Rocks, streams, and live-streaming today
A writer has rightly pointed out that without rocks a stream might never have songs for our ears. No wonder then that gurgle, hiss, babble, splashing, rattling, grinding, crashing, whispering, tumbling, grumbling, grating, bubbling, and even burbling create such wonderful imagery in the mind. But then while streams can get away with all these sounds and still manage to energise the poet within us, live-streaming on Facebook with these sounds taking the front seat can be rather annoying and disconcerting.
Live streaming is a rather simple maneuver and mostly involves understanding just a bit more than we normally do about the advantages of our smartphones in this internet age where the social media is always gurgling with bewitching moments. Now, what I did was to go live a couple of times with nothing but my creative instincts and my ASUS smartphone that was thoughtfully given to me by the company. As expected, the first attempt was a complete disaster… I didn’t even know why my video (as I watched it later) appeared vertical on a horizontal frame. I didn’t know why I sounded like a stream going through rocks and mimicking all the sounds that appeared rather unromantic surrounded by all this technology. I didn’t know there were people still liking my stream, asking questions, and waiting for me to answer. I didn’t know why I sounded so dis-jointed in my narrative and what was logical to my mind, went on to be gibberish when heard by me. I didn’t know so many things and so I did the next best thing that anyone can do… I diligently prepared for my next live-streaming and after a few days of preparation, went about it. This second attempt was much better than the first one and so I thought it would be nice if I could jot down all the things that I tried to do.
And here is a list of actions that anyone wanting to live-stream successfully, needs to follow. Of course, I have attempted to put them all in a sequence that seems logical, though you are free to experiment and create new ways of live-streaming.
- Plan in advance and let your target audience know the subject or focus of what you’ll be streaming and when. This helps you get a larger audience and a better response.
- Create and write in advance the text that you plan to speak and make it concise and witty and never ever ramble on aimlessly. Audiences have a knack to switch over to something more interesting, if they find you wandering or boring.
- An unsolicited voice call during a live streaming can be disruptive so put all voice calls on hold.
- Facebook should not be down when initiating live streaming because you will then be rather disappointed and will have to initiate the entire exercise again.
- Your internet connection has to be strong enough for live streaming and if you are banking upon a low bandwidth, you might as well drop the idea of live-streaming.
- A remote place where connectivity is weak is detrimental to live streaming, so make sure you are positioned well within the reaches of a good and strong signal.
- Your subject should be clear and thought about or there will be awkward gaps and pauses in what you want to say. I’ve heard a lot of other people live-streaming and when they pause and seem to be lost they do appear mildly comical. I’m sure this is not what you wish to project.
- Keep the phone vertical and not horizontal because the video will otherwise not be aligned and you will appear with your head on the right or the left side talking to people in what some will say, a lying down position.
- A smooth transition between rear and front cameras is essential and it is good if you practice this art of handling the video camera in your phone. If you do not pay attention to handling, your video will have unwanted jerks.
- Obviously then, it is implied that a pause in your broadcast means a new stream has to be initiated… and you may lose a few of your audience in the process.
- It is good to always give the start a reasonable time for live video audience or viewers to get connected. Facebook is doing all this for you and so it is good to spend the first few moments just going ahead with a primary introduction to your topic. For instance, if you’re talking about writing tips, don’t just dash off with the most sought-after tips right at the start because a lot of people may miss those gems.
- Audio clarity is essential so make sure you have a lapel mic if the ambient sounds are too loud… unless, of course you are live-streaming the chaotic conditions on the road and want those sounds to have an impact.
- Needless to say that a smile when you’re on the front camera is only going to win you more friends on the social media… obviously, if you’re live-streaming a serious occasion, please remember to adopt the right emotional stance.
- Be aware of focus and tap the screen for a sharper focus when the video output is out of focus. Keep doing this whenever you notice a fuzzy output at your end on your smartphone screen.
- Let the video show what you’re trying to tell. Do not simply keep telling as that makes a video wearisome and you appear to be a preacher pontificating. By hiring a top video production company near me to create your videos, you save so much time in post-production.
- Hold the smartphone firmly or use a mount or gimbal to have no shakes in the video… unless you’re live-streaming from a moving bus, train, or a boat.
- Pay attention to comments and address them during live streaming as this is one sure way of having a smiling audience. After all they are all friends and strangers who are investing their time watching and listening to your live-stream.
- Acknowledge your audience as this ensures that they remain connected to your streaming throughout.
- Inform your audience if you plan more streaming later and divide each stream into logical parts if it is a long-winded subject that you have chosen. There is absolutely no point in live-streaming for ages at one go because not everyone has the time to attend, for instance, a half-hour session.
- Keep streams short as audiences do not have all the time for just you and your topic.
- Do promote your blog or website by weaving them in your narrative.
- Towards the end, decide if you have an actionable comment… this is the basis of every successful marketing pitch.
- Add or inform your email id for those who wish to connect with you on whatever you have spoken about. A conversation that goes on beyond a mere live-stream is what really matters.
- Let the live-stream be saved on your timeline and encourage people to watch it even after it is over. Encourage comments and do reply, if necessary.
- You may also add hashtags, edit metadata, change the thumbnail, and even edit the video.
- You have the option of boosting live streams through paid FB ads… but this isn’t mandatory and I have never done this.
- Analyze the video and the responses and make corrections in your next live stream.
Live-streaming is a challenge and it is fine if you want to call it a #GoLiveChallenge because this is one form of online social media activity that does get you attention. However, like an challenge, even live-streaming is evolving and you need to do it, learn from your experience, and excel.
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The secrets of good live-streaming. #GoLiveChallenge
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Note: This post written on challenges faced while live-streaming is for the ASUS India #GoLiveChallenge contest.
ASUS Contest
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Arvind Passey
17 May 2017
