Live streaming is a powerful and robust strategy to create authentic content, reach new audiences, and grow engagement. Although it has been around only for a few years, live streaming realized its true potential during the COVID-19 pandemic, when almost every aspect of daily life came to a halt. Today it has evolved as the most popular marketing tool. Hence, it remains imperative to bust the most common myths associated with live streaming.
Did you know?
- 80% of the people prefer watching live videos from a brand rather than reading a blog.
- The live streaming industry is expected to hit the $70 billion mark in 2021 and outgrow $223.98 billion by 2028.
In this Article:
👉 Myth #1: Live Streaming is Too Expensive
Reality Check: You can live stream your content merely at a click of a button, right now, and absolutely free. You don’t need any fancy or expensive equipment, gear, or software to get started. You can even live stream straight from your smartphone. The fact is, live streaming can be only as expensive as you want it to be. You might want to invest in a state-of-the-art camera, for instance, to create professional-quality videos. But that’s purely your choice. The built-in webcam of your laptop can work equally well.
👉 Myth #2: Live Streaming is Difficult
Reality Check: The market is abundant in professional apps and services that make live streaming incredibly easy. OneStream Live is a leading cloud-based live streaming solution that allows the users to multistream both pre-recorded and real-time videos to more than 45 social networks simultaneously and from a single touchpoint. Not only this, but it also allows the users to embed their streams on any external website through RTMP streaming. The Basic Package starts from as low as $10, but you can also get started for free.
👉 Myth #3: Live Streaming is only for Big Businesses
Reality Check: Every individual and every business has a story to tell, and live videos are a powerful medium to bring these stories to the limelight. And hence, live streaming is for anyone and everyone, be it a real estate agent, a small-scale clothing retailer, or a multinational conglomerate. Live videos can help your business grow to unrevealed horizons by effectively communicating your story and building connections, establishing strong customer relations, and highlighting your brand.
👉 Myth #4: The Value of a Live Stream is only During the Live Session
Reality Check: Unknown to many, going live is just one part of live streaming. You can significantly multiply the value of your video content even after you’ve done broadcasting. Even after the session has ended, your live video stays on the social platform you’ve broadcasted to and remains open to all sorts of engagement. Most interestingly, it is available to be seen in “replay” to many more viewers after the live broadcast has ended. Also, these videos can be downloaded and repurposed. And you, as a streamer, can reuse these videos for broadcasting later.
👉 Myth #5: Live Streaming is Only Effective for Big Events
Reality Check: As much as it is effective for bigger events where you have your house full, live streaming is equally effective for smaller events. In fact, one of the most commonly cited benefits of live streaming is the magnificent boost it offers to expand your reach beyond all sorts of boundaries of space and time. The size of the event doesn’t dictate the need for live streaming. Be it staff training, customer reviews, product demos, or large-scale product launches; live streaming is a strategic maneuver for one and for all.
Read More: Top Live Streaming Trends to Watch Out for in 2021
👉 Myth #7: Your Niche is Too Niche to Garner Viewers’ Interest
Reality Check: While there may be a lot of competition for the slice of viewership pie, the most exciting trait of content consumers is that they all have varied interests. With different preferences and tastes, there is a wide variety of content that can be created in literally every single niche, and it will never go to waste. The only way to figure out the specificity of your niche is by putting your content out to your audience. Let them decide then.
👉 Myth #8: Live Streaming Market is Already Saturated
Reality Check: With live streaming, the sky is the limit. The market is proliferated with mommy bloggers, fitness gurus, business tycoons, tech pundits, and several side hustle sites that constantly push off their content in the market. But that certainly doesn’t mean that the market is saturated. There are always evolving niches that may be touted as the next big things in the live streaming industry. So, there’s no reason why you cant garner a considerable chunk of the market.
👉 Myth #9: Blogs are More Effective than Live Streams
Reality Check: Scroll back to the top of this article – 80% of the people prefer watching live videos from a brand rather than reading a blog. Now, let that sink in. This particular trait of modern-day content consumers has notably altered how big brands project themselves and their content to the outside world. While this doesn’t negate the need for written content or underestimate the power of words, it certainly does force the content creators to consider a healthy mix of content to ensure maximum audience engagement. Hence, live streams are no way less effective than blogs, rather more.
👉 Myth #10: Live Streaming Isn’t as Effective as In-Person Events
Reality Check: Let’s go back to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic when the entire world went into complete lockdown, putting a complete standstill on each aspect of everyday life. That was when live streaming came to the rescue, despite the social distancing directives and other physical restrictions. Live streaming allows you to engage and interact with audiences beyond the limitations of space and time, beyond the physical boundaries, and beyond the demographic profile of your audiences. With live streams, you can target anyone and everyone, from students to church worshipers, from gamers to senior citizens; live streaming has proven to be as effective as in-person events.
✨ Live Streaming is Here to Stay!
In a nutshell, live streaming is an incredibly useful tool for sharing valuable video content. It capitalizes on the ability to harness a wider audience, engage with them on a one-to-one basis, and create visibility. With a growing user base, live streaming has tremendous staying power.
OneStream Image Gallery
OneStream Live is a cloud-based live streaming solution to create, schedule, and multistream professional-looking live streams across 45+ social media platforms and the web simultaneously. For content-related queries and feedback, write to us at [email protected]. You’re also welcome to Write for Us!
