2020 has been a whirlwind, but it’s time to fully embrace the new event landscape, gain back your revenue and host high-quality live streams that will put basic streaming experiences to shame. Facebook Live, YouTube and Zoom are all easy options to get a quick live stream up and running, but if you want to produce streams that really wow attendees, you’ll need to partner with a complete virtual events solution. 

Read on for our detailed guide on how to host high-quality live streams. 

Find a Virtual Events Solution

The right virtual events solution will help you elevate your stream into an unforgettable experience your attendees will relish as much as your in-person events. Look for a solution that has the following features:

• Monetization opportunities: Sell access to all your virtual experiences, sell merchandise within your stream and create a virtual tip jar so attendees can show their support.
• Access control: Secure your live streams with unique access codes and have control over who enters your online experience.
• Engagement capabilities: Incorporate community features during your stream, like live chats, watch parties, interactive waiting rooms, meet and greets, and real-time polls.
• Sponsorship placements: Offer pre- and post-session sponsored videos, in-stream banner ads, branded games, exclusive prizes and more.

Sell Secure Access

While registering for your live stream on your website gets the job done, having a dedicated event page where customers can buy access will transform the purchase process, and in turn give you a new source of revenue. Build a page that’s fully branded to your event, offers a seamless purchase process, and gives you the ability to upsell merch and VIP experiences. 

After a purchase is made, more simplistic platforms will gate online content by sending a password or a link to enter the event, but what’s stopping people from sharing that around? Instead, use unique access codes that are individually assigned to customers immediately after their purchase. These codes not only ensure that only those who bought tickets can attend your event, they enable you to track who attends your live stream. 

Create Live and Pre-Recorded Content

What sets apart the content shown in a basic live stream versus a high-quality one? Using both live and pre-recorded videos! By taking advantage of both types of footage, you’ll deliver a variety of compelling content attendees won’t be able to take their eyes off of. Feature your sponsors early by starting out with sponsored videos and a prepared intro video, then move into a live feed of the host welcoming your attendees. Continue to switch between live and pre-shot sessions of your main acts and end with an outro video. This will help keep your stream moving and keep attendees on the edge of their seat wondering what’s coming next. 

Get the Right Equipment

While a phone or computer camera might work for a basic live stream, a high-quality stream requires high-quality equipment. Not only will professional-grade equipment dramatically increase the audio, video and overall production value of your stream, it will also help ensure everything runs smoothly on event day. Here’s a few of our own equipment recommendations: 

Select Your Broadcasting Software

Your broadcasting software is like the gatekeeper to live streaming; without it, you won’t be able to stream. So, it’s essential that you choose one that has a wide variety of features to augment your stream, can be easily integrated with your virtual events solution, and has the flexibility you need to easily incorporate your variety of content. We recommend either OBS Studio, OBS Streamlabs or Streamyard. All three are widely used, high-performing software that offer tons of documentation on how to use each platform to the fullest and a community of users ready to offer best practices they’ve learned along the way. 

Practice With a Soft Launch

Practice makes perfect! Get familiar with your back-end hosting features and do a dry run of event day. This will help you to stay organized behind the scenes, know what the stream looks like to attendees and help your performers understand the flow. 

Maximize Your Post-Stream

Your live stream was a success, but your marketing and engagement efforts don’t need to end just because your stream did. Add custom messaging to your post-event screen and automatically redirect them to a merchandise or sponsor page. Plus, what high-quality online experience would be complete without a recording of your stream as the ultimate event keepsake? You could even continue to sell access to the full recording for those who didn’t attend live to make even more revenue. 

For more information on how Patron Technology can transform your basic live stream into a high-quality virtual experience, contact our team today.

This article was sponsored by Patron Technology.