5 questions you need to ask before managing your own live streaming.
We all know live streaming is a great way of communicating with audiences because it gives them the opportunity to engage with companies in an interesting way, and, with the right interactive tools, can make viewers feel involved and important. But if you’ve been using live streaming agencies to support your internal meetings, investor relations or thought leadership pieces, it could be difficult to know where to begin when you decide to start managing live events internally.
Many businesses are drawn to managing their own live stream because it delivers flexibility and ultimately save costs. So, what do you need to consider in order to make the most of it? And what should you look for in potential self-managed live webcast platforms? We’ve put together what we think are the 5 most important questions you need to ask.
1. Why are you live streaming?
Live streaming is great, but it’s important to think about the reason you want to live stream rather than simply offering your event on-demand. Investing in an online video platform should help deliver the results you need. Whether that’s improving employee engagement through a live internal meeting or strengthening investor relationships, setting our clear goals from the beginning will help you understand which interactive tools you need.
2. What interactive tools do you need?
Now that your goals for live streaming are clear, you can now think about what tools and features you need to make those goals happen. Do you want input from your company managers on internal strategy? Then you’ll need a platform that offers a questions and perhaps polling tool. Are you looking to improve the experience of in-person viewers at a lecture or conference? You’ll want to look for features such as anonymous questions and room interactivity. Some general features including question up voting and having collateral become downloadable at a certain point during the live stream are great for any live stream.
3. What support does the live streaming platform offer?
For this type of product, most platforms offer support in a tier system, usually Silver, Bronze and Gold, with the response times getting shorter the higher up the tiers you go. Try to look for a platform that offers reasonable response times, as we’ve seen some Bronze tiers with wait times of 10 days! It’s important that when you do need support, you’ll be talking to people who not only know the system inside out, but already have a deep understanding of your business, which will be vital when you call and need to go live in 10 minutes.
4. What tech do you need to deliver a live stream?
There are two sets of equipment that you’ll need. First, you’ll need camera and sound equipment (this can be equipment you’ve already been using and are happy with). And secondly, you’ll need an encoder. If you’re starting from scratch with no equipment, look for a platform partner who can assist in helping you get set up.
For example, the team at EckoEnterprise can offer an encoder as an option in your set-up costs as well as camera equipment from a trusted partner or help you choose the right kit elsewhere. We’re fully flexible and if you already have the kit needed, we can use and train you on whatever you have. Once you’re set up with the right tech, our team of experts provide a customised manual, in-depth training and on-site support with your first three live streams, with 24-hour support following your last day of training.
5 .How can you mitigate risk in a live stream?
Although this is a blog topic in its own right, when you’re managing your own live stream, there are steps you can take to mitigate risk before you even go live. These include ensuring the camera equipment you’re using is high quality, making sure the encoder you’re using is reliable and stable, choosing a platform that offers proper self-managed live stream training for your team, having a good internet connection on-site and managing the flow of information to prevent negative or harmful comments by choosing a platform that offers flexible interactive solutions. Once you’re live, using a streaming platform that offers a central point of access within an intuitive interface can also make managing the interactions (and the live stream in general) much easier, which can reduce mistakes, glitches and potential live issues.
Being able to deliver self-managed live streams can help your business produce interactive content whenever and wherever you want, giving you the flexibility to adapt to situations and your environment. If you’re interested in getting an edge over your competitors with innovative and constantly updated interactive tools, get in touch with our team to get a free personalised demo of EckoEnterprise.