Emil Jersling
The brands we speak to recognize that video, and specifically streaming, can be a great way to help them connect with their customers and generate sales. But there is also a risk that low-quality livestreams reflect poorly on the brand and poor overlap between the target audience and an influencers’ viewer demographic results in poor sales.
Here, we’ll discuss 10 things to avoid which may cause a poor livestream experience.
As a marketing agency, we have a clear idea of what we want our influencers to share about our clients’ products. Keeping the viewers' interest in mind make sure to find ways to align your content with your audience's interests. What needs and questions do they have? What can you show and tell to help them make better decisions? What will make them come back for future livestreams?
The better your preparation the fewer variables you have to worry about that can derail your livestream. Some things to consider are your streaming location, livestream duration, content and sequence, lighting sources, pre-recorded video for content that is impractical to show live, and possible sources of interruptions.
No amount of planning will fully protect your livestream for every contingency but it can significantly mitigate the risk and consequence of unplanned events.
Murphy teaches us “If anything can go wrong, it will” and our livestreamers add “and it usually happens when you go live”. By testing your equipment beforehand and do a test run of your show in advance you can significantly reduce the risk. At the very least you want to test your sound and video to make sure they work.
If you want to test in front of a live audience you can opt to do a livestream to a closed Facebook group comprising of a few friends or record a Facebook stream and watch it back yourself.
Low livestream upload speeds result in choppy feeds and guarantees low viewer staying power. You aim to have an upload speed of 2x of your combined audio and video quality. If you notice problems with the stream there are a few things you can do.
Firstly, turn off any applications that may use some bandwidth. Secondly, use a cable to connect directly to your router rather than using WiFi. You can also ask other users on the network to stop or limit their activities.
One exciting evening I invited my friends to watch King Arthur, for which I had received film credits. Afterward, I was deeply disappointed as the first half was out of focus and the second half was inaudible. Hope kept us there but expect your livestream audience to be less patient. Find a noise-free environment in which you are unlikely to be interrupted. Make sure you are well lit. You may decide to invest in a good microphone and camera to ensure crisp sound and video throughout your stream.
In the 2000s Britney Spears signed a deal for $108MM with Pepsi Cola but was later photographed drinking Coke to the dismay of Pepsi marketing executives. Like Britney, you might be persuaded to promote products that you are not a real fan of but this risks alienating viewers especially if these products don’t match yours, or their, high-quality standards. Make sure that the products you endorse in your livestream are relevant to your viewers and you can endorse them honestly.
You wouldn’t organize a party and not invite any guests! So, make sure you invite your followers to your livestream! Amazon can be strict about which influencer candidates it accepts into the influencer program. It is looking for influencers who can generate traffic. Of ‘course just bringing in traffic is not enough as it also wants the livestreams to be engaging and informative but that is harder to judge from the application. So, make sure to let your followers know when you are streaming.
Staying on point with your content plan can be hard enough without thinking about what your audience is up to but one important reason why livestreaming is so compelling is the ability to interact with the hosts. In Chinese streams, we see a constant exchange between the host and its audience. The best livestreamers encourage interaction with their viewers responding to comments and questions. Other forms of engagement include raffles, competitions, live polls, shoutouts, and games.
One of my ex-colleagues told me something that still rings true today; if you want to improve something start by measuring it. Retailing online migration has offered ample opportunities to measure things precisely, from viewer numbers to unit sales and revenue.
As you do, ask yourself what actions you took which might have influenced the results. In this industry which is all about your performance, a commitment to self-improvement and continuous growth can be one of your greatest assets.
Growing up I was a huge fan of the TV shows The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Friends and I recall being glued to the TV every Thursday evening watching Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross getting to terms with their lives in New York. You and I might not be as popular as the charismatic characters from Friends but you can help your viewers find you by deciding on a regular time to stream, telling them, and sticking to it!
Nuclear engineer/rocket scientist turned serial-entrepreneur polyglot. Founder of Beanepic, livestream influencer marketing agency. Currently residing in Shenzhen, China.
