3 Reasons to Livestream for Your Audience

A livestream is when you broadcast yourself, in real time, to a platform where there is the expectation people will be watching you do it, and engaging back with you. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter all have some kind of livestream functionality - often with a third party software. People livestream for lots of reasons, from new business generation to educational content delivery but most of them fit into three high-level categories: Audience ConnectionAudience Connection is the biggest category of livestreaming. Because it’s, well, LIVE and a two-way dialogue between you and your audience it’s the most intimate and direct way to communicate with your people outside of a phone call. If you have a lot of fans - or a handful of highly devoted ones, you and they will both value the time you get to connect directly on social media. Some ways this can be done well are to have standing livestreams where you discuss a prepared topic - maybe relating to a recent podcast episode or blog post, and invite discussions and feedback. Q and A, or Ask Me Anything livestreams are also popular. If there is more about a topic you’ve covered recently, a livestream is a great way to really dig in - it can be a lot more unstructured that other kinds of multi-media and that’s often a very liberating thing! People in your audience want to be seen by you, and a livestream gives you the chance to speak directly, and give them the attention they want, while still controlling the platform and creating content that has a broader appeal.  Customer Service and Content DeliveryA lot of creators use livestreaming to deliver training and support for their customers - particularly those who sell online courses or information products. The live, two-way conversation style of livestreaming makes giving support and getting feedback very efficient!  In addition, not every media creator has a full customer support team! If you sell products and services then you’re going to need to provide some kind of support for them, and a standing “office hours” livestream is a great way to do it. It cuts down on your support emails, and lets you provide answers to many people at once. Your livestream recordings can even become a permanent resource for your customers-  it’s a great investment of your time. When things are easier demonstrated than explained verbally, livestream is a killer resource.  PracticeThis is almost the unspoken benefit of livestreaming. So, so, so many people have nerves around creating multi-media - whether it’s podcasting or video, and there is only one tried and tested way to get over them. Practice. Consistent, ongoing practice. You’ll also be getting into the habit of creating content on a regular basis! Creativity isn’t always a sudden stroke of genius - it’s a habit too, and whatever helps you BUILD it, is worth the time. Livestreaming is a good way to practice delivering your content. Do people understand? Do they respond the way you think they will? Are you explaining it the best way?  Is the topic a good fit for your audience?  Livestreaming is a low-risk, low-cost way to experiment with new material and hone your delivery so that when you record it in a more permanent way, you’re doing it justice.  Action Step Your action step for today is to find a livestream on one of your social media feeds and attend. Engage with the host and try to figure out what their purpose is. Are they connecting, delivering or practicing? What do you like about the stream, and what don’t you?  Are you thinking of livestreaming? Let us know!