Run an Engaging Live Video Event in 5 Simple Steps
Live video is a great way to engage your audience in real-time. Your business can use live video to gain new customers and connect with your current audience.
Some benefits of going live includes:
Real-Time Communication
Grow Your Audience
An Uncrowded Field
Repurposed Content
It’s Easy
So, in this article, we share the 5 steps for running a live video event or live stream that engages your audience.
STEP #1. Pick the Right Topic for Your Audience
Your topic has to be relevant, entertaining, and valuable to your audience.
How do you choose a good topic?
Consider your audience and understand their overall demographics, problems they face, questions they have and things they would like to learn.
We also recommend that you conduct some market research and find them online. Your audience will tell you exactly what their biggest concerns are. This will be the information you use for live video topics.
Alternatively, you can look at what content your audience consumes to get ideas. If you have a following online, ask them directly or even connect with them offline as well.
As a good practice, keep an ongoing list of potential topics so you never run out of ideas. We use tools like Airtable and Asana for us to create this list of topics. If you’re not a tools type of person, a standard spreadsheet works as well!
STEP #2. Plan and Prepare Well
The next step is to decide how you’re going to teach this through your live video.
It’s best to outline your content. This way, you won’t get lost on what needs to be said live. You’ll learn what works best for you through trial and error. As you practice, add any specific details that you’re likely to forget. Be sure to include a call-to-action in your presentation. As a rule of thumb, we like to also include timing or duration in your outline. Use a timer and allow additional time for interaction like your Q&A segments.
As part of the preparation, you also need to decide if you can handle the livestream on your own or need to enlist professional help. Smaller scale events like 2-3 minute live shows can be handled on your own, but 2-3 hours may need professional help. Enlist the help of Blissful Studios if you’re running a hybrid event in Singapore, or even a fully virtual event online.
STEP #3. Schedule and Promote
The next step is to get the word out about your live video.
First, choose a platform for your video. Good platforms include Facebook Live, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube Live and Instagram Live. Remember to base this choice on your customers’ preferences and ease-of-use.
Next, share your link wherever your customers will see it. Announce your upcoming live event through a teaser video, reach out to your fans or to other influencers.
It’s a good practice to start promoting your event early so that you can get ‘seats’ filled. Whenever you mention the event, tell people the specific benefits they’ll receive by attending.
STEP #4. Run Your Livestream
Make sure you test everything before the event. When you enlist professional help from Blissful Studios, we take the guesswork out of your live streams and make sure everything is ready before going live. It does benefit your organization to work with an experienced partner like Blissful Studios.
Start your presentation with a brief introduction and keep your event should be as personal as possible. Where possible, share visuals as this will keep your audience focused throughout the live.
During the event, get as much engagement as possible. Make sure you stick to the time schedule you’ve set and avoid going off-time. Your live video doesn’t have to be absolutely flawless, so don’t be overly concerned with the smaller things like your filler words, lighting not going according to plan, or even movement of your team behind the cameras.
Focus on giving the best performance for your audience.
STEP #5. Repurpose Your Content
Once your livestream is over you can reuse and repurpose it into other content. That’s what we really love about livestreams!
You can post your recorded video on social media or your website, cut up the best moments to make short videos, or even take the audio and make a podcast. Get creative!
When it comes to repurposing content, our founder, Huda Hamid is the expert on this. She has repurposed hundred of hours of live streams into smaller, bite sized content, on her outreach program, Fempreneur Secrets. A podcast, a blog, a YouTube episode, social media content, reels and much more. You think of it, she’s done it, proving to you how possible it is to repurpose your content.
Live video is an easy and effective way to engage your audience. Your audience often needs to relate to your brand on a human level and live streams help you achieve that. By placing key persons of influence in front of the camera, your audience can form an instant connection with your organisation.
