Live streaming is a powerful way to connect with your audience, showcase your brand personality, and create engaging content. But how do you reach new people who might be interested in your live streams? In this article, you'll learn some of the best strategies for expanding your live streaming audience and attracting more viewers.
The first step to reaching new audiences with live streaming is to choose the right platform for your goals, content, and target market. There are many options available, such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Instagram, and LinkedIn, each with its own features, benefits, and drawbacks. You should consider factors such as the size and demographics of the platform's user base, the level of competition and discoverability, the quality and functionality of the streaming tools, and the monetization and analytics options. Ideally, you want to choose a platform that aligns with your brand identity, offers a large and relevant potential audience, and supports your live streaming objectives.
In my own experience , choosing the right platform is very effective. I have almost 7000 followers in Facebook so, I used to have my live streaming there because most of my avid followers are using the said platform. However posting it in different accounts and groups are also needed. I see to it that I do not expect more on the impression that I create but in the impact in their lives that I will leave after listening or viewing my content.
Once you've chosen your platform, you need to optimize your profile and streams to make them more appealing and visible to new viewers. This means creating a catchy and descriptive name, a compelling and professional profile picture and banner, a clear and informative bio, and a consistent and recognizable branding. You also need to optimize your streams by choosing relevant and searchable titles, tags, and categories, writing engaging and enticing descriptions, using high-quality thumbnails and graphics, and adding calls to action and links to your website or social media. These steps will help you stand out from the crowd, rank higher in the platform's algorithms, and encourage more clicks and views.
Another effective strategy for reaching new audiences with live streaming is to promote your streams in advance and build anticipation and excitement. You can use various channels to spread the word about your upcoming streams, such as your website, blog, email list, social media accounts, podcasts, or online communities. You should create a schedule and stick to it, so that your audience knows when to expect your streams and can plan accordingly. You should also share teasers, previews, and behind-the-scenes content to generate interest and curiosity. Additionally, you can collaborate with other streamers, influencers, or guests who have similar or complementary audiences and cross-promote each other's streams.
I think this is the most crucial aspect. You can make the best thing out there but if no one is aware about it, the effort goes in vain. The important part is to have a promotional plan in place well beforehand. Reach out to your audiences via multiple platforms and ways. Don't be spammy though because that creates a very bad user experience.
One of the main advantages of live streaming is that it allows you to interact with your viewers in real time and create a sense of connection and community. This can help you attract and retain new viewers who are looking for more than just passive consumption of content. You should make your streams interactive by asking and answering questions, acknowledging and thanking your viewers, soliciting feedback and suggestions, running polls and quizzes, offering incentives and rewards, and encouraging participation and engagement. You should also follow up with your viewers after the stream by responding to comments, messages, and reviews, sharing highlights and clips, and asking for referrals and recommendations.
Live streaming competes with limited attention span because your viewers can multitask and get disconnected easily. I find the ability to engage in the future with everyone who has tuned in can be super helpful to continue the journey. The ability to sign up for more information possibly a replay, follow your content on a social channel or join a discussion can create the ability for continuous engagement vs a one time hit.
Creating avenues for feedback from the audience really helps you as a content creator to tap into an endless resource of ideas, trending topics, and so much more. It is good to consider your audience as teammates who will support you in achieving your goals.
The final strategy for reaching new audiences with live streaming is to experiment and improve your streams based on data and feedback. You should monitor and analyze your streaming performance using the platform's analytics tools or third-party software, and identify your strengths and weaknesses , your most and least popular streams, and your audience's preferences and behavior. You should also collect and review feedback from your viewers, either directly or indirectly, and learn what they like and dislike, what they want and need, and what they suggest and recommend. Based on this information, you should test and try new ideas, formats, topics, and features, and measure their impact and results. You should also keep an eye on the trends and best practices in live streaming, and adapt and innovate accordingly.