Best Ways to Increase your Reach when Live Streaming

There are plenty of ways to do live streaming the right and most perfect way, but not always does the content or the quality ensure a better reach. A Plethora of techniques to improve the reach of the live stream have been discussed in the past individually. For an easier understanding, we have surmised all of them into one article for you. Check it out.

Pre-Marketing

One of the most basic methods used to increase the reach and the number of loyal fans to your live streams is Marketing. Whether you invest time or money, letting a large number of people know about the live stream is one of the most important aspects of increasing your reach. The social media platform is the best place to do marketing. Due to the increased presence of people in social media, every small news is making its way to many people. So, a month before you start your broadcast, create a page for the broadcast and gather and let the news float. You can ask everyone to share the information for better exposure. Promote it on Facebook and Instagram through campaigns if you have a little money to spare.

Quality

The next biggest step, Quality of the live stream. You can make sure that people reach your live streams in large numbers through various means but if the quality of the broadcast is low, the audience will never come back. Making sure to use the right equipment for the live stream, taking good care of the lighting, and broadcasting with limited interference and disturbances are some of the things to be handled. Perfect planning and minute to minute execution will keep the audience engaged and makes them return to your next broadcasts.

Consistency

Keep the frequency of your live streams consistent. Don’t wait for too long that your audience forgets about the previous streams and visit the consequent stream without any clue. The memory of your stream must always be fresh in the audience’s mind so that they know what to expect.

VOD

Make the recorded videos of the live stream available in your pages/ website for the audience to watch when they need to. This is also great for network building since the snippets if they are attractive, funny, and share-worthy will be shared by the users to their friends and family which in-turn increases the audiences’ number in the next live stream.

Length of live stream

Make your live streams Lengthy. The world is going after shorter videos and it is quite counterintuitive to suggest that Live streams need to be lengthy. But, it is a good option if you have the right content that can engage the audience for a longer time. Stand up comedies, for example, have a fantastic history of keeping the audience glued to the screen. Once the audience has an idea of what they are in for, it is quite easy to keep them engaged but for them to get that idea, it will take some warming up which requires time. A 30-60 minute live stream is considered optimum and if your stream is in this threshold, you are good to go.

Source: http://blog.freedocast.com/best-ways-increase-reach-live-streaming/

Business Collaborations: Another Unexplored Sector of Live Streaming

Live Streaming has benefitted some of the most unconventional sectors of the free market. The usage of live streaming in Travel industries, Live Video Blogging, Live News Streaming, Book Reviewing, Music Industry, Magic Shows, Business, Religious sectors, and plenty of other divisions have already been explored.

Getting deeper into the Business sectors, we have explained the concepts like Live Contests and Giveaways. Another such concept is Business Collaborations which is aimed at aiding the Businesses. Just as businesses can boost sales using live streaming to organize Contests and Giveaways, business collaborations offer a better prologue to hype the audience’s interest.

Collaborations between businesses are usually made to boost sales and reputation. One business that is customarily less / equally reputed than the other initiates a collaboration to improve itself through a better- known brand. The other business either endorses the former one either for a fee or sells the products along with their products boosting the sales of both.

This strategy mutually benefits both businesses. These kinds of collaborations allow the businesses to promote their product through live streaming and by offering the collaborated product as a combo, an immediate boost in sales might be observed. A better plan of action would be to combine products that benefit the audience best. As sales go, discounts go way further in sales improvement than any other.

Another idea that can work is to make these offers limited to the time of the live stream. This piques the audience’ interest along with bringing forth the “Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)”. A common problem with this game plan is that the websites must be able to handle a significant rise in the traffic. Many e-commerce businesses often underestimate the damage that is caused by a sudden rise in traffic. Not only do websites become irresponsive but this generates negativity in the customers that are difficult to transpire. Given, these complications are taken care of, this might become one of the most successful propositions to boost product sales.

The preceding publicity works can be managed through social media platforms and other marketing techniques. Several techniques to extend the reach of live streams have been discussed in the past. Following these techniques can not only improve the number of potential future customers, but the scale of savings can also make them loyal to your business. Read our article How to Advertise your Pre-planned Live Streaming Event on Social Media (link) to become knowledgeable about the basic free advertising techniques.

Source: http://blog.freedocast.com/business-collaborations-another-unexplored-sector-live-streaming/ 

Live Video Analytics that can Help Make your Live Stream Video Better

Analytics help you gain a better insight into what among your streams is working and what is not. The various features offered by the streaming service provider, Google analytics or social media are helpful but some among these features are more helpful than others. These features help you create a stream with minute accuracy to attract more audience and keep them engaged. We have listed some of these features in Freedocast that can help build better streams. Check them out.

Total Unique Viewers

Viewers from distinct devices are counted as unique users. The number of Unique Users/ Viewers is prominent in live streaming and an improvement in this number with each stream means your stream is attracting more audience each time.

Minutes Watched

There are two types of data in minutes watched- total minutes watched and average minutes watched. The total minutes watched gives you the sum of minutes watched by all the viewers in a stream. This is a marketing asset and can let you decide the length of the streams.

The average duration watched gives us the average time per user which can help tailor the stream for the individual. The engagement factor of the stream can be assessed through this feature and depending on the average time a user spent on the stream you can decide if the stream is working or needs improvement.

Max Live Viewers

The number of live viewers at any given point of time also gives us an assessment of the content in the stream. The decrease or increase in the number of viewers from time to time lets you assess the content.

Any stream given enough advertising gains plenty of users at the beginning, but the continuation of the number till the end of the stream is a difficult thing to achieve. The number achieved for every stream and the number of live viewers that are present at any point of time in the stream both lets us know the audience engagement. If the video can be divided into segments the parts with an increased number of live viewers can be cut and posted separately thus improving your social media reach.

Geography-wise details

Freedocast has a geo-restriction option that is helpful in restricting content in some regions. This option on its own isn’t helpful except when you are dealing with the legality of the content. But with the Geography wise analytics one can evaluate the relevant content in a specific region and adjust their content to suit the viewers from that region making it more engaging and profitable at the same time. And with the Geo-Restriction Option, one can restrict the content in other regions thus saving bandwidth.

User Interaction

Though this feature may not be among the analytics, it can give the streamers better insights into how interested the users are in the specific topic of your content. The Live Chat option that helps the streamers interact with the users and vice versa, assists the academic streamers to measure their success. video makers that are introducing new products or explaining about them also can make their streams better with the types of questions that are asked. The interactions can also make the explanations better and if the streamer is the inventor it might give him new ideas about the product making it even more productive.

So, the next time you look at the analytics to see how your stream was, be sure to check out all these features and use them to your advantage.

Source: http://blog.freedocast.com/live-video-analytics-can-help-make-live-stream-video-better/

How Live Streaming is Going to Play a Game-Changing Role in Indian General Elections 2019

It is safe to say that Political Campaigns have gone digital in the 2014 Elections itself. The dominant portion of the audience received positive news about the Prime Ministerial candidate on social media and other digital platforms which was a great influence. The role of digital campaigning in the winning of the party that is currently in power cannot be ignored.

Since then, Indian media has gone massive changes and we witnessed the rapid shift from satellite to the digital world. What we currently are observing in the social media promotion of political ideas is a result of that shift. Even regional parties are now campaigning online concurrently to campaigning directly. The fact that India has the largest youth percentage is known to every individual. And it is now obvious that the majority of them now hold a Smart device that in one way or another connects them to the online world.

In a way, this is an added advantage to the political parties since reaching an audience that can help change the system has become frantically easy. But there is a disadvantage lurking in the shadows. The disadvantage of misinformation that can confuse the audience that is on the edge and this sect of the audience are what decides the future of a candidate. Since there are forces that genuinely try to mislead the population with bad information about the candidate and since there is no way of verifying the information it can lead to the voter making a bad choice directly leading to the failure of a potential candidate.

This flood of misinformation cannot be avoided since neither the authorities nor the party candidates can actually control the information on the internet. So, even an image that endorses a particular candidate comes out first, an image emphasizing his failures might gain more reach if more people believe it. Websites even allow paid campaigning to improve the reach which can greatly vary the end result. Both Images and offline videos fall into this category which makes them both a liability more than a powerful tool.

Then how can a candidate reach his audience without his message getting twisted and tampered?

This is where live streaming helps. It can become one of the most powerful tools at times when every information can be easily tampered. Political candidates can use direct live streaming to reach the audience on social media. Be it a massive party gathering, or a minor press meet, or an interview to make people better understand the leader/ parties’ motives, or Live Streaming Government Meetings to increase transparency, live streaming is your best bet.

Though Mainstream media covers most of these events, it is possible that the users might be unable to turn on the television and watch the entire event given their busy lives. And, if there is a piece of breaking news that involves better news than the event, the channels might switch to showing that instead of covering the event live.

Political parties have been trying to live stream events to social media using the live options in Facebook, Instagram etc. But these live streams usually involve using a Smartphone camera instead of a professional camera feed. The video and audio quality will be at their lowest and can make the audience lose interest within a few minutes of going live.

The solution to this is the usage of live streaming devices and platforms like Freedocast that let you air professional video camera feed directly to the live audience. While the device lets you stream both audio and video at a High Resolution, the platform lets the streamers to broadcast the video live to more than one social media platform simultaneously reducing the effort by more than half. Freedocast platform lets the campaigners promote their own sign by including their official logo on the stream. The availability of features like scrolling text enhances the clarity of the message.

Since the majority of voters are active in social media, the live broadcast can be promoted accordingly to reach most of them increasing their involvement. Live broadcasts carry another advantage which is making sure the customers are getting the right message. One cannot modify or tamper with the message in live streams which enhances the chances of leaders creating the right influence on their audience.

The devices are easy to operate too. All it takes is the device and the input from an audio/video source. Depending on the bandwidth necessary, a subscription to the platform is taken which gives access to the device and the platform’s features through an easily operated App.

The usage of live streaming devices is currently at the base of its evolution and so, whichever party update itself and makes the best use of it can get ahead of others easily. Check out our other articles that lets you better understand the benefits of live streaming in government and other sectors. The “How to” section can help you gain a better insight into the modus operandi of the device and the platform.

Source: http://blog.freedocast.com/live-streaming-playing-game-changing-role-indian-general-elections-2019/

Live Streaming Company News is Innovative and Engaging to Customers and Employees

One of the few benefits of organizational live streaming is that it can be used externally to engage the customers as well as internally to engage the employees. While the benefits of engaging customers are clear to all and had been discussed before, the concept of engaging employees using live streaming is something that is innovative and can be a powerful tool. Here we will elaborate on both the concepts, their benefits.

Live Stream Engaging Customers

Live streaming benefits of engaging customers are innumerable. One can live stream product explanations, interviews with the creators, interviews with the other customers explaining the benefits of the products, the versatility of product usage, etc. The streaming content must be highly creative and funny to be engaging.

Product explanations, since can be message-oriented might turn out to be boring for the customers. Look for highly creative ways to explain about the product, like making a short film about how the product is useful, an animation video explaining its benefits, etc.

Educational websites can bank on interviews with scientists, professors and highly revered people in the relevant fields. Engaging interviews that explore profound futuristic topics always garner the interest of the people worldwide. Educational websites can use an ocean of topics to live stream.

Any kind of website can choose their relevant topics to create good quality live streams and inform the customers about them through social media, Ad Campaigns, etc., to amplify their business.

Employee Engagement

HR Departments organize various fun activities for the employees to keep them encouraged and make work fun. One aspect that most companies miss on is providing the proper encouragement and inspiration for the employees. Though this happens at the managerial level i.e., from manager to the team among all chains, it doesn’t contribute to the whole company since everyone has an explanation of their own.

The message will be far more effective when the Founders and the top-level creators of the company relay their message to every employee working for the organization. This is usually done in company meets that don’t happen very often. Live streaming helps in this area without ever disrupting the work time or productivity.

Once a month if a live stream can be scheduled updating each and every employee of the updates, the progress, and the expected targets it can boost the productivity of the employees and make them feel that their work contributes to the whole. One can also update about the best performing team in the live stream which can make the teams work in friendly competition with each other which in turn can add to the output of the company.

These effective usages of live streaming are still unheard of by many and remain to be explored further. Be the first to try it in your organization with our free trial. Sign up to gain access to the Freedocast live streaming platform and all its benefits for 7 days. Click below to sign up.

Source: http://blog.freedocast.com/live-stream-company-news-to-engage-customers-employees/

Most Common Terms in Online Video Streaming

Live streaming, one of the most advanced sectors that are going to be in full-blown usage in a few years, is currently meagerly known across the world. The sector is known to people as a technology used in smartphones but seeing live streaming as a business sector is still a vague idea among techies. But some of the tech-freaks who are familiar with the technology are already making full use of it and have started earning too.

There also exist plenty of people who bear the basic knowledge of what the technology is about and how it can be the next big thing in the world. There are the people who want to learn about it and be among the first ones to reap all its benefits but lack the knowledge of where to start. To get you started we have prepared a list of the most common terms. Here they are.

Live Streaming

Much like Live Broadcasting, live streaming is the process of telecasting content over the internet instead of a satellite. The audience will be able to watch this streaming content online on their Smartphones, Smart Televisions or any other Internet-enabled devices.

Live Streaming Devices

Live Streaming devices enable streamers to broadcast their live video content online. The device which uses an internet connection (generally Wi-Fi, or Ethernet), is connected to a recording device (Video Camera) and streams the content as it records.

Live streaming platforms

Live streaming platforms provide a space and servers to store and distribute the content. They also provide extra features like Analytics, Branding options, Password Protection, Ad Integration, etc., to make the streams engaging.

Bitrate

The amount of data transferred per unit of time in a video is known as bitrate. Correctly translated in terms of video, Video Bitrate is defined as the number of bits processed per second, meaning higher bitrate means higher resolution and lower bitrate means lower resolution.

Multiple Bitrates

Various bitrates are used in a live streaming to transfer data. Multiple bitrates are helpful to stream the same video in different devices with different resolutions and internet speeds, enabling every device to be able to play the video without any buffering.

Adaptive Bitrate

When the video is streamed using Adaptive Bitrate the stream adjusts itself to the device’s video specifications and speed and plays the video accordingly minimizing the buffering time. Some Live streaming platforms provide this feature along with other mentioned features and choosing the one that has this feature is beneficial for large-scale broadcasting.

Encoder

Encoders are used to convert the video format of the source video into something that is playable in all the devices. Though encoders are an integral part of live streaming devices, streamers who don’t use a device can use an external encoder to broadcast their content. Encoders also allow the live streamers to use various bitrates to extend their reach of devices.

Buffering

Buffering is known to almost every person who uses online video streaming websites like Youtube, Amazon Video, Netflix, etc. When a video is streamed from a different source onto your device buffering happens when the video is collecting additional data to play the video properly. This usually happens when a high-resolution video is played in devices with nominal internet speeds.

In Live Streaming, Streaming using Adaptive Bitrate technology helps minimize the problem of buffering which in turn keeps the audience engaged.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth is the amount of data offered by a service to a customer by service providers. In live streaming terms, this measures the amount of data offered by live streaming platforms to the streamers to stream their content. The more the bitrates, the higher the resolution and higher is the bandwidth required by the streamer.

CDN – Content Delivery Networks

CDNs are servers that are placed across the world for the fast delivery of digital content. The streaming content from the user will be transferred to the closest located server to a user and then the cached content is delivered to the user. A good service possesses more CDNs all over the globe that enables a fast delivery of streaming content.

Latency

This word is used to describe the time difference between Real-Time and online streaming time. Both the times are never the same and the latency can be decreased to a certain extent by using different features of the live streaming platforms.

Check out the Freedocast live streaming platform to know about the various features offered and how they work. You can simply avail the one-week free trial to enjoy all the options provided by filling in the details below.

Source: http://blog.freedocast.com/common-online-video-streaming-terms/

Save More than $500 on Freedocast’s Live Streaming Platform Subscription

Live streaming is taking the world slowly but at a steady pace. Live streaming platforms that are making content delivery easy are growing by the day and beginners who want to start streaming are really confused to choose. Almost all the platforms offer similar kind of features and it can become quite difficult when you are new to the field. Our suggestion? Go with whatever you can afford.

Most of the biggest ideas come to life when the decision time is reduced and the person acts. Every person starting something new is aware that if choosing something takes a lion’s share of your time, then the process of procrastination takes over resulting in not so expected results. So, the best course of action is to choose and start streaming the content.

Basic Features

Streaming content requires the most basic of features and here are some that you must cross off your checklist to select.

Ample amount of Bandwidth

Calculate the amount of Bandwidth that is required to stream your content. Different types of content require different bandwidths. If you want to stream to a wide range of devices, more bandwidth can be consumed and the cost of extra bandwidth (if consumed) must be taken into account.

Simultaneous Streaming

Many platforms fail to provide this option as the social media websites don’t allow streaming platforms to simultaneously stream content in two social media platforms at once. Check out the platforms with this feature as it can exponentially improve the reach.

Streaming to Custom RTMP Destinations

This feature comes with gargantuan terms and conditions from many platforms. Look for a platform that allows you to stream to custom destinations without much difficulty. To be able to stream to more than one destination is an added advantage to serious streams focused on generating revenue.

Encoder Setup

External Encoder support is one of the most common features available in live streaming platforms. During the selection of an encoder setup, it might benefit for you to select an encoder that allows you to stream both video and audio at multiple bitrates. Though this might increase the Bandwidth consumption, the incremental audience reach balances the expenditure.

           [ Read More: What is Encoder? How does it help in Live Streaming? ]

Embed URL option

Embed URLs help some type of streamers more than other. If it is a necessity for the streamer to be able to embed another video while streaming, this feature is a must. Even if it is not an essentiality, it might help to select a platform that supports this option.

Analytics

The most important part of your stream – the aftermath results are offered by Analytics. Analytics help the streamers to know how the live stream had worked and the areas where improvements are necessary. Analytics is an integral part of live video streaming that helps in the betterment of the stream, in turn, improving the reach/ business.

                           [ Also Read: Measuring the Success of Your Live Stream Video] 

Branding

Most often, it is not just the content of the video that sticks in the minds of the people but it is the brand too. A brand that streams good content every time makes people look for it instead of the content after a certain period of time. As good as your content might be, without your signature on it, it will be just another video in the lot.

There are some extra features like Email and call support, mobile capture, Geo-Blocking, etc., but to know the efficiency of these options one must first use the platform.

Why Freedocast?

The Freedocast live streaming platform offers all these features for a live streamer and that too at a grounded price. Though the plan that offers these features is billed at $149/Month, the yearly subscription is offered at a discount price that is literally $600 less than monthly. You can even check out the 1-week free trial of the service to know of all the features provided in this most popular Premium plan. Register now to gain access to the free trial and start streaming immediately. Fill in the details by clicking below.

Source: http://blog.freedocast.com/freedocast-live-streaming-platform-subscription-offer/

TV Stations Shift into Live Streaming is Easier with Freedocast Cloud Playout Solutions

The rise of Netflix serves as an exemplification in the discussion about the shift in viewership from television to live streaming. It is not just the young audience that is aiding the shift but the generation before it as well. The New Age Audience is more inclined towards watching movies without breaks, binge watch serials, and video on demands rather than watching a set itinerary.

Owing to this, the television networks are shifting their services online through OTT networks like YuppTV through which they are enabling users to watch their favorite programs anytime they wish. As time passed by the biggest of networks came up with their own live streaming platforms like hotstar, Sonyliv, etc., where they offered all the shows in live in real time with segregation of the previous episodes to catch up any time the audience considers.

Following Netflix, the networks are coming up with their own content in addition to the content by various production houses that are added periodically. This own content generated by the live streaming networks are made available to the audience for binge-watching leaving no room for any kind of pauses in the interim.

While this scenario is ideal for the herculean networks like Star, Sony, etc., there are many small networks that will be unable to keep up with the gargantuan expenditure that is required for the maintenance of a live streaming platform. Assisting these kinds of networks in their conversion into live streaming, Freedocast introduced a Cloud Playout Solutions that allow small networks to offer their content on a video platform without the stress of maintenance.

Elements that are required for an OTT platform like CDNs, Security, Bandwidth requirements, etc., are all included in the cloud playout solutions. The platform is a readymade OTT service that lets the content providers upload their content directly with the addition of a logo, and extra features like Password Protection, Graphics Integration, Playlist Creation, etc.

Live streaming platforms like Freedocast also enabled the content providers to live stream content with Adaptive Bitrate Streaming Technology increasing their reach exponentially to all devices, along with the option to integrate Ads and Scrolling Text to the content. Limiting the expenditure and guiding them in an uncharted territory, Cloud playout solutions by Freedocast is a simple yet profound solution for all the newcomers in the OTT content provision sector.

Source: http://blog.freedocast.com/tv-content-live-streaming-with-cloud-playout-solutions/

Measuring the Success of Your Live Stream Video

Many elements of live streaming have been discussed in the blog like how and where it can be used, how to maximize the reach, benefits, tips, etc. that pretty much established the dominance of online streaming and its scope. But what steps must one take after the completion of the broadcast? How does a video streamer know if the live stream is a success and if it has reached the target it is supposed to reach?

The aftermath is measuring the success of the stream which can be analytically powerful to tailor your streams and make them better. The success of the streams when measured properly can be a huge motivating factor and can weigh in to attract investors too. Below are some options through which one can measure the success of the live stream. Check them out.

Analytics from the Online Video Platform Provider

The platform providers often furnish the details of the views, users, and other relevant data to the user. The Freedocast platform provides the analytics both for Live and Catch Up videos. It allows the users to check your total No. of views, Live Viewers, Total Unique Users, Total Number of minutes watched, Average Duration Watched, Geography wise details, and Device/ Browser wise details. The platform also provides the Analytics for the live stream video watched on Freedocast website and the video embedded on other websites and Apps.

Platforms also provide data like Amount of Data transferred per country Total amount of data transferred per live broadcast, etc., which can be of tremendous assistance to measure the success.

Social Media Platforms Reach

The success of a live broadcast can also be measured by checking the social media platform Engagement and Reach.

A good video stream engages as much audience online as it does when it is offline. The number of views, Live and Offline shares, likes, comments and the audience reach are the common metrics that grant the basic idea of the success over time. These analytics are often provided by the respective social media websites or your own live streaming platform.

Google Analytics

Data from Google Analytics also assists in gaining more insights into measuring the success. Google Analytics also offers some paid tools which can provide the details like website traffic that when integrated with the live video broadcasting efforts can present a better picture of success. It also furnishes the details of the devices that the broadcast is being watched in and what website it is being directed from. Device data helps in gaining the various bitrates data which indicates at the bitrates you should be streaming at for a successful broadcast.

With the help of all this data, one can simply measure the success of the streams and can tailor his videos according to it. Streamers can also experiment with the timings and other factors that weigh in, in making their broadcast better and a massive success.