How to use Live Stream on a website
Thanks to the glorious invention of broadband internet, increasing numbers of organisations and individuals are jumping on the social media “Live” bandwagon.
Thanks to the glorious invention of broadband internet, increasing numbers of organisations and individuals are jumping on the social media “Live” bandwagon. Instead of showing your activity, day or product message in a series of historic images, you can connect to your audience instantly and in real time. In digital marketing terms, it’s a game changer.
The words “value added” and “relationship marketing” have been used a great deal, but they certainly apply in this context. By going live to your potential customers, you’re establishing an interactive rapport with them; wherever they are in the world. You can demonstrate uses and advantages of your product or service in an authentic way. If the presenter asks for questions and then answers them by using the person’s name, it establishes an unprecedented connection.
If nothing else, it’s a free way to visually present your brand to a mass audience.
Live footage on websites
As this is so popular, it raises the question “Can I have live streaming embed in my website design?”. The answer is an emphatic yes, but don’t just rush off and connect to YouTube to experiment. This form of digital marketing needs to be professional and done right, which means enlisting the services of a digital marketing agency that fully appreciates the limitations and complexities behind this application.
This enables you to create Live streaming within your website design that is entirely on your own platform. (You don’t want your presentation to contain inappropriate external branding.) Then you need good quality equipment to film your Live session; equipment designed for internet broadcasting, not just video.
You will also need an encoder (a hardware device or software package). This converts your audio-visual input into a live streaming format, in near real-time. Your website development agency can help recommend the best options, and software that enables you to manage your Live streaming easily and professionally.
Get it right, or don’t do it
One of the reasons the above steps are so crucial is that internet connections are not always perfect or constant. Live video on your website demands special protocols that can handle variable bandwidth situations.
A broken or patchy live feed, or poor quality presentation, is not going to make your organisation look good. However, get it right and there really isn’t a better way to connect to your audience in a meaningful and “in the moment” way. You can archive live videos on your website for visitors to access and re-watch over time.
Need to know more? Cameras, ready, action… call us.
