Why 'Live'?

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I'm headed to TwitchCon tomorrow, the eponymous convention for the Twitch platform focused on live content creators.

And just like every TwitchCon, I'll surely have a conversation with a creator where we debate how much time should be spent creating 'live' content versus pre-recorded videos or VODs (videos on demand).

The answer is the same whether you're a LinkedIn creator or a brand or a major publisher or Jennifer Anniston:

Go live either on a regular schedule or when something big and immediate is happening.

If you're a full-time game streamer on Twitch, you're likely going live at the exact times every day, often seven days per week.

The strategy is to build an 'always on' expectation with your audience so you can be the parasocial friend when a fan needs you.

If you're Elon Musk, you'll go live on Twitter Spaces only when you're interviewing Donald Trump or Ron Desantis. He tentpoles.

Either way, if you're comfortable doing so, you should include some live content in your strategy.

Simply: the algorithms love it.

Think of live vs. VOD as a phone call vs. voicemail.

Voicemails are great! You can listen to them ten times, delete and re-record them if you don't get it right the first time, and get the information across you'd like without disruption.

But phone calls are participatory. They're engaging. The person on the other end of the line is part of the process.

It's the same with 'live'.

Even if you're on Twitter Spaces where the audience isn't speaking, there's something dangerous and interesting about listening to a live conversation.

It isn't controlled.

You don't know what will happen next.

Smart creators will find time to allow the audience to participate to keep them hanging around, whether it's a Q&A where you 'bring them up on stage or simply responding to the comments.

Not to mention how efficient live creation is! One hour of time, one hour of content.

Here are three tips to getting your first 'live' going:

1. Consider video vs. audio: Do you want people to be able to listen at work or in their car, or do you want them to actively engage with video? My POV: If there are only talking heads on camera and neither celebrities nor talking heads are on camera, audio is fine.
2. What's value proposition of your stream?: Unless you're a 'live' creator, in which case the value proposition is always you, the strongest live streams will always have a strong value proposition, preferably with urgency. Why this moment? What will the big takeaway be?
3. 'Reset the stream' often: During live streams, audiences will jump in and out. So every 10 minutes at least, remind the audience of what you're doing and why.
4. Dynamism rules still apply: Just like in VOD content, you still have to be visually dynamic if it's video or aurally dynamic on audio. Remember the rollercoaster, and make sure your lighting and framing are the best they can be.

My mission for you: try a live. Any live. Think of a topic that would engage your fans and go for it.

If your platform is LinkedIn, you can do audio or video.

If you're nervous to be on camera, just do audio and start by chatting with an industry peer about a topic your audience is passionate about.

Then compare the impact of the time spent on the live stream against your regular strategy.

I bet you'll see some surprising metrics, particularly time spent on your content and engagement with followers you haven't seen in a while!

That took 2 minutes. You have 8 minutes left. Now get busy "live"-ing and grow 1% right now!

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About the Author

Phil Ranta, is the COO of Fixated, a content and gaming studio building IP around creators, a LinkedIn Top Voice in Innovation & Tech, and has been creating content for the internet and building internet businesses professionally for nearly 20 years, starting on MySpace and riding trends to the present. He was the Head of Gaming Creators, North America at Facebook, the first network lead at Fullscreen, the COO at Studio71, and spent 10 years as a working comedian (including 2 years on cruise ships). He's a husband, a dad of two littles, and an insufferable digital media wonk.

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