Last year, over 1.8 million people watched Apple® unveil one of its latest products—and it wasn’t the only company to capture worldwide views when showing off its newest product. The good news is that you, too, can share your latest product with people all over the world. It just takes a little preparation and these live streaming tips.
Pick a platform
One of the best ways to ensure people see your announcement is to go where your fans are. If you have a lot of followers on social media and want a simple streaming option, using Facebook® Live, YouTube® Live or Twitch® will help you capture attention. However, if you need more sophisticated streaming or video marketing options, you may need a platform like Brightcove®.
Plan your event
Being fully prepared for your live event will help you pull it off without a hitch. Well before the event takes place:
- Choose your speaker(s)—consider whether you’ll benefit more from a single representative or, for example, an engineer, a product designer and a sales lead who can talk about everything from design choices to special features.
- Script everyone’s remarks and test them with a small audience to find parts that can be cut or clarified.
- Determine if you want to include any prerecorded video, like a demonstration or an ad.
- Have backup equipment, like extra cables, extra batteries and an extra camera, in place.
- Perform a dry run of the event to ensure you have the people and equipment you need.
- Create a landing page where people can learn more about and preorder your product once the live stream has ended.
Tell all about it
While a surprise live stream can be exciting, it prevents you from grabbing the largest possible audience. Remind customers by doing a social media marketing push for your live stream two weeks, one week, one day, and an hour in advance of going live. Consider sending a mailable event giveaway, like a phone stand or set of ear buds, to encourage people to watch live.
Also, be sure to reach out to the press—as well as brand influencers and ambassadors—in advance to help build more excitement.
Make the most of your session
Once you’ve started your event, one of the best live streaming tips is to go with the flow and find ways to engage with your audience. Here are some popular ideas:
- Take questions. Encourage your audience to submit questions by entering those who do into a prize drawing for an event giveaway, like a T-shirt, hat or jacket.
- Have someone demonstrate how the product works or try the product live so viewers can see it in action.
- Archive the live stream to your website or social media page so anyone who missed it can watch later.
A lively event
Live streaming makes it possible to share your product with a worldwide audience. And these live streaming tips will help you catch more views—and customers.