it261: 14 Important Things to Remember Before Your First Livestream

Friday, 28 July 2017

14 Important Things to Remember Before Your First Livestream

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

1. Be Your Authentic Self

People lose this part of themselves when livestreaming for the first time. If you are naturally energetic, be energetic! If you are naturally informative, share insightful information. There are many types of people doing livestreams and they all have their own style. Highlight your strengths from the start and then work on masking your weaknesses later on.

– Lawrence Watkins, Great Black Speakers

2. Watch Other Livestreams

Watch as many livestreams as possible first to see what you like and don’t like so that you can either incorporate them into what you do or avoid certain things. This benchmarking can vastly improve your delivery.

– Angela Ruth, Due

3. Consider the Impact of Background Noises

Setting is huge. One thing I underestimated was the amount and intensity of the sounds you can tune out in a normal office that suddenly come through like wasps in a recording. Grinding road sounds and construction can ruin a whole take. You need to be somewhere as silent as possible when you begin.

– Adam Steele, The Magistrate

4. Script It and Practice It

You don’t need a full Shakespearean monologue, but you should have a well-rehearsed outline of what you want to communicate. Practice a few times with your video camera in front of you to get a good feel for what you look like and how you are conveying your message. Remember, 80% is how you say something rather than what you are actually saying.

– Nicole Munoz, Start Ranking Now

5. Create an Outline

If you’re going to livestream for the first time, it’s very important that you’re fully prepared. Have a set outline with key talking points that you’d like to address to stay on topic. There’s a lot of things that could go wrong when livestreaming, but being prepared will likely lead to a successful stream and help prevent any potential issues.

– Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS

6. Don’t Skimp on Technology

Just because livestreaming removes the need for post-production editing and inherently communicates a more immediate, laidback method of communicating to an audience, don’t try to cut costs by using low-cost equipment. Professional cameras and high-quality audio equipment will easily increase the professionalism of your livestream.

– Diego Orjuela, Cables & Sensors

7. Plan for a Longer Video

We’ve learned that if you’re only livestreaming for five to 10 minutes, you are not likely to get a large chunk of your audience. We recommend doing content that spans from 20 to 30 minutes, as people regularly check streams in intervals and you’re more likely to catch someone in the middle of your stream (especially for those just checking their Facebook). If your content is good, they’ll rewatch it.

– Kenny Nguyen, Big Fish Presentations

8. Invest in a Camera or Phone Stand

Invest in a stand for the camera or phone for a steady video recording. Second to bad audio quality is shaky, fuzzy video, which gives the viewer a headache. Also, know which format you’re streaming in and position your camera for horizontal or vertical streams appropriately. For example, Facebook Live videos are horizontal but Snap Stories and Facebook Stories tend to be vertical.

– Adelyn Zhou, TOPBOTS

9. Keep Practicing

If you haven’t done it before, being on camera might feel awkward. It’s OK, you’ll figure it out. The more you do it, the easier it gets, and you’ll find out what works and what doesn’t.

– Karl Kangur, MRR Media

10. Go Through Some Basic Media Training

Before livestreaming, invest some time and money into media training. Hire a professional or watch tutorials on YouTube. You want to have some idea of what you are doing before broadcasting yourself to the world!

– Leila Lewis, Be Inspired PR

11. Make Sure Everything Is Working Beforehand

Test your sound and your camera. Ensure you have a reliable internet connection. Avoid making last-minute adjustments, and set everything up how you want it in advance of starting. That will help you get down to business.

– Erik Bullen, MageMail

12. Use the Right Lighting

A camera, any camera (not just an SRL or mirrorless camera) needs light in order to create vivid images. Just by playing around with lights, you can change the mood of a video, which is even more pertinent in a livestream. Most livestreams look dingy and miserable (with yellow undertones), and while I stick around because the content is interesting, it’s irritating. Invest in three-point lighting.

– Cody McLain, SupportNinja

13. Think of It As a Conversation

Make it fun and throw yourself into it so you come across as natural as possible. It’s easy to get nervous, but you will appear so stiff. Go with it and remind yourself that you are just having a conversation with someone you know well.

– Cynthia Johnson, Ipseity Media

14. Have Fun

No one likes watching someone who is rigid and clearly reading a message. Get on camera, have fun and be yourself. People like seeing real-life, authentic faces — it allows them to relate to you even more and can inspire them in their lives.

– Abhilash Patel, Recovery Brands