Most live video content creators share the same fear when it comes to live streaming – hitting the Go Live button and staring at that 0 viewers number throughout the entire broadcast. It might go up to one, or ten, only to fall back to 0 a few seconds later. It’s painful! But, there’s something you can do about it.
In this blog post, we’ve put together 12 practical tips to help you get more viewers on live streams. When you apply them before your next stream, you’ll definitely be able to increase your viewership while live.
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Tips to get more viewers on live streams
Tip #1 Promote your live streaming video in advance
Many people decide to do a spontaneous live stream and rely on the notification sent by Facebook or YouTube to get viewers to their broadcast. Though spontaneous live videos can be impactful and help you grow, that’s not the best strategy to start building your live audience.
Instead, make sure you promote your live stream in advance. Tell your followers on every social media the exact day and time you plan to go live. Share it with your email list, friends and family, too.
Tip #2 Banners and Cover images
To best promote your live stream, try and create some artwork related to it, such as banners and cover images. It will help you brand your live event, and it increases your credibility. On your social media platforms, you can replace the cover on top with an image promoting your live stream. Every time someone checks out your Facebook page, they will be reminded of your live session.
You can also add popup banners to your website and a banner in the footer on your current web pages, to increase the broadcast exposure. Plus, you can add this banner to your email signature. Any time someone gets an email from you, they can learn more about the live video.
This way, streamers can keep promoting the broadcast without annoying the audience, which helps get more viewers on live streams.
Tip #3 Get people to sign up and send reminders
Creating a landing page where your audience can sign up to your live streaming video plays a massive role in the turnout. When they’re signed up, you can send them email reminders, which can increase the number of viewers on live streams drastically.
Many potential viewers end up not joining live streams because they forget about it. If you send a reminder right before you go live, you can increase the odds and get more viewers on your live videos.
Tip #4 Get partners to promote it
Apart from your own promotion, another valuable tip that can get you more viewers on live streams is to find other people to talk about it. As a business or personal brand, partnerships are a significant part of success. If you already have partners, ask them to promote your live stream to their audience and offer something in return.
If you don’t have a partner yet, it’s the perfect opportunity to find one. The ideal partner shares a similar audience with you and complementary products or services.
Tip #5 Choose the best time and day
For you to get more viewers on live streams, you need to be considerate to your audience. For instance, you can check the insights on Facebook and learn more about your audience. Check out when they use the platform the most and consider the time zone, too.
To find the sweet spot, go live on different days of the week and times of the day. When you discover the best time and day, lock it in.
Tip #6 Encourage viewers to share
A highly effective way to get more viewers on live streams is to, when you are live, encourage other viewers to share it. To get them to follow through, think about offering some incentives or run a quick contest during the live stream.
Many streamers offer a free piece of content to everyone in the live stream if they reach a certain number of viewers, which drives people to share the stream.
Tip #7 Write an engaging description
When you go live on Facebook, YouTube or any of the major platforms, you’ll need to give it a Title and Description. Most people focus on the title and take the description for granted.
Before your next live video, take the time to create an engaging description to follow along with your great title. Remember to point out what is the value you’ll bring to viewers on your live stream. Someone scrolling through social media might read it and feel like that’s exactly what they needed. Who knows?
Tip #8 Make a promise
Right off the bat, when you go live, make a promise to your viewers. It’s important to reinforce the value you are about to deliver. So, tell them exactly what they will get by the end of your live session.
Let’s say you’re sharing digital marketing tips. You could say something along the lines of “by the end of this live stream, you’ll have 10 content strategies to apply to your business that will help you generate seven times more leads.”
You can also reaffirm the promise after 15 minutes or so of the live video because most people don’t join the live right when it starts.
Tip #9 Interact with viewers
Interaction is at the core of live videos. If you want to get more viewers on live streams and keep them there throughout the session, make sure you interact with them as much as possible.
One way of increasing engagement and interaction is through Q&A sessions. Encouraging viewers to ask questions throughout the live video makes them feel like a part of it. It also drives other people to join the live in the hopes of getting their questions, answered.
Tip #10 Longer live streams
A big mistake many content creators make is going live for a short time. If it’s just a spontaneous live and you don’t have much to share, it’s ok to cut it short. But, if your goal is to get more viewers to live streams, you should consider going live longer.
Sometimes Facebook notifications take more than 10 minutes to announce to your audience you’re live. Unlike videos on demand, which are shorter, live streams are meant to be longer and interactive.
Tip #11 Broadcast to multiple platforms
Another way to get more viewers engaged with your live session is by broadcasting to more than one platform at the same time. If you have the bandwidth necessary and the software, you can go live on Facebook and YouTube.
With ManyCam, you can choose the platforms you want to use and flip a switch to start broadcasting. Whether you want to go live on Facebook and YouTube or Twitch and other custom servers, ManyCam can help. Learn more about it here!
Tip #12 Consistency
You’ve probably heard this one before, but it’s worth a mention. Once you’ve identified the optimal day and time to go live, you should create a series of live for that time slot. If you go live every week at the same time, viewers will get used to it, and more viewers tend to join if you’re delivering constant value.
Key Takeaway
Live video can be highly effective when it comes to getting your business name or personal brand out there. More importantly, it helps you reach and build relationships with your audience. It takes some work to get more viewers on live streams, but when you put these tips to the test, you will be able to grow your audience in no time.
Take your live streams to the next level with ManyCam, available for free download here!
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