There are many reasons you may be interested in a live stream video or live streaming an event. Whether it’s your corporate event, wedding or sporting event, you are likely interested because you want people to be involved.
Your motives will likely be different depending on what you are live streaming. Essentially, at the end of your event, you want more people to share your moment. If you’re streaming your wedding, you will likely want friends and family that couldn’t make it to enjoy it from afar however, for a press release or business announcement you probably want to reach as many people as possible whilst offering your biggest fans a closer relationship with your brand.
Live streaming is all about engaging with your online followers and reaching a wider audience. With this in mind, audience engagement at the forefront of your planning.
The importance of audience engagement in a live stream video
If you’ve used any live streaming services previously you will know just how important audience engagement is to it. It makes it more fun, communicates the atmosphere/ vibe of the event and it helps people resonate with a brand or event.
The most common form of audience engagement is a chat box underneath the video. This can also be done using a social media platform such as Twitter etc.
You want audience engagement but how do you actually get it?
There are a few ways of doing so; you can
- Use a streaming service provider and use the chat feature on their website (such as Livestream.com)
- Integrate the video and a chat service yourself on your own webpage.
- Create a hashtag and integrate an RSS feed on your page
How do we access the live stream?
If you’re live streaming a personal event like a wedding then there is no problem at all with using the service provider’s software and directing your online guests to their website with your own personal link. If however you’re live streaming an event for a brand, it becomes more important either upgrade your account to a white label service or, consider how you can add your ‘own touch’ to what you’re achieving.
Alternatively, we can supply you with the code for the live stream and you can broadcast the video on your own webpage, leaving you to embed the engagement options yourself.
How to embed a live chat/twitter feed into your webpage
Firstly, you need to decide how you want to display your live stream video or feed. We recommend using either a Twitter feed and a hashtag (so your audience can easily find the conversation) or you can find a free chat service like TawkTo or use one of the many widgets out there. There are pros and cons to all the options and it is up to you to decide what you want to go for.
Once you’ve made your decision, the process is really simple. Just like when embedding of a YouTube video, you will be given a line of code, the embed code.
Branding your live stream video
You want your online audience to remember they are engaging with YOUR brand. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Brand the page you are embedding: Make sure the page you are sending your online viewers to has your branding on.
Facebook Live: This is a hot topic at the minute and one we have seen our clients achieve much success. Facebook Live sends a notification to all your viewers when you go live, has your branding on the page, allows viewers to share and like your stream and of course, you can chat back to them in the comments field
Watermark: Adding your logo as a small watermark over your stream is a discreet of adding your branding
Play a game: Offer a prize or entry to a competition when viewers comment or email that they’ve seen a logo/ badge/ image on your stream
All you have to do is copy and paste this code into the HTML section of your webpage. It really is that simple.
To discuss live streaming your event and options for your online audience to engage with you, drop us a call on 0121 66 77 898 or email info@redshellproductions.co.uk and we’d be delighted to have a no obligation chat.