Guide To Livestreaming Your Event

First, think about why people want to attend your event? Sure, everyone loves the free swag, the mini sandwiches, the chance to put on their glad rags. But that's not why they go.

They want to learn, interact with the subject matter and connect with others in their community. All of this can be done via a Live Stream, even from a closed event. Live Streaming events allows you to engage with your audience, raise your brand profile and achieve countless other goals your event may have, without the audience ever having to leave their homes.

Depending on the type of event, there are also several ways to monetise the content, aiding with any lost revenue due to the health crisis. We'll talk more about this in the distribution section. Even before COVID 19 there were countless advantages to live streaming. In 2015, the largest software conference on Earth – Salesforce’s Dreamforce Conference – welcomed 160,000 attendees, and a further 12 million individuals who watched online – reaching 75x more people than was physically possible at an in-person event. When done well, Live Broadcasting can provide mass audiences, which would have been unimaginable for small events even a few years ago.

When it comes to any kind of video, quality is king. In the modern age, people are bombarded with video content from every angle; any video you want people to engage with has to compete with like likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and the BBC for an audience's attention. Shaky mobile phone footage or a grainy webcam just isn't good enough.

Thankfully due to an influx of affordable streaming technology, achieving high-quality video is easier than ever before. Here is a rough outline of the process involved.

The Crew

The crew will fluctuate in size depending on the budget and requirements of a project, but the basic positions are as follows: Director It's the director's job to ensure that the aims outlined at the beginning of the project are met.

They will plan the shoot and make the creative decisions on the day; including where the cameras are placed, which shot is being broadcast at which time, and how many angles will be needed for optimum coverage.

Live Stream Technician

It's the Live Stream Technician's job to manage the broadcast; they ensure that the stream remains live and accessible around the world.

Camera Operator

Camera Operators are the front line of the process, they make sure everything looks incredible.

Sound Recordists

Sound recordist will place microphones when required to get crystal clear audio. The also monitor the audio during the recording making sure everyone can hear everything

Pre-Production

It's often said that a goal without a plan is just a wish, never has this been more true than with film making. The first step in making any video is a Pre-Production Meeting, during this meeting it is vital that you build a strong and collective understanding of what is required amongst everyone involved. During this meeting we can discuss:

• The creative direction of the project

• The number of cameras - this can range from one to ten

• Logistics for the shoot day

• The schedules and milestones

• The delivery plan for the film

• Any edits that are needed to be cut from the footage

Once we have had the Pre-Production meeting we can write a shooting script and plan the technical aspects of the day - working out the most cost effective way to achieve the project goals.

There are various pieces of brilliant technology that we can utilise to easily allow the audience to interact with the proceedings, that we would implement during the planning phases. We'll discuss that more in the distribution section.

Production

The day will start hours before the event (potentially even the day before). The crew will arrive and set up the cameras and streaming equipment. Gone are the days of needing huge trucks and satellites, most streams can now be broadcast from a laptop and a few small pieces of additional equipment. Even if an event is closed to the public due to the current situation we can shoot it in a way that feels to on online audience like everything is completely normal.

There are many different ways to get video onto the internet, all with their own pros and cons, so there is no standard set up for the stream. 90% of streaming work will involve:

An OBS Streamer - a computer with specific software on it that can talk to the platform that will distribute the stream and can be used to add graphics and text if required.

A Video Encoder - a magic box that send the video/audio feed into the computer.

A Vision Mixer - the tool that allows the director to select which camera to broadcast.

An Audio Mixer - similar to the Vision Mixer but for the audio, it selects which microphones are broadcasting and at what volume.

As well as various cameras, microphones, and a lot of cables!

Post-Production

One of the biggest advantages of live video is that once the event is finished you will have a permanent record of everything that took place to cut endless marketing material from and to keep as a resource for future years.

Each camera will record everything the shoot separately so you will come away with hours footage ready to go. So long as it was properly planned, it will be possible to produce a years worth of marketing material from what is shot.

Publishing

One of the key questions when it comes to live streaming is which platform to host your video on. All platforms can be shared across any social channel so below we discuss the three most popular options.

YouTube Live

With over 2 billion users YouTube is the undisputed king of Video streaming. They offer a very impressive free 4k Video streaming option and, as they're owned by Google, they are fantastic for SEO. However they do place adverts around your stream which can be disruptive and puts some viewers off.

Facebook Live

Facebook is a brilliant social media platform and their audience reach is unparalleled. However, the Facebook Live Platform is famous for glitches and heavily compressed video, its more designed for a user streaming from their phone than professional live streaming. It's certainly an option, but it's our least favourite of the three.

Vimeo Live

Vimeo isn't as large of a brand as YouTube or Facebook, however the technology that powers the live streaming is fantastic. The downside to Vimeo is it costs (up to 79.99) but for that money you can broadcast a live 4k stream with no ads and the option to place the content behind a pay wall and monetise your work.

For us it's a decision between YouTube and Vimeo. YouTube has great potential reach and is the most cost effective way to share a live stream but Vimeo is the technically superior choice and the in build monetisation options are great when needed. All of these options can be shared across your social channels or embedded directly on to an website.

Monetisation

For some people live streaming is simply about increased brand awareness, engaging with their community or marketing. However, for others live streaming is a chance to make money from content people want to see.

Below are a few ways it is possible to monetise your live stream.

Gating

The most direct way to make money from your content is to gate it, putting it on a site where viewers have to pay to watch the video. According to a recent New York Magazine survey 43% of viewers said they’d willingly pay for live video content from their favourite speakers or performers.

A great strategy for events is to stream your opening keynote simultaneously across your social channels and your website. When the session wraps, tell social viewers to head to your website to watch the rest of the event live. This drives traffic to your owned properties where you can control the brand experience around your event livestream and potentially charge to watch the rest of the event.

You could also put the content behind a subscriber wall, asking your audience to give their emails. This data can then be used in future marketing campaigns.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship is a time tested method of raising funds to produce content. Companies want to associate themselves with good content - it's the same reason people bring stands covered with their logos to events. Social Media Week sees on average a 75% jump in subscriptions in the 90 days before their next live event – accessing live, and joining the conversation is what subscribers are paying for, businesses will want a share of that traffic.

On Screen Donations

Most of the major live streaming platforms offer a on screen donation service. A small link will appear within the video asking viewers to donate. This works fantastically well for charities raising funds, Children’s Miracle Network’s Extra Life, raised $11.3 million purely through live streaming video games! It's worth baring in mind that several of the large platforms require verification of charity status.

Audience Interaction

People often worry about losing audience interaction when it comes to live streaming, but that's simply not the case. There are lots of options to include your audience in your event.

Slido

Slido is a great addition to any speech, webinar or Q&A. It's essentially a crowd sourced questions app, allowing an audience to ask questions and vote on which will be answered. 74% of people fear public speaking, so in our experience this approach actually results in more audience interaction than asking a crowd to stand up and directly ask. There are other great features like audience polls and the ability to moderate the questions.

Chat Rooms

Most of the large live streaming platforms have a chatroom feature built in, allowing people to network from their living rooms. Once again, a major advantage of this is people feel more confident from behind their keyboard and some will engage more than in a traditional networking setting. The modern version of this is to have a Video Networking chat room. Programs like Zoom, Google Hangouts and House Party offer different options when it comes to hosting a video chatroom.

Social Media Interaction

According to the Search Engine Journal, live video gains 600% more interaction than any other form of social media. Comments and reactions to a post may seem a little rudimentary, but the major advantage of them is that they exist outside of your network - they can generate buzz which can attract a new audience to your content pipeline.

We've tried to give a very quick introduction to live streaming and how it can be used to support companies in the current crisis. However, it's an infinitely complicated process and no two shoots are the same, so if you would like any more information, even if it's just advice on ways to implement this yourself, please do get in touch with us.