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The following excerpt is from Jason R. Rich’s book Ultimate Guide to YouTube for Business. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | IndieBound
One approach to sharing YouTube content with your audience is to stream live broadcasts. As the name implies, a live broadcast happens in real time — there’s no delay, editing, or redos, so anything you say or do on camera is transmitted via the internet and is seen by your audience as it happens.
Hosting a live broadcast has several potential advantages:
- A live broadcast can be any length.
- You can have real-time interaction with audience members.
- There’s no post-production (editing) unless you opt to record the live broadcast and then edit it before you publish it on your YouTube channel for people to watch later on an on-demand basis.
More and more companies are utilizing live broadcasts to share special events, press conferences, seminars, live question-and-answer sessions or product launches, for example, with an audience.
Until relatively recently, hosting a live broadcast via the internet was a costly endeavor. Today, you need little more than a computer or mobile device that’s equipped with a camera and a high-speed internet connection.
Pre-broadcast considerations
Consider your live broadcasts to be like giving a live presentation or public speaking in front of a large group. Preparation is essential. Unless you’re skilled at using a teleprompter and reading a speech word for word in a manner that seems natural, develop an outline for what you want to cover during the broadcast, as well as a timeline.
At the beginning of your broadcast, be sure to explain:
- What exactly will be covered. Set expectations, but make sure you can live up to them.
- Why your audience should not miss the live broadcast. What’s in it for them? Focus on the benefits to your audience.
- How long the broadcast is scheduled to last.
- How your audience can interact during and after the broadcast.
Also plan to include a call to action several times during your live broadcast based on what you want your audience to do while either watching it or immediately after the broadcast. If you want them to place an order for your new product, give them an…
