Live streaming is nothing new. While popular platforms have come and gone, the core appeal of real-time connection remains as strong as ever. For marketers and bloggers, it has become an important tool for engaging audiences directly and authentically.
However, simply pressing “go live” isn’t enough to make the most of it. That’s why I have some tips on how to start live streaming today on Inspire To Thrive.
Success lies in more than just broadcasting. From pre-promotion strategies to post-stream repurposing, a well-planned approach ensures that every live moment becomes a valuable asset in building community and driving engagement.
Table of Contents
Build Up Your Authority
One of the many things we all do with a shiny new toy is play with it before we tell anybody that we have it. Brands and marketers often do the same thing. Even if it’s in a microcosm, you need to think of your content in the live environment much like you would a live newsroom.
You still need to tell people that you are going on at a specific time, what types of topics you’re covering, and why they should even care. Therefore, within your content marketing calendar, preemptively plan to construct social media posts around the live stream.
Just like any great email or podcast, think of ways to hook the audience into wanting to stop what they’re doing and sync up with you at a specific time.
Scheduling your live streaming events is a great idea because on some social media networks, this creates a landing page you can promote. Here are the platforms we stream to:
- LinkedIn: Allows scheduling and allows attendees to RSVP. It will automatically notify those who subscribed of the upcoming event through LinkedIn notifications.
- Youtube: Allows you to opt in for Youtube notifications as reminders of the event.
- Twitter and Facebook do not offer pre-registration pages, but we stream there anyway.
I also started an SEO and AI newsletter and make sure to announce our live streaming topics and links to pre-register every week.
We do get more views from people who have missed an event and watch videos later. Pre-registration pages and links in the newsletter drive most of those views. If you use link-in-bio tools like Linktree or Beacons, make sure to include your pre-registration links there. It will give your videos even longer life.
Stick to Your Guns
Other than being tossed into a wood chipper or perhaps set on fire, one of the most painful things we might have to endure is logging on to a streaming connection only to have to wait 10 minutes before actual connectivity comes to life.
At this point, you’ve not only lost my attention and possibly my loyalty but brand credibility as well. So the valuable lesson is to make sure you go “on air” when you say you’re supposed to. Even if you are just sitting there waiting for something to happen, I want to know someone else is sharing my pain.
We’ve learned that lesson the hard way when we started with a not-so-reliable live streaming software. Once we switched to Streamyard, it all started going smoothly.
Create Brand-Driven Visuals For Live Streaming
Depending on how you intend to go live and which tools you use, you can often create title overlays to identify people and relay what’s happening in the video. This is acceptable when it comes to long-form live content such as conventions, seminars, and educational material that may have people logging in and out at different times.
If you can insert specific updaters as to the content that they are watching, you’re more apt to entice a user to stay connected to your content and increase retention. This, of course, goes for things such as lower thirds that outline the speaker’s name, social handles and title.
Canva is perfect for all of that. And you can use the free version of it for sure.
Encourage Chatting in Text
All social media platforms allow for your audience to have a secondary line of chat while the primary content is streaming. They post comments on social media, and you reply to them on the video.
This is incredibly important as it maintains dwell time and, in many cases, gives insight to the host or content creator as to what the audience wants to digest.
Talking Behind Your Back
Just as important as live content is the ability to replay, share, and revisit the key findings from it. So once you have the content created, construct an environment where you progressively redistribute it through your social channels over a period of time.
This way, you can maximize and extend the life of that content. Once the content is in play throughout your social media marketing efforts, you can construct different avenues of conversation regarding the key takeaway.
We often repurpose our live streams into Reels and Shorts. VEED.IO is what we are using for that and it also adds animated captions and subtitles.
Why Live Streaming? Remove Barriers
One common thing that you will read in every single live streaming or podcasting guide (except for this one) is that you need to invest in setting up a studio, get a mic, dress well, and look professional. Well, this advice only creates barriers.
It’s what you say and broadcast, not how professional you look. Trust me, you can be casual, live stream from your phone or laptop, and do great. You can upgrade your settings later on, if you feel like doing that.
Don’t delay your experiments just because you feel intimidated. Being human goes a long way. Having something important or useful to say is key.
Keep it live!
- Why Live Streaming? How to Start to Grow Your Authority - July 23, 2025
- ChatGPT AI Writer: 6 Ways To Update & Repackage Old Content - June 18, 2025
- Craft the Perfect Headline: Your Content Deserves It - August 16, 2024
