To event organizers and marketers, live streaming offers the opportunity to engage people who may be familiar with your brand, but never attended your live event – or an entirely new audience who are unaware of your events.

Live streaming also allows online attendees to be part of the action as if they were in person, at the live event. This is great for those who are on the fence and want to know what to expect before committing. In fact, Digitell found that 30% of people who watch a live stream of an event will attend that same event the following year. Everything involved in a successful live event can be stressful. You only have one chance to get it right – so don’t leave it to chance. 

Here is a list of must-do's we have compiled, from our experience, so you can ensure your live event is successful:

1. Start Your Promotions Early
Simplify sharing for speakers and sponsors by providing images, copy or a teaser video for them to post. Use email, direct mail and social media to remind people to mark their calendar and share the event details. It’s also a good idea to create a URL link for your event that is not too long and can easily be shared and remembered. 

2. Think About Your Online Audience Experience
You want your online viewers to feel like part of the action too so you should consider using at least two camera angles to capture close-ups, audience reactions, speaker presentations and panel shots within the same video. Be sure to clearly define who your audience is in advance so you can consider who will be watching so you can tailor the live stream experience to them.

3. Live Stream to Multiple Channels
Extend your reach by live broadcasting to all your social channels and websites at the same time. No need to waste time trying to get viewers to go to your live stream event, when you can meet your audience where they already are. Streaming to a user’s familiar platform will increase engagement, and can be used to serve more sponsors. 

4. Encourage Audience Participation
Create a landing page for the event or hashtag to promote and gather questions from your audience prior to the event. To keep your viewers engaged while watching: create a poll, surveys and/or a live Q&A for followers to feel like they are there. Create value for them by granting them access to exclusive content like behind the scenes video. 

5. Don’t Underestimate the Requirements For a Professional Live Stream
There are many elements to consider when live streaming and they are all imperative to having a successful live stream. Some of the essentials include an encoder, a switcher, a director, cameras, lighting, audio, graphics for the video, video production and bandwidth.

6. Don’t Skimp On Bandwidth
Having enough bandwidth is vital, and not accounting for enough can cause a live stream to fail. Ideally, your bandwidth should be separate from any bandwidth onsite teams and attendees will be using. Not having enough bandwidth will affect the quality of the live stream or worse: could cause your viewers to see a blank screen or the refresh “spinning wheel of death.”

7. Plan For What Comes AFTER the Event
Have a plan in place to follow-up with new leads and contacts from the event. Thank your vendors, speakers, sponsors and staff. Debrief and survey for important insights on how to improve for your next event. Post promote and create collateral using videos and images from the event.

8. Re-purpose Content to Extend the Shelf-life of Your Event
Video produced from a live stream can be continuously promoted through multiple channels. Some examples would be sending a recap to guests who couldn’t attend, clipping highlights for social media posts, newsletters, creating a teaser video to be used for upcoming events, and blogs. 

If you are interested in learning more, download a more detailed guide of "How to ensure your live stream event is a success," by clicking the button below:

Looking to get started with live streaming your event? Check out our "Guide to Professionally Live Stream Events: The Basics to Best Practices" for information for marketing novices to seasoned event organizers, to help plan and execute a successful a live video production.