Livestreams allow you to show your human side and get into conversation with your customers. However, if you want to do it really well, you shouldn't underestimate the effort involved. In this article, I'll show you how you can use livestream marketing and how to get started.

The technical hurdles for live streaming are now very low: it is part of the offering of many social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. So the main question for you is: Is it worth the effort?

Because even if you get started quickly, it will still cost you time in the end. This is especially true if your expectations increase and you want it to be more than just a spontaneous activity at some point.

What are the benefits of livestreaming?

Some of us will remember the Cluetrain Manifesto of 1999, its prophetic first thesis: "Markets are conversations." It's amazing how true this has turned out to be. Basically, social media as a whole can be derived from this, many years before Facebook & Co. began their triumphal march.

Livestreaming is a particularly apt confirmation of this prediction, as you can literally get into conversation with others. In this way, you get to know your (potential) customers better. The rather unpolished livestreams can also be a welcome and pleasant change from the otherwise often perfectly staged marketing world.

Your individual voice can (and should) become clear during live streaming. Especially as a freelancer or smaller agency, you score points here because you are your own brand voice and don't have to go to the trouble of finding it like a larger company. See my article Brand Voice: Individual voice for your marketing.

This makes you appear approachable and tangible and not like a sometimes abstract brand. This is a building block for a trusting, appreciative relationship with your potential customers - an important building block in content marketing, but also beyond that.

What speaks against livestreaming?

Even if the technical hurdle for live streaming is now very low, as mentioned above, you should not underestimate the time required. On the one hand, live videos can be produced more quickly than recorded videos because, among other things, there is no need for editing. On the other hand, you have to invest more time in preparation and implementation: If you don't have a good plan of what you want to do during your livestream, no one will want to watch you.

In addition, not every topic and target group is made for live streaming. To put it simply, the format is often better received by younger viewers, for example, as they are more used to it. An older target group may find it less appealing, although this depends very much on your implementation.

And livestreams have the disadvantage that viewers have to have time to participate. They therefore usually have a smaller reach than recorded videos, which can collect more views over months or even years, depending on the topic.

Ultimately, an important factor is whether you want to do it. Because if you do, you are more likely to come up with ideas that appeal to your target group. And that's what matters in the end. What's more, it's more fun to watch you when you're having fun yourself!

What can you do with livestreaming?

There is one basic rule: you should only offer a livestream if you intend to use the special features of this format. First and foremost, this includes interaction with the audience.

If you want to give a ten-minute monologue instead, it's better to record it in advance. This will allow you to perfect it and get to the point. The audio and video quality of a livestream is also almost always poorer for technical reasons. Some examples and suggestions for you:

Looking over the shoulder

Livestreams are popular, where viewers look over someone's shoulder virtually. So you could demonstrate something specifically. Make sure you know what you want to show and exactly how it works. Ideally, you should take the time to roughly run through it once without an audience. The good thing about this format is that even if there is no feedback from your audience, you still have something to do. There is no idle time.

"Ask me anything"

In other words, a question-and-answer program on your topic. This is very broad and you could get questions about your career, your favorite tools or technical questions about your work. A "consultation hour" on your specialist area, which you offer regularly and which is clearly aimed at your intended target group, would be narrower in terms of topic.

You can collect suitable questions in advance by asking your social media followers or the readers of your newsletter. Or you can think about what you are frequently asked in general and which questions you would like to answer. Especially at the beginning, you can't assume that you will have a large and active live audience. If no further questions come in during the stream, you will still have material.

Website clinic

As a developer or web designer, you could offer a "website clinic": This is where you give feedback on a specific page. Here, too, you could specify the websites in advance or ask your followers for examples. This gives you the chance to take a closer look at the site so that you have something meaningful to say.

Invite exciting people

For example, someone from your circle of colleagues. Create a rough outline of possible topics in advance. Perhaps you pick a main topic that you want to talk about first and foremost. Ideally, you should start with someone you already know well and with whom you usually talk. Then it will be easy and relaxed. Set a rough time frame and get started.

Free live webinar

For example, you have prepared a presentation and answer questions from the audience. You could even record your actual webinar in advance and simply play it back at the live event. You would then only be live for the Q&A session afterwards.

At the same time, as is often the case, there is no guarantee that your efforts will pay off. But if you start with livestream marketing, then try to offer it regularly and over a longer period of time. This is the only way to gain experience. In addition, word must first get around that you are broadcasting and that people can interact with you. So you need patience.

Admittedly: It's easier said than done. Especially as a freelancer, you still have to deal with other "little things", such as your customer projects. Logically, these come first. But if you don't make a concrete plan, the topic of livestreaming will quickly fall by the wayside.

In my opinion, the right concept is what suits you, what your target group finds interesting and useful and what helps you with your positioning.

Livestream marketing step by step

If you don't have any experience with livestreams yet, you should do this first. The motto is: get started first and then improve over time ("learning by doing"). These livestreams do not have to appear immediately under the name of your company. Instead, you can try them out privately to reduce the pressure to succeed.

If it suits you and the brand well, you can of course start immediately under the actual name. You should just assume that the first few (dozen) livestreams won't be particularly good. After all, being in front of the camera is already unusual and challenging enough for many people. Doing it in front of an audience is one step more exciting.

The challenge for you is not just that people might watch you when things aren't going so smoothly. Above all, you have to keep an eye on a number of things: Your viewers will react, give feedback and ask questions. You may have a guest in your virtual studio who you also want to let have their say. And then always keep in mind the question of whether the stream is actually still running or whether the image has just frozen ...

My two tips to reduce such problems:

• Don't take on so much at once.
• Plan ahead as well as possible and record what you need to do and want to say.

This should help you get started right away. Over time, you will develop routines. Perhaps you have a checklist ready so that you think of everything. Or even better: you don't do the livestream alone, but someone supports you in the background, for example by keeping an eye on the comments.

The right platform

As mentioned at the beginning, there are a number of ways to go live. Which platform suits you and your idea best is a very individual matter. The question is primarily answered by where your target group usually spends time and where they are interested in hearing from you in this form.

• Facebook can offer itself. The livestream function is available for both private individuals and Facebook Pages. You can set the date in advance and thus announce it.
• YouTube, on the other hand, is particularly suitable if you want to provide open access to your livestream, as people can watch it here without logging in. You can embed your livestreams on your website before, during and after, just like any other YouTube video. They will also end up in the video list of your YouTube channel and can also be found via search.
• LinkedIn is certainly also a good idea, as you can reach a business audience here. However, the live function is not automatically available to all profiles and pages. You can find more information here.

Other offers such as Instagram Live or Twitch are particularly interesting if you are already active there anyway. Or if it suits your target group particularly well.

The right software

You don't need any special software to get started. You simply use the built-in function in the platform of your choice. It's only when you want to do and achieve more that additional programs and services come into play. This could be something like Ecamm Live or OBS Studio that you install on your computer. Or you can use an online service like StreamYard or Melon.

With the help of these tools, you can make your livestreams better and more interesting and broadcast them on more than one platform at the same time. It also makes it easier for you to invite guests and integrate other content: For example, you can share your screen or play a video. Depending on the platform, you can also use more than one camera so that you can switch between different perspectives.

The right equipment

As with the software, the hardware is similar: you don't actually need any special equipment to get started. Your smartphone or the webcam in your laptop will suffice. If you want to take the next step, there are a few recommended options.

I would like to add a note on the subject of cameras: High-quality models have a nice image quality and are more flexible to use than the built-in webcam in your laptop. But you need to research well in advance to what extent they can be used for live streams. Some cameras offer this function as standard. Then all you have to do is connect it to your computer, for example via USB. With others, you may need additional hardware such as an HDMI-USB adapter.

However, there are other pitfalls here, such as the USB generation on your computer being too old. A fundamental problem can also be that the image arrives at the computer with a slight delay, which means that it may no longer be synchronized with the sound.

In short: a high-quality external webcam or a modern smartphone are probably the better choice, especially for beginners. Both solutions work very easily with live streaming services.

Livestreaming examples

Due to the ephemeral nature of the format, examples of live streams are not so easy to find. This is most likely to be the case when YouTube is used because, as mentioned above, the streams are easy to find afterwards.

The following is a useful and likeable example from Perspective. The team shows via livestream how to use the service for a specific application. This is less efficient than the typical how-to videos. However, it is easier to understand, precisely because it is not perfect and more in line with the user community's train of thought. Anyone who was there live could of course ask questions:

Another example comes from vidIQ. In this case, viewers were able to have their YouTube channel assessed live by the experts in the livestream and receive tips on how to improve it:

Livestreams can be a great addition to your own marketing activities. As described, they have some disadvantages, but also some special features - such as interaction with your viewers. As the technical hurdles are so low, they are also quite easy to try out.

In this respect, the most important thing is to have a good idea and then take the time to implement it. I look forward to seeing your own examples of livestream marketing in the comments.