into the front seat. From TikTok, YouTube, and everything in between, video is no longer a “nice to have,” but an integral part to any company.
But a surprising twist to the rise of video content is the growing popularity of live streaming. Live streams were a great alternative to in-person concerts, red carpet events, and company announcements and reveals. What’s even more surprising? Live streaming isn’t a temporary fix to our world, but a power player who’s here to stay. Technological advancements allowed people to live stream and create content in 4k, in the comfort of their rooms. Businesses have used it as a tool to further their reach and maximize ROI. Despite being the new kid on the block, its authority in changing how we experience events and conduct our day-to-day lives has undoubtedly left its impact.
By participating in this appealing medium, businesses and personalities alike have been able to do more than sell items; creating brand-building engaging material for consumers to forge a strong brand connection that ties with part of their identity. With professional-grade video cheaper, easier and more accessible than ever before, it's never been a more significant time to be a content creator, delivering engaging videos that resonate with the masses. Whether presenting a live event, product launch or developing instructional tutorials such as home workouts or online courses, live streaming has become the go-to option for businesses in recent years with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
What Is Live Streaming?
Live video streaming is a video streamed in real-time over the internet, rather than being pre-recorded and uploaded to a Facebook or YouTube profile. While in technicality, live video streaming is a broad phrase that includes television broadcasts streamed in real-time over the internet. It also refers to content created and broadcast online for marketing purposes.
Businesses and other organizations frequently use live streaming for press conferences, product introductions, and seminars. In other spheres, many influencers have established their businesses through live streaming, particularly in gaming mediums such as Twitch and YouTube. There's an allure. People are drawn to live broadcasts because they know they are watching history being made in the moment, at the edge of their seat for suspenseful and unpredictable moments, while feeling a sense of unity and community with people from all walks of life on an unprecedented scale.
Why Is Live Streaming So Popular?
The most popular sorts of live streaming are award shows, sports, boxing matches, video games, and special one-time events, with an ever-growing selection of themes. Everything from celebrity events, promotions, and live streaming to user-to-user streaming is broadcast on social networking platforms and others. With a decently fast internet connection, you can live stream on any compatible smartphone, tablet, TV, computer, or game console.
The idea for live streaming came from reality television and YouTube, where you can broadcast real-time events to people worldwide. With today's youth at the bell curve of all things trending, it's no surprise to hear that children and teenagers, in particular, have embraced the live streaming genre, as it allows them to be a creator and a personality in front of the camera.
Many live streamers enjoy the feeling of being "in the present" and communicating with family, friends, or even an international audience. There are limitless options to broadcast entertaining and compelling moments live, from showcasing their talents to live Q&A feeds and reaction videos, to name a few.
Live streaming, when utilized constructively, is a fantastic tool for children and young people to build identity, confidence, and communication skills. Children and teenagers enjoy being seen and praised, and self-expression is essential for their growth. Sharing something and receiving positive feedback from others boosts their confidence, self-esteem, and their eagerness to create more. Live streaming also helps children and teenagers to connect with others who share their interests, viewpoints, and life experiences.
In addition to its reputation and utilization with today's youth, live streaming has also played an integral part in providing digital healthcare for patients, allowing them to receive health services more conveniently and quickly from the comfort of their own homes. Ideal for the elderly and disabled individuals, this transformation has, coincidentally, relieved the load on healthcare facilities by ushering in a new era of patient care.
What Are the Benefits of Live Streaming?
There are numerous advantages to live streaming. For starters, allowing remote attendees to join in-person events is a terrific way to expand your company's or organization's reach. It’s possible to conduct your first live stream event with little to no technical knowledge if you use a professional live streaming platform.
For many viewers, live streaming can provide a sense of uncensored accessibility, exclusivity and transparency that is not typically found with its edited counterpart. What's more, people crave immersive content that engages with them, no matter their niche.
Attract a Larger Audience
By their very nature, big events necessitate massive gatherings of people at a specific location at a specific time. With live streaming, your event's reach can extend beyond the day of the event for potential fans to interact and enjoy. No matter where it takes place, live streaming is not bound by geographical or physical constraints. Streaming live events and material over the internet makes it available to a global audience. This means that the number of people that see your content can far outnumber the capacity of a physical event.
Give Content a Sense of Urgency
Like watching a sports game as it's happening, there's something about watching something live, in its raw unedited glory, that makes it feel more exciting as if we're watching history being made right in front of our eyes. By creating a buzz and a feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out), streaming live content for a one-time-only event can make a stream feel like a rare, must-see and momentous occasion that cannot be missed. While users can react passively to content that they can pause and rewind, while a live stream is only available for a limited period, thus its urgency can cause quite a stir.
Provide New Revenue Opportunities
A free live stream can allow you to communicate with new clients and open up new business opportunities by charging admission fees for access to your stream. If you're thinking of launching a hybrid event, you can set both a physical and an online entry cost.
Stand Out From The Crowd
While people enjoy watching live video streams, they also enjoy being on camera even more. Because live stream broadcasting is so simple, anyone and everyone can be the star of the show. An excellent idea is to go out into the public, and conduct vox pops with enthusiastic fans to increase the event's buzz and excitement before or during the event.
In addition to that, streaming live events can potentially provide your brand or company with a substantial advantage over the competition. Even with live streaming’s proven track record, not all organizations and influencers employ live streaming events, such as a webinar, conference, or live feed; therefore, it could be an advantage that sets companies apart from their competition if applied towards their company's marketing goals.
Boost Online Interaction
At a crowded event, attendees cannot be everywhere simultaneously. They frequently have to choose between things they want to do or see, or they must rush from one location to another. By live streaming your events, your attendees will be able to see more of the stuff they want to see, whether on the venue's displays or their own smart devices.
More and more businesses, companies, and influencers are investing time and money in live streaming their brands and services to attract potential customers who are immersed and connected to their content, engaging and contributing to live discussions and chat groups, as well as purchasing merchandise that resonates with them.
And while there are endless benefits to Live Streaming, avoid these common mistakes we find by reading this blog!
What ROI Can You Expect From Live Streaming?
Over the last few years, live streaming has risen in popularity, thanks in part to easy-to-use platforms like Facebook Live and YouTube Live, which allow anyone to broadcast live video to anyone around the globe. Consequently, event planners are now heavily considering broadcasting their conferences, meetings, or other events to virtual guests via live streaming. Offering individuals a glance into what's going on in your event journey or giving them a behind-the-scenes look at or showcasing the keynote addresses or the entire meeting can pay off big time.
Improved Audience Numbers
Yes, you read that correctly. It's possible that live broadcasting your event will increase physical attendance. The ability to transform virtual attendees into real-life attendance isn't so far-fetched. There are many reasons why someone could decide not to attend your event in person, but one of the most common is a fear of the unknown: will the event be worth their time and money? A live broadcast of your event might reassure spectators that its quality is high enough to merit the time and effort required to attend in person.
Better Marketing Efforts
There is a persistent belief that once the footage has been broadcast during an event, it is no longer usable once the event has ended. That is not the case. A webcast is not only an excellent method to engage people who can't attend your event in person, but it's also a marketing gold mine that can be used time and time again. Once you've filmed the footage from your conference, you can reuse and repurpose it throughout the year and even use it as promotional footage for your next event.
There are a variety of ways to make use of your event stream post-event, such as:
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Publishing a complete online archive of the event on your website.
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Promote the event by uploading it to YouTube.
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Share snippets on social media.
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Promote next year's event.
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Showcase the footage to potential future sponsors to support upcoming events.
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Using the footage as a reference for online blogs and articles.
Don't be surprised if your marketing team is ecstatic to receive the video from your event and use it to generate compelling and captivating content. Access to past event footage is crucial for the success of future meetings because the overall visual of your event can ultimately be the deciding factor for prospective attendees.
New Revenue Streams
Live streaming is a terrific additional income source if your event relies on advertising and sponsorship to help cover costs; however, there are multiple ways you can supplement your income from your stream.
Consider charging a small fee to viewers in exchange for access to the live broadcast or the chance to download an archived version after the event. You can even collaborate with a trade journal or group to allow them to use your event's live feed as material on their website.
Because live streaming is a relatively low-cost activity to implement, the income generated from this form of sponsorship should more than cover the price of the streaming equipment and personnel.
Whether you want to increase physical attendance at future events, have more marketing material to work with when promoting your next event, or need an additional revenue stream to help offset the costs of running an event, live streaming is a cost-effective and enjoyable way to do so.
What Are the Best Ways to Experience Live Streaming?
The COVID-19 pandemic flipped the consumer experience upside down, opening up new ways to watch, consume, produce, and share videos in real-time. However, even as things may be looking up in some cases, live streaming has established itself as a powerful fixture and a new tradition for people even beyond previous lockdowns.
To live stream, you don't need any high-tech equipment to get started. All you need is a smartphone or tablet, wifi and a platform to live stream from (such as a website or app). Facebook Live, Instagram Live story, Twitch TV (frequently utilized by the gaming community), House Party, and TikTok are the most popular live streaming apps currently available. Live streaming, unlike pre-recorded videos that can be trimmed and altered, is precisely that — live and unedited.
Some live feeds have the option of being private. For example, video conferencing, such as Skype or Zoom, employs live streaming technology to allow you to communicate with people you've invited. They should be password protected to keep them private, and passwords should not be shared with anyone you don't know.
Some live streams are open to the public, and hundreds or even thousands of individuals may tune in. Viewers can comment on their responses alongside the live feed for viewers to comment on and interact in real-time.
The Future of Live Streaming
COVID-19 has created Pandora's box regarding how we will interact as a society in the future. Simply put, video communication will continue to play an increasingly important role in our lives. Streaming material has been a primary source of escapism for many people during the pandemic, whether they are generating or receiving it. However, the issue remains whether it is a one-hit-wonder and its prospects beyond this pandemic.
Maximize on Hybrid Events
Hybrid events bring the best of both worlds, combining virtual and in-person elements, allowing viewers to tune in and engage from wherever they are. Hybrid conferences give attendees a consistent experience regardless of how they want to participate. Because attendees have access to the same event content they also have an equal opportunity to connect with speakers and other attendees. There's almost no limit to how many virtual guests you can have; hybrid events function at practically any size and in nearly every setting. The benefits of hybrid events include:
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Increasing event awareness, accessibility and attendance
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Greater opportunities for sponsorship
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Boosted ROI due to broader event outreach
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Reducing carbon footprint
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Flexible accessibility for attendees
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Accommodate current COVID-19 restrictions
While both virtual and in-person events have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Many people anticipate the return of in-person activities and reduce time spent in front of a screen. While on the other hand, others are more inclined to participate remotely for various reasons. Hybrid events are the future of event marketing since they cater to both sides.
The Sky Is the Limit
The world has never taken video and live video as seriously as now. Users of Amazon's live streaming service Twitch viewed 1.1 billion hours of material in March 2020, when lockdowns in the United States began. Twitch then broke the record with 3 billion hours in the next quarter.
Facebook's video game streaming platform tripled its viewership from the previous year, reaching 822 million hours watched.
People enjoy putting on their favorite cable show, curling up on the couch, and watching it. For live stream streaming, more people are doing the same. People normalize the experience by treating live streaming like any other television program.
No Signs of Slowing Down
Currently, several people have invested in the live streaming market presently as more and more content creators are joining the trend as streaming has become a vital means of communicating with their customers and audience.
Viewership is now a valuable commodity. Live streams can alleviate these difficulties while also providing marketers with the golden grail: audience attention and interaction. TikTok, Twitch, Youtube, and Instagram, among other viral video platforms popular with younger audiences, have been focused on their live stream products. During the pandemic, Zoom grew in popularity at a breakneck pace. All of this has helped to establish live streaming as a commonplace practice.
While many of us did not imagine live streaming as popular as it is now before the pandemic, it has become a tremendous step forward in audience participation and engagement. Live streaming was not invented by the internet, whether for concerts, religious services, product launches, gaming, or an influencer checking in with their audience. The platforms and technologies were already in place. It was simply expanding at a much slower rate. All it did was speed up the process, forcing many of us to embrace a change that few had previously considered but which is now widely accepted.
Our Services
From transporting pop culture aficionados to the , exclusive behind the scenes look at , immersive courtside view of and hosting conferences to a global audience , at Telescope, we know a thing or two about delivering high profile, real-time audience engagement experiences that bring the action and exhilaration to homes across the world.
We're always looking for innovative ways to enhance the fan experience and raise brand awareness through real-time and high-impact campaigns. Whether that’s with our voting features that create luster and excitement, or our second screen play-along that takes television broadcasts to new stimulating heights, we bring live streaming to new heights.
We're confident that we've cracked the code on creating a unique and exciting method for fans to participate in the ultimate all-access experience that brings the action closer than ever while defying location and borders. With over 19 years on our belt at Telescope, we're proud of being recognized as industry leaders and the forefronts in delivering 'firsts' on top of the accolades and awards we've boasted for our services.
Make live streaming easy by talking with one of our experts!
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