For those of you not familiar, ustreamt.tv is a free service that allows you broadcast video and interact with an audience, all live. To get started, all you need is a webcam (or a traditional video camera attached to your computer) and a broadband Internet connection.
Optionally, you can use webcam software to spice things up. For Mac users, CamTwist is what you want. For Windows users, you’ll want WebcamMax (note: Mac users are the clear winners in this department).
And just so I’ve covered all the bases, there are additional live streaming services beyond ustream.tv. These include stickam.com, operator11.com and justin.tv.
But the question is, are these services a good marketing tools for your business? Well, the answer depends on what you’re doing online. I know, not the direct answer you wanted, so let me explain.
First, live video services are intended to be watched by a live audience. They are not meant for pre-recorded video. And that’s an important point. Actually, a critical point.
Say for example, you’re giving a real estate training seminar at a hotel conference room. People are attending it in person, but you also want to provide a live feed on the Internet. You’ll only be doing this seminar one time…one day only. Broadcasting it live is good marketing use of the service.
But by comparison, let’s say you offer a weekly or monthly newsletter to your audience (that you usually do by e-mail) and now you want to broadcast a live video to them instead. Not a good idea. With a format like this, your audience is already used to perusing your newsletter at their convenience. Now they have to watch it live…at a specific time…or watch the recorded version of it. Either way, they’ll be forced to watch everything, instead of just skipping to the parts they want (like in an e-mail). Forget the novelty of your live video; in short order, your audience will be asking for the original e-mail format back.
Which leads to another point. People, by and large, prefer video they can watch at their convenience. That means, by and large, in most applications, that pre-recorded video rules over live video. And with pre-recorded video, you can perform EDITS to make the video very slick and professional.
Yes, you can offer recordings of your original “live video” to your audience…but the difference between a recording of a “live video” and one that was pre-recorded and edited…is night and day. Very few shows on TV (expect sports) are broadcast live. Remember, there’s a reason for this.
But what if you want to play around with live broadcasting nonetheless, just to see what happens?
That’s fine. Just remember that you’ll want to keep your live video to just one topic (if it’s just you being a talking head). For example, if I were doing a live video on the secrets of QuickTime, that’s all I’d talk about…the secrets of QuickTime. I wouldn’t cover Flash, I wouldn’t cover Silverlight…just QuickTime and it’s secrets.
Another option that works well is the “talk show format”. This is where you act as a host and interview people. You can even have a co-host or a group of co-hosts where you discuss a topic. But keep it moving and make sure there is chemistry between everyone…or at least some magnetic personalities.
And other option is the “ask the expert” format. This is where, at a scheduled time each week, you host a show where people can tune in and ask you questions live. As long as you’re an expert in something (stock trading, gardening, whatever), this is a format you can easily pull off. Plus, your audience provides all the “content” for you, in the form of their questions.
If you’re noticing a pattern here, you’re right…much of what I’ve mentioned has long been done on TV (and even radio). Why? Because it works. Live video on the web isn’t that different.
The problem is when people treat it as a novelty. It’s not. Remember, live video is meant to be watched live…it’s meant to generate interaction, where the entire audience benefits. If your format doesn’t offer that, then it’s better to stick with pre-recorded video.
Hey Dave.
You make excellent points. “Live” video is something a lot of people in the “real world” of video production like to avoid because of the possibility of embarrassing, impossible-to-correct mistakes. Oh, for want of the delete button!
Research always shows however that the audience generally gets more excited when the video is “live” because they think if it’s live, it must be exciting! This, of course, is not always true. But TV likes to exploit the audience’s perception of LIVE so you have local news stations going everywhere LIVE. We in the business called it “gratuitous live shots.” Live shots done as live shots ONLY for the promotability factor. Next time you see a reporter say, “I’m standing here where JUST MOMENTS AGO, something happened.” then you know it is a gratuitous live shot done just so they can scream, “IT’S LIVE TV FOLKS!”
That’s when you just cross your fingers and hope that someone doesn’t yank down their pants or flip you the bird while you are LIVE!