1. Not Testing Your Equipment
One of the golden rules of live streaming, or any live
production, always make sure and test your
equipment. Not just once or twice but
over and over again. Different tests
will be important as well like testing individual equipment. Most importantly, running an end-to-end test
at the location of the event! This is
important because it doesn’t matter how many times you test everything beforehand. It
could all change once you get on location.
Use testmyspeed.com to test your upload speed on-site. Then run multiple
tests on the locations internet source and make sure you will have the
bandwidth you need.
Test your stream on all the devices your users would be
using like a desktop computer, iPad, iPhone and Android device. Make sure to
monitoring the equipment throughout the event. Any issues need to be caught
quickly to avoid any major disruptions of your stream.
2. Terrible Audio
When live streaming, we always focus so much on capturing
perfect video, the audio can be easily overlooked. This mistake can be very
costly for you.
If you’ve done a live stream from your computer like a
presentation webcast for example, you know the importance of having good audio.
You also know that using headphones is important because your computer speakers
will pick up the audio from your presentation. This causes awful feedback and
nasty distracting noise for your participating viewers. So it’s key to remember
headphones and other sound audio practices.
Having a live stream that has top notch video but is not
audible, does no good! If at all possible, use external microphones instead of
your camera to capture better audio or get a direct feed from the audio soundboard.
3. No Audience Interaction
Nothing better than a nice afternoon nap instead of
listening to the lecture that seems to go on and on forever. That’s what
happens when there is no interaction between you as the presenter, and your viewers.
Here are a few ways to increase audience engagement during
your live stream. Try using strategies such as a Q & A segment, polling
questions, or even surveys can be a great way to keep your audiences’
attention. The Q & A segments, best
if done towards the end of your event, will act as a conversation between you
and your viewers. Your viewers can ask questions regarding the live stream. It’s
a good idea to take notes. You could benefit by using these ideas in your future
events.
Use polls and surveys to find out important statistics and demographics
about your viewers. Things like location,
age and what their interests are.
Of course social networks like Facebook and Twitter allows
you to embed your videos right into their platforms. It’s a great way to
communicate in real time by having them comment, like and share your event.
Increasing your viewers is always an added benefit.
4. Inconsistent Streaming Schedule
If you’re trying to build a loyal following of your program,
choosing to stream on different days or switching your time standard time slot
will be a guaranteed way to lose viewers.
Be consistent with what time you
choose to stream. Commit to one time so your viewers know when to tune in.
You’d hate for them to tune in to your regular 4pm show to find out they have
missed it being aired at 3pm. Once you’ve lost a viewer due to their schedule,
it’s going to be really hard to get them back. Pick a time, be consistent and
stick to it!
5. Not Enjoying Yourself
You can’t expect your viewers to enjoy
themselves if you aren’t. And as previously mentioned, you don’t want them
napping during your presentation. A
survey from Slideshare
shows 32% of participants say that an
energetic speaker was the most engaging feature. One thing we like to do here
at Chisel Multimedia is
have fun! So, go out, be sure and have fun, smile a lot and you will see more
engagement from your viewers.
