Live streaming is an incredibly powerful technology businesses are using to connect with prospects and customers around the world. Use cases range from event promotion, product launches, customer support and beyond. While today's technology gets easier and easier to use there is a major hurdle in front of businesses looking to adopt this technology.
How do we create a professionally branded experience?
Just because Google and Facebook are making live streaming free doesn't mean that businesses are quite ready to take on this new technology. Below we have an example of our latest live stream. As you can see the branding details start with the intro video, proceed with a branded virtual set and are consistent throughout the presentation. When major brands consider using this powerful "one to many" live streaming technology they have to nail down their branding details before they "Go Live".
At PTZOptics we are hosting a completely re-branded live streaming May 27th "How Major Brands are using Live Streaming" to show just how easy it is to start from scratch building a branded live streaming experience. We will create a completely fake company and brand the experience accordingly. Branding can be as simple as a corporate logo on the shirt of your presenter or as advanced as motion graphics and virtual sets. Hopefully this article and our live show May 27th will help demystify what it takes to set up a branded live streaming set up you can use over and over again to create high quality marketing content.
Here is a quick list of branding possibilities:
1. Local objects: Signs, shirts and actual products in the camera view
2. Broadcast Effects: Lower Thirds, transistions and overlays
3. Graphics: Advertisements, Banners, Logos
4. Virtual Sets: Branded Virtual Sets are extremely flexible and only require a green screen
In general less is more and content is king when it comes to branding. PTZOptics likes to use a branded virtual set with our "talent" wearing a branded shirt. We also use branding in our graphics and lower thirds. Setting up graphics for a live stream is usually done once and it can easily be changed for specific episodes or events. For example you may use the same graphical layouts and simply change your lower third text for each show.
Who is in charge of the live stream?
Once you have gathered the branded assets your company needs to produce a high quality live stream it's time to consider who will be running the show. The good news is, you don't need a team of expensive broadcast experts anymore! Many companies, including PTZOptics use just "one person, with one computer, to make one great live stream". Our live streams here at PTZOptics are generally produced and set up all by a single person Which is a testimate to just how easy technology has become to operate. EasternShoreBroadcasting's show "Streaming Idiots" is also a great example of a live show hosted and produced by a single person.
If one person can handle your live stream's production than more power to you! But if you would like to use multiple people to streamline your workflow that's extremely easy to accomplish as well. With the NewTek NDI (Network Device Interface) technology it is possible to have low latency connections between computers and equipment on your local area network allowing live streams to be produced by multiple operators. This way you can effectively set up your own producer and segment tasks so your talent can focus on their presentation.
It's similar to having a presenter talking throughout their presentation while they have another person across the room advancing the PowerPoint slides. Except this isn't death by PowerPoint. This is a interactive live stream with motion graphics, lower thirds and engaging content. The possibilities are endless and PTZOptics Live Webinars outline some of the most important techniques your team can use to harness this technology.
Upcoming Webinar
PTZOptic's hosts 20 minute live webinars Every Friday to demonstrate this exciting technology. Each week a new topic is introduced and the previous weeks topics are available on-demand on YouTube (here). We encourage you to look through our previous recordings to find a topic that interests you. May 13th will be hosting a live stream on using a producer during your live shows and May 27th we will hosting a webinar on "How Major Brands are using Live Streaming".Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to stay up to date with our latest live stream...
Happy Streaming :)
