Below are some ideas to add some excitement and variety to your livestreaming. We're hoping they help you vary the kinds of streaming you do so that your engagement continues, and your viewers get to know who you and/or your business are in the process. Whether you livestream for personal or business reasons, these can be used to expand your standard live streaming repertoire.
Behind the Scenes
Like it or not, it's human nature to be nosy. We get a thrill out of knowing what is going on in other people's lives. Why? Who knows. Maybe it makes us feel less alone in our own experience. Why else would reality TV shows be such a hit? Aside from the drama, there's something to be said for getting to know the ins and outs of other people's lives that makes us feel more connected.
So give the people what they want! Offer them a sneak peak of what goes on behind the scenes of your life or business and you'll stand to benefit in more ways than one. Even if you're a tad uncomfortable doing it, the behind the scenes streams will create a different kind of authentic connection for you and your audience and it should be well worth it in the end.
There are a number of different ways you can run a behind the scenes live stream. Here are some:
- Conduct impromptu interviews with employees.
- Live stream coffee or lunch breaks with staff or nearby friends.
- Show your viewers the day-to-day activities at your office or home.
- Walk around the neighborhood and show them where your office is located and what's around it.
"Behind the scenes live streams lead to huge levels of engagement." Says Neil Patel, growth hacker extraordinaire.
Q & A
Invite an expert and do a question and answer or ask me anything format! Make sure to market the show via your newsletter or social media channels well in advance in order to build some awareness ahead of time. Doing this kind of a show with an industry expert will help to position you as a thought leader because you're driving valuable information to your viewers.
It might also draw more people in to listen because that industry expert likely has a following on his or her own. Make sure to ask them to promote or share the event ahead of time, too. Additionally, make sure you prepare well thought out questions beforehand, and focus on your viewer's pain points. Cover a specific topic that you know will interest them so that they can gain value from the live stream. They will love you for it.
How-To or Tutorials
If you're looking to shake things up, show your viewers how to implement whatever it is that you're teaching/selling them. Do a demonstration. Perhaps a QVC-like demo of your product. And make sure to give your viewers a chance to ask you questions in real-time.
Alternatively, you can invite a viewer to your stream to have them join you while you do that demo. This would provide for an interesting and fun way to show how you interact with others, and how they're responding to what you're showing them.
Repurpose Existing Content
You don't have to create something entirely new to bring something valuable or interesting to the table. An alternative approach would be to take what you have (perhaps it's a blog post you wrote a little while back?) and repurposing it as the topic of your live stream. This way, you can reuse the imagery and text, even the discussion topics, as complementary to your live stream.
Raise Money for a Charity
Raising money for a good cause is usually a win win for multiple reasons. For one, it feels good to help people out, to stand behind something that matters. It's also the kind of thing that encourages others to do the same. So, think about a cause that is dear to you and drum up some support by raising donations through a live stream.
Other fun and creative livestreaming ideas include:
- A spontaneous unplanned livestream
- Discussing a popular trend
- Live events like a concert or a class (why not bake a cake for all to see?)
- A discussion on "Things you wish you knew" when you were younger.**
At the end of the day, take a risk and try out something new. Repetition serves it's purpose and creates a sense of consistency and reliability, but mixing it up by varying what you do and offer your viewers can bring a much needed change here and there, too. We highly recommend giving some of these a try.
