Content Marketing
Step-By-Step Guide for Making Your Next Event’s Livestreaming Video A Success

Step-By-Step Guide for Making Your Next Event’s Livestreaming Video A Success

May 9, 2017
4 min read

Livestreaming is an excellent tool for increasing interest in your brand – before, during and after the event happens. It expands your audience and breaks down the barriers of space and time. Anyone who’s interested can view it as it happens, whether they live across the globe or across town, or check out the recorded video when they have the time later on.

A livestreamed video can be used to create momentum as you make announcements about livestreaming the event, letting people know when and how to tune in, or even share pre-event footage.

It motivates social media engagement among both attendees and viewers while the event is live. And, after the dust settles, you have high-value content to offer on your website and a jump-off point for countless social media posts as you recap, tweet and share the best quotes and takeaways from the event.

The value potential doesn’t stop there. Of the people who watch your livestreamed event video, 30% are likely to attend next year.

You, and the 77% of B2B marketers planning on using this strategy, can take advantage of major event marketing benefits. You just have to know how to leverage your event video.

Build Your Audience

To get the most out of your video, you’ve got to promote it well before it happens. This will give people enough of a chance to schedule time on their calendars for viewing.

Of course, you’ve already been promoting your event on your social media channels either through your brand’s social media accounts, separate event pages, or both. As a general rule of thumb for event marketing, make a special omni-channel announcement of your event’s livestreaming video about a month before, listing the time it will take place and what viewers need to do to watch.

  • Send out emails to all potentially interested leads in your database.
  • Create a hashtag for the livestreaming.
  • Spread the word on social media with a professional-looking, branded announcement.
  • Use a tool like HootSuite to stagger reminders and updates about your event’s livestreaming video.
  • Create a contact list with your email marketing software so you can specifically target anyone who has expressed interest and avoid bombarding those who may not be interested. You can create an RSVP landing page on your website to capture this all-valuable target market data. Once the event is over, this same landing page can be used to download the video for viewing.

Entice with a Teaser

A great way to capture more interest in your livestreamed video is to create a trailer and promote it on your social media channels. It can feature a few quotes from your speakers or panelists, clips from the event team, or footage from last year.

Behind-the-scenes footage of your team planning the event can also work. Viewers tend to appreciate the authenticity of a behind-the-scenes look. In fact, research shows that 87% of viewers prefer online to traditional television viewing if it includes behind-the-scenes video.

The goal of this video should be to intrigue viewers to tune-in. Make sure it answers the questions – why watch/attend? Feature the most captivating, inspiring, and profound pearls of wisdom. You want people to feel like the secrets of the universe are going to be revealed at your event.

Set Yourself Up for a Quality Broadcast

This means don’t broadcast using Wi-Fi. It’s important to have a hardline connection as with a wireless one when you’re vulnerable to dips in performance during the livestream. You’ll need the right camera, hardware, software – and the audio-visual gear. What you use depends on your budget and how big your event is.

If you have the budget, hiring out professional services is the way to go. This is, of course, unless you already have access to the equipment and know how to use it. There are a variety of services for a range of budget, such as Georama, Mobeon, and Livestream.

For smaller budgets and smaller events, a live crew and equipment doesn’t make sense. In this case, businesses can opt for an app like Facebook Live or Periscope, which lets you go live from your mobile device. Owned by Twitter, Periscope includes features where you can easily set up live discussion and feedback through this social media platform.

Keep in mind, a poor-quality video can turn away 62% of the people who see it, casting a negative impression of your brand. Whether you are using a ten thousand dollar camera or just your laptop, make sure you test your broadcast out ahead of time. Ensure sound, lighting, and connection quality are all ready to go way before your event. You need plenty of time to make adjustments, replace gear, or hire professional help if your broadcasting setup isn’t good enough.

Use Audience Interaction Features

Definitely leverage available technology for audience interaction. Today, people expect to be a part of the broadcast. Think about what makes sense for your event:

  • Scrolling Twitter feed
  • Real-time polls
  • Audience surveys
  • Chat features
  • Live contests

Interaction is excellent for keeping your audience interested in the event. The more social media engagement you can get, the better. If it’s in your budget, consider a social sharing wall to inspire more social sharing during your event.

Interactive technology is also useful for providing you with a wellspring of information and inspiration for future content. With your survey and poll data, you can create riveting infographics and blog posts. You can also repost the best quotes from audience members during the live video on your social media channels. And, of course, you can use all this invaluable data to inform your content marketing, using the popular topics and the survey and poll results to create content that you know your audience is interested in.

Keep Your Event Alive with Your Livestream Recording

Continue sharing insights on your event for the weeks following the event. Posting images, video clips, feedback, and poll results, you can keep the conversation going after your event.

With your event contact list, send out a reminder email, as well as a reminder on social media, directing people to your landing page where they can view or download your livestreamed video of the event, in case they missed it or wanted to re-listen to one of your speaker’s gamechanging presentations.

Don’t forget to archive your video. You can use this event’s livestream footage to help promote your next one!

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Michael Brenner

Michael Brenner is an international keynote speaker, author of "Mean People Suck" and "The Content Formula", and Founder of Marketing Insider Group. Recognized as a Top Content Marketing expert and Digital Marketing Leader, Michael leverages his experience from roles in sales and marketing for global brands like SAP and Nielsen, as well as his leadership in leading teams and driving growth for thriving startups. Today, Michael delivers empowering keynotes on marketing and leadership, and facilitates actionable workshops on content marketing strategy. Connect with Michael today.

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