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YouTube - Best Practices - Live Stream & Premieres

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Whether it's streaming a live event, hosting a workshop or teaching a masterclass, YouTube Live is a great way for creators to reach and engage with fans in real-time. We'll run through some of the best practices for YouTube Live, leaving you with all the information you might need to start your creative journey.

 

INITIAL SETUP

The first step is to ensure that you have the technical aspects of the stream sorted. This will include making sure that your network connection is sufficient, ensuring you have the correct software needed and you have made your hardware selection choice.

NETWORK

You'll want to make sure you have a good upload bandwidth by testing your network. This should be done multiple times to ensure a consistent range. On average, you'll need the following upload speed for the definition: Standard = 3 Mbps  |  720p/1080p = 5-10 Mbps  |  4K UHD = 25 Mbps

SOFTWARE

This choice totally depends on your needs and what you want to achieve with your Live Stream. There are many types of encoders so make sure you evaluate the products and decide which options best suits your needs.

HARDWARE

What device will you be recordings your stream? As with software, this will depend on your own needs for your streams. Webcam is an easy option to go live using your computer without the need for encoding software although options are limited in regards to what you can do with your stream. Mobile devices offer you quick and easy live streams anywhere, anyplace (network dependant) as well as easy setup, however again, limited options in regards to production. Streaming with an encoder takes more setup and involves additional software however you have the most options in regards to production such as multiple cameras and external audio/video.

You can find more detailed YouTube Live setup tips at the following link:

YOUTUBE LIVE SETUP TIPS

 

PLAN, PREPARE & PROMOTE

It is important to have a well thought out plan of how and what you are going to stream, as well as making sure your audience is ready for it and you fulfil the potential of the stream with proper promotion.

PLAN

You want to consider YouTube Live when setting up your plan/timeline for your release and make sure that you have a strategy around how and when you will incorporate Live onto your channel. Here are a few tips on optimising a Live moment on YouTube:

  • Schedule your live stream in advance of your stream date
  • Consistently tease your event with custom posts on social media and the community tab
      • To unlock the community tab, you will need 1,000 subscribers
  • Remind viewers to hit the 'set reminder' bell
  • After your stream, consider creating a highlight video to drive core audiences to the full archived live stream

PREPARE

You can ease the introduction of Live onto your channel by anticipating how fans may react to the new format.

  • COMMUNICATE
    With any change in upload schedule or format, communicate your upcoming shift to your audience and set their expectations for what type of content they will see, and when they can tune in to get it!
  • ENGAGE
    Think of your live content as a way to deepen your connection with your core community, while using video on demand or live highlights to capture a broader audience. 
  • CREATE SPACE
    You may want to avoid overwhelming your audience with uploads by spacing out your VODs and streams. If you plan on keeping your archive public, consider waiting to post your next video.

PROMOTE

Promoting your Livestream can help you attract a larger audience. There are lots of things you can do before, during and after the event that will help increase your audience.

BEFORE

  • Create a channel trailer or teaser video to help promote the event.
  • Share your streaming link at least 48 hours before you go live.
  • Connect your social media accounts to your channel for easy sharing.
  • Embed the URL on your website and send the links to blogs that may want to display your content.
  • Create a Live section to display upcoming and live events on your channel.
  • Add an associated website. This will help us to improve the quality of search results and verify your channel as the official representation of your brand on YouTube.
  • Apply optimisation techniques to your channel and videos.

DURING

  • Create highlight clips of the event while it's still live.
      • Note: Subscribers may be notified of your public events in their homepage feed.
      • Note: Subscribers will see the live stream appear in the What to watch next area.
  • You can also update your banner image to include the event name, date and time.

AFTER

  • Post an archive of the live event soon after completion.
  • Organise the archive and highlight clips into playlists.

 

LIVE CHAT

Once your stream is Live you can still engage with your community, deepening the connection with your fans and making them feel part of your community. Engaging in Live Chat can give your fans a reason to tune in to your stream as well as allowing you to moderate the chat, identify likes/dislikes and speak directly to your audience. This is dependent on the event itself of course, but most of the best practices below can be tailored to your own needs.

  • Have an ongoing conversation with viewers while your stream is happening
  • Keep a temperature check on chat and verbalise their sentiment
  • Capitalise on in-stream jokes and funny moments, answer questions

Super Chat and Super Stickers are ways to monetise your channel through the YouTube Partner Programme. These features let your viewers purchase chat messages that stand out and sometimes pin them to the top of a chat feed. Learn more about eligibility and how you can turn on this feature.

 

PREMIERES

Premieres are a great feature that will help you build hype around your upcoming track or release by letting you join fans to watch your newest video in real-time, whilst engaging within your community.

Here are a few features that Premieres offer before, during and after the premiere:

BEFORE

Viewers can set reminders for premieres. Encourage them to set a reminder on the watch page with a pinned comment or in the description. You can also remind them through chat.

  • A public watch page is created. The video will eventually premiere on this watch page.
  • Viewers who choose to receive notifications [graphic] get a tune-in notification around 30 minutes before the start of your premiere. A second notification is sent at the start, letting viewers know that the premiere is starting. Learn more about managing notifications.
  • You can interact with your audience in comments and live chat. You can also interact in Super Chat when it's turned on.

DURING

  • A countdown will be shown during the first two minutes of the premiere. When the countdown is over, viewers watch the video together in real-time.
  • Viewers can't fast forward, but they can rewind during the stream.
  • The concurrent viewers count shows the number of viewers watching.
  • You can interact with your audience in comments and live chat. You can also interact in Super Chat when it's turned on.

AFTER

  • The video remains on your channel as a regular upload
  • Chat replay is available for viewers who want to experience the premiere chat after it has ended. You can turn off chat at any time.
  • After the premiere, the countdown won't be included in your video.

PREMIERE WATCH PAGE

Once a premiere is scheduled, a sharable public URL is created for your Watch Page. This page displays all relevant information such as title, description and thumbnail. This URL will eventually be where your video will be premiered and fans can start to interact with the Watch Page before and during the event through chats and comments. You should promote your Watch Page to encourage this following these useful tips:

  • Have clear metadata about the video.
  • Make a custom thumbnail. This thumbnail is the main image that viewers see when they visit the watch page.
      • We recommend that your custom thumbnails:
      • Have a resolution of 1280x720 (minimum width of 640 pixels).
      • Be uploaded in image formats such as JPG, GIF or PNG.
      • Remain under the 2 MB limit.
      • Try to use a 16:9 aspect ratio, as it's the most used in YouTube players and previews.
  • Tease the video. Share the watch page URL in a community post (to unlock community posts, your channel needs to have at least 1,000 subscribers) or on social networks. Be sure to ask fans to click 'set reminder' to make sure that they are notified when the premiere starts. Learn how to create a community post.
  • Make an appearance. Let the viewers know in the comments if you'll be there during the premiere to chat.

 

LIVE REDIRECT

A great new feature on YouTube is the use of Live Redirect. Using this feature, you can host a live stream before your Premiere and once you end the Live Stream, your viewers will be automatically redirected to your Premiere. The stream will end and then your Premiere will autoplay.

This would work brilliantly with an album or single launch regardless of the type of stream, be it Q&A, Live Set or anything in-between, as it gives your fans a way of engaging with you and interacting with the whole release day vibe. Here are some handy tips on Live Redirect from YouTube:

  • Set up your Premiere before setting up your live stream.
  • Remember to tell your audience that when the live stream ends, wait for ~2 seconds for their screens to reload to the Premiere.
  • Pin a live chat message on your Premiere watch page that directs viewers to your live stream.

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