Live streaming is rapidly becoming an essential part of the marketing mix across all industries – from cutting-edge entertainment companies to Fortune 500 firms. When considering a live stream, one of the most important decisions you will make is which platform to use and why. Here are a few of the platforms we recommend leveraging and how to best use them:
YouTube
YouTube offers two live stream options: YouTube Live and Hangouts on Air. Hangouts on Air is best for individuals who want the simple functionality of going "live." But for the live streaming of events on YouTube, YouTube Live is the way to go. With YouTube Live, features such as encoding selection, statistics and live comments become available. With Hangouts on Air, these features aren't offered. To use YouTube Live, you have to need a decent amount of subscribers (1000+) and video uploads. Then you need to become a YouTube Partner. This does not take long; if you already have an account, it can be done in 30 minutes. Now you're ready to get started! If you want more information on YouTube live streaming, take a look here.
Twitch
Twitch is used to broadcast PC videogames from your own personal account. This platform is wildly popular with gaming fanatics! To live stream your PC games, first sign up for a Twitch account. Once you've done that, visit your dashboard to enable your account for broadcasting. Note: you do need a moderately powerful PC equipped with broadcasting software such as OBS or XSplit. All done? Start your broadcast and keep track of your chat room. Connect with fellow gamers!
Facebook
Undoubtedly the biggest contender in live streaming, Facebook Live allows users to stream content, as it happens, directly from their Facebook account. To make your Facebook Live stream a success tell your fans you're broadcasting ahead of time and make sure you have a strong internet connection. With over 1.5 billion accounts on Facebook, streaming through Facebook Live is a massive opportunity for businesses and brands – particularly because the stream will appear on users' newsfeeds.
In addition to YouTube, Twitch and Facebook, popular live streaming platforms include UStream, Justin.tv, Bambuser, and Yahoo. If you want to live stream content as an individual, the best thing to do is play with different platforms and get creative. If you're looking to broadcast an event, consider consulting a professional broadcast company to help you navigate all of the options.
