YouTube is an incredible platform to build a loyal and engaged audience that feels personally connected to you. If you’re looking to take your personal interaction with your audience to the next level, you should consider adding live streaming to your YouTube strategy. Show
When you live stream on YouTube you can engage with your audience in real-time, respond to their questions and comments directly, and let them interact with you in an unedited way. More than this, it’s a great way to grow your audience on YouTube and build up the trust with your subscribers. In this article, we’re going to take you through how to live stream on YouTube, how to promote your live streams, and more. How to Live Stream on YouTube:
Step 1: Enable live streaming on YouTubeYou might be eager to get your live streams up and running but before click that ‘go live’ button you need to make sure your channel meets YouTube’s live stream requirements. You first have to verify your channel (this can take up to 24 hours) and check that is doesn't infringe on any live stream restrictions. You’ll also need to ensure that your live stream content is aligned to the community guidelines. If you plan on doing your live stream via a mobile device, you will need at least 1,000 subscribers. This restriction doesn’t apply to other devices though. Step 2: Plan & prepare for your live streamWhen it comes to live streams there’s something to be said for being improvisational, allowing viewers to get to know the real you. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t do some preparation for the live stream to make sure you and your audience get the most value from it. Plan the format of your live stream - usually it will fall under one of the following types:
How are you going to provide value for your channel and audience? – to work this out answer the following questions:
Plan your key points – jot down the key areas you want to cover during the live stream. Call to action – what do you want your viewers to do after watching your live stream? Video SEO – just like any normal YouTube video, make sure to optimize the video for SEO. This means you need to put in some research and planning for the following:
Choose the best time to go live – to figure out the best time to go live you should check your YouTube Analytics to see when most of your subscribers are online. If possible, you could even run a poll with your audience to see what times they prefer (this is also a good opportunity to find out what topics they want you to cover). Need some company? – you might consider inviting a co-host to your live stream to help keep the energy levels and interaction high throughout the length of the live stream or at the very least someone to help moderate and respond to the comments and questions that are coming in. It can be a challenge to do all that on your own. Make sure your channel and video branding are up to scratch – to attract viewers (and subscribers) to your channel and videos it’s vitally important to design everything to draw in viewers, this includes:
Check all those off and your channel and video branding are good to go! Step 3: Promote your live stream before it goes liveYou’ve now planned out your live stream. The next step is to promote it ahead of time to get people interested in attending. Here are some tactics to do just that. Schedule your live stream in advance – doing this allows people to set reminders and make sure they have got a spot in their calendar to watch your live stream. Highlight your live stream in your branding assets – as we’ve already mentioned you can highlight your live stream schedule in your YouTube channel art. You can also do the same across your other social profiles such as on Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, etc. Make a trailer – you could make a quick trailer for your live stream and put that video in the ‘welcome video’ slot for your YouTube channel. Encourage your subscribers to turn on notifications – this means whenever you go live on YouTube they will get a notification (and will hopefully attend your live stream). Promote it across your other channels – make sure to spread the word across your other social channels and via your email list to garner interest. You can easily create posts and stories for your social profiles with a tool like Placeit. Step 4: Pre-live stream checklistNo matter what platform you use for your live stream, whether it’s from a mobile device, computer or through live streaming software you should always check the following before you click ‘go live’:
Step 5: Pick your platformThe three most popular ways of live streaming on YouTube are via a mobile device, PC, and live streaming software. What option you choose will depend on what your goals are, the production quality you’re looking for and the level of interactivity you require with your audience. For most social streamers the mobile and web (PC) options will be more than enough, but more advanced streamers will most likely want to go down the streaming software route. In this section we’re going to cover how to stream via all three of these options. MobileAs mentioned previously to live stream from a mobile device, you first need to have at least 1,000+ YouTube subscribers. If you don’t have 1,000 or more subscribers yet you can use an app such as Prism which will let you broadcast to YouTube even if you have no subscribers yet.
PC
Live streaming softwareThere are quite a few options when it comes to live streaming software (also known as encoder software) such as Streamlabs, OBS, and StreamElements to name a few. All these options can help you level up and make much more professional looking live streams. Here are just a few of the advanced options you get with using live streaming software:
Here’s how you can go live on YouTube using live stream software (it’s a very similar process for most encoders):
Step 6: Engage your audienceThe success of any live stream will be due to a combination of things including the preparation and topic but most importantly the way you engage your audience during and after the live stream. Here are some of the best ways to keep your audience engaged in your live stream:
Step 7: Analyze the performanceThe final step is to analyze the performance of your live stream to see whether it was a success or not. To get a sense of that you should take a look at your YouTube analytics and answer the following questions:
Keep track of all the insights and it will help you continually improve your live streams. Video analysis is a vital part of creating a successful YouTube channel. To get even more qualitative insights you can comment on your video asking for feedback on your live stream (and for other topics your viewers would like to see covered) and pin it to the top of the comments. Live streaming FAQFrequently Asked QuestionsIs live streaming on YouTube free?Live streaming on YouTube is 100% free. You just need to meet their requirements to be able to live stream. How long can you live stream on YouTube?You can stream for up to 12 hours on YouTube, anything longer won’t be visible. How often should you live stream?This depends on you – if you want to do a weekly live stream and have enough content topics to do so then great. Test to find out what frequency works best for you and your audience. How long should your live stream be?It may take some viewers 5 to 10 minutes to become notified of your live stream and to make their way over. So, we recommend streaming for at least 20 – 40 minutes and allowing for more time if your audience is still engaged. However, this will vary by topic and niche so again, test to find out what is the best fit for your channel. Get started todayIf you’re looking for ways to deepen your connection with your audience, build your viewership on YouTube or position yourself as an expert in your niche then live streaming on YouTube could be a great option for you. By following the steps in this article, you’ll be well on your way to creating engaging live streams and building a loyal following for your channel. Thinking about putting more effort into your YouTube channel? Take a look at our YouTube Earnings Calculator to find out how much your channel can make for you. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shelly ChadhaShelly is the Content Manager at Fanbytes by Brainlabs, an award-winning influencer marketing agency that is dedicated to bringing you the latest Gen Z insights. Fanbytes by Brainlabs has helped top brands such as Universal, Missguided, Mcdonalds & youGov win the hearts of young people on social media. She heads up Fanbytes' content strategy, and her insights can be seen in top marketing publications such as The Drum & Talking Influence. Over 30.000 marketing professionals rely on us for their news. Shouldn’t you? Subscribe to the world’s #1 influencer marketing newsletter, delivered bi-weekly on a Thursday. Is live streaming to YouTube free?About live streaming to YouTube. Just about anyone with an Internet connection can create a YouTube channel for free and live stream to it, but your channel must first be verified and can't have any live stream restrictions in the last 90 days. Read our complete guide: How to live stream to YouTube. It's free!
How do you livestream on YouTube for the first time?Go to the YouTube dashboard, click “Create” in the top-right and choose “Go live” from the drop-down. 3. Select “Stream” on the left if you want to go live immediately. If you're going to schedule the stream for later, select “Manage” and click “Schedule stream” in the top-right.
How many subscribers do I need to livestream on YouTube?After verification, it will take 24 hours for your account to be activated for livestreaming. Once activated, you can livestream from desktop with any number of subscribers, but you need to have at least 1,000 subscribers to livestream from mobile.
How do you live stream on YouTube with a camera?Create a live stream via webcam. Make sure that you've enabled your channel for live streaming. ... . Sign in to YouTube.. In the upper right, click Create. ... . From the left, select Webcam .. Enter a title and description, and select a privacy setting. ... . Click More options. ... . Click Next.. |