How To Use Livestreaming to Grow An Audience

It seems livestreaming is here to stay, and as the phenomenon continues to grow in popularity, it's becoming a useful way for bands and artists to grow their audience. Here we look at some livestreaming techniques musicians can use to expand their fanbase.____________________________Guest Post from The New Rockstar PhilosophyI have been impressed by how culturally relevant live streaming has become. Facebook is doubling down on live streaming, YouTube, Twitter, and more are all pushing, or starting to push users to broadcast themselves more often.So it’s safe to say that live streaming is not a fad. It’s a thing. A thing that will only grow. And the amazing thing is that with live streaming you can play gigs at home and broadcast it to the world. Talk about efficient. So with that we turn to look at a study our friends at Audiokite have recently completed. They’ve created live streaming play book for musicians. This is what they’ve found:1) Music trumps all.three of the top four rated broadcast activities all relate to playing music for both consumers and creators, with “original songs” as the favorite activity for both sides.2) Let your personality shine through.the best musician broadcasters are: consistent, flexible, comfortable with mobile, creative, interactive, personable, and above all else, authentic.3) Be spontaneous…Fans are excited by the “realness” of live streaming and musicians should take advantage of this unique aspect by responding and reacting to the audience’s vibe as appropriate.4) …but have some general structure to your broadcasts.To keep the audience engaged throughout a live stream, musicians should have a broad plan for each broadcast, while always leaving room for impromptu activities and interactions.5) Audience interaction can be a fickle beast.the vast majority of viewers do not intend to directly participate in broadcasts, and so these types of activities (audience interaction) are of less interest to them.

6) But participation comes in all shapes and sizes.Around 70% of viewers on YouNow participate in broadcasts in some manner… recognize the need to treat fans individually based on their preferred methods of engaging.7) Live streaming is the new backstage meet-and-greet.nearly everyone loves being recognized by his or her favorite musician…Musicians should take every opportunity to personalize interactions with broadcast viewers.8) Integrate calls-to-action.A teen pop singer released his newest single on iTunes, he held a YouNow broadcast in which he prompted his fans to buy the track. tracked the purchases in real-time and gave live shout-outs to all those supporters. Musicians should look at ways to integrate community actions like this, whether it’s to increase YouNow channel subscribers, vote on their favorite song, or download a new track.