Video Live Streaming Online BASIC Guide

When it comes to live streaming video, 2020 pretty much changed the game. After Covid raged across the world, real-life events became a no-go overnight. People needed a new way to connect – and live streams were that.

Concerts, parties, sporting events, quiz nights, and food festivals – everything went online. In fact, nearly a quarter (24%) of US internet users have watched more live streams since the pandemic. Even now, as the world slowly starts to get back to normal, streaming has remained popular. By 2027, the global live streaming market is estimated to reach $247 billion.

Simply put, video live streaming isn’t going anywhere – and you should be using it.

Let’s have a chat about some of the absolute video streaming basics in this live streaming guide.

Lock down an interview with a big name in your industry and you’re bound to generate some buzz for your business.

Not only is this great for brand awareness, but you can also generate some great engagement by asking your audience to submit questions.

Here are some free tips on how to shoot an interview.

2. Events

Have you ever thought to go live at an event? Live events can take many forms. They can be workshops, talks, live podcasts, webinars, lectures or guided classes, coaching seminars, and much more.

Besides, they can also achieve many different goals, from brand awareness and thought leadership to direct revenue and traffic. Virtual events have become increasingly popular since the COVID pandemic.

It is important to be aware that a stable internet connection at the event will be important for a professional flowing stream.

Recommended Reading: How To Use Video Marketing To Build Hype For Your Events.

3. Competitions And Giveaways

Because who doesn’t love free stuff? Tension, excitement, engagement… competitions, and giveaways are made for live streaming.

We suggest setting up your video contest through your normal social channels before announcing the winners live. They’re great for increasing subscribers, collecting data, and brand awareness.

A great one for boosting sales, traffic, and engagement, a live product demo is super easy to organize. Just hit live and show off your gear!

With Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, you can save your video and redistribute it later, too. Tie it in with a new product launch for extra engagement.

Here’s some advice on product videos that you can use ahead of your live stream.

5. Q&A Sessions

Position your brand as thought leaders with a Live Q&A. All you need is a good topic – try picking something timely that relates to your business – a host, and some willing members of your team.

These sessions are great ways to generate interactions and boost your digital presence.

6. Behind The Scenes Tour

Show the nuts and bolts of your brand with a live tour “backstage”. This type of content helps make a business relatable and builds trust with your audience.

Try filming when something big is happening – for example, the packaging of a large order, a workshop, or a party.

7. Launch A Flash Sale

An awesome way to boost revenue and drive traffic, use live streaming to tell your audience about a flash sale.

This kind of video takes very little preparation or planning – just hit live and explain what’s on sale. Remember to build up the tension beforehand on social media with a few teaser posts about a “big announcement”.

We’ve listed some extra video marketing content ideas in this post which to help you with your live streams further.

1. Mobile Phone Or Webcam

What is great is that the multiple platforms we mentioned you can go live on, give you the option of streaming from your mobile device or from your laptop/computer’s webcam. You need decent video and audio sources; luckily mobile phones and laptops tend to have microphones built into them. If you’re streaming an event you’ll probably prefer to go the mobile devices route as it allows you to roam around freely without carrying a heavy weight but if you’re in a livestream studio you may not mind the stationary webcam route.

As mentioned above, decent audio and video sources are essential for a high-quality stream, and a lot of the time good sound is overlooked but actually arguably sound is even more important.

Luckily, also as mentioned above, mobile devices and laptops tend to have built-in mics, so you do not necessarily need to fork out on expensive audio equipment.

However, in certain circumstances such as concert streaming, professional audio quality may be beneficial to invest in.

This is more of a creative/professional route which is 100% not essential at all, but it can look very smooth when done correctly, giving you multiple video sources. You may want to consider this option for professionalism if you’re a live streaming business.

Multiple cameras can allow you to switch between angles whilst you go live. This can look very neat but can be difficult to do alone, so you may need someone or even a couple of people to assist you with this.

It is really common to use multiple cameras to stream an event such as a music concert or comedy show to get more coverage so if that’s the business you happen to be in, multiple cameras are a good idea to consider for your streaming setup.

4. Natural Light

For your live streaming setup, a lot of broadcasters do enjoy professional studio lighting such as soft boxes and ring lights, but you can stick to a cost-free lighting setup using natural light which can look just as good, if not in some cases BETTER. It can look more, well.. natural.

With natural lighting you’re best setting up your live stream in front of the window before you go live; make sure the sun isn’t pointed directly at you giving you a harsh light (and blinding you).

5. Fast Internet Speed

As mentioned in previous points, a stable internet connection will be essential for your live broadcast. No one will enjoy watching you broadcast live if they can’t follow anything due to a poor internet connection, so it’s essential that you have good internet bandwidth before you go live.

1. Facebook Live

With the biggest social media user base, it’s no surprise that Facebook is one of the most popular live-streaming platforms on the market for live video. You can stream on Facebook Live from your PC or mobile device with an active internet connection.

Engagement is through the roof. Not only do live videos get 6 times more interactions than standard, but users stay tuned for 3 times as long. Facebook Live is super simple to use, whether you’ve got a personal, business, or creator account. Just hit “Start A Live Video” in your dashboard, and you’re ready to go.

This platform is awesome for long-form content, as you can stream for 4 hours on mobile and 8 hours on desktop. You can also save your videos, which is great for businesses looking to maximize their content.

This type of content helps make a business relatable, and builds trust with your audience

Instagram initially was for sharing pictures but now it’s also become a streaming platform. You’ll find Instagram Live in the Stories feature (app only that is). This is where you can broadcast your live video chatting with your followers or even show a live event you attend (as long as you have an internet connection). With 500 million people using Stories every day, IG Live is a no-brainer for brands.

It works very much in the same way as Facebook – IG has even increased its live streaming cap to 4 hours and added in the option to save your content to IGTV.

IG Live has one pretty cool ace up its sleeve, however: Instagram Rooms. This feature allows you to live stream with up to 4 people, maximizing your reach and brand. For businesses, it’s a great way to collaborate with industry stars, influencers, and celebrities when streaming.

3. YouTube Live

The champion of digital events, there’s a reason HubSpot has named YouTube Live as one of the best ways and platforms for live streaming which is why you should start streaming through your YouTube channel too!

If you don’t have a YouTube channel this YouTube Beginners Guide should help you get started.

In the last year alone, YouTube has seen Andrea Bocelli’s Easter Sunday concert, the Eurovision Song Contest and the Mars Rover Landing (to name a few) pull in some truly incredible numbers. For brand inspiration, check out Apple Event, a monthly product launch delivered through YouTube.

Similar to Facebook, YouTube’s reach is nothing short of staggering, with 2 billion active monthly viewers. However, YouTube’s edge is that it’s all video, and YouTube’s model is easily monetized via its ad platform. So, going live on YouTube could potentially benefit you financially with a big enough audience.

4. TikTok

TikTok has slowly become the BIGGEST social media platform for video and with every internet minute that passes, 167 MILLION TikTok videos are viewed. That is a massive audience.

TikTok’s live function allows you to earn virtual gifts while you’re doing your thing, whatever that may be, making it a great platform to earn revenue whilst streaming.

These virtual gifts, which can be awarded by followers at any time during the stream, help TikTok creators earn “Diamonds”, a sort of digital reward handed out to popular accounts. These “Diamonds” can then be transferred into real funds, paid out in your home currency.

You must be over 16 years old and have at least 1,000 followers to live stream on TikTok. We recommend if you have the following that you start streaming with TikTok to expose your brand to a whole new audience.

5. Twitch

Twitch is probably the most famous interactive live streaming platform to date especially for gamers to stream in real-time their video game footage with themselves overlaying, where they can add commentary.

It does expand into other content categories for alternative live streamers, such as those with interests in sport, music, food and drink, art and crafting, and entertainment but video games are the most popular type of live streamers on the streaming platform to date.

A lot like other social broadcasting platforms, Twitch allows interactive features so viewers can chat using the text box, add emojis and there is even a paid subscription service.

Twitch does allow you to monetize your content through their subscription service so this is a fun possible way to increase your earnings whilst offering exclusive perks to your viewers.

6. LinkedIn Live

Not everyone is aware that LinkedIn does offer an option to live stream which can be really great for B2B businesses and marketing. Check out this post to learn more about B2B video marketing.

To go live on LinkedIn, you do need more than 150 followers and/or connections, and be located anywhere outside of China.

Many individuals may choose to go live on LinkedIn and have an informal industry-related conversation with some of their connections which can be an effective strategy for generating leads as you will be showing up on each collaborator’s feed, bringing awareness to yourself to their online connections.