If you have ever thought about getting started with live streaming this is the perfect podcast episode for you. 
Even more seasoned live streamers can pick up some pointers in this ultimate beginners guide to live streaming.
I’m super excited to bring this episode to you because we’re going to be talking about live streaming and we'll cover everything you can imagine that will help you make a great live stream.
Since this is a podcast, let me start off by saying that if I had to choose between live streaming and podcasting, I would be really hard pressed to come up with my favorite. But the good thing about that is that I've got tips and tricks that I use to combine those two content mediums, and I'll be sharing those with you in this episode.
Benefits of Live Streaming
One of the biggest benefits of live streaming is the engagement and all of the feedback that you can get from your audience in real-time.There’s also the added benefit of the longevity of the replay and one of the things that you can do with every play is convert it into an episode for your podcast.
I started a series on YouTube called “Learn to Live Stream with Ms. Ileane” and in one of the videos from this series, you’ll see the how you can easily convert the replays of your live video recordings right into an .mp3 file you can use for your podcast. It is a great way to be super productive and get the most out of your content.
How to Turn Your Live Streams into Your Podcast
Live Streaming on YouTube
You'll hear a clip from Nick Nimmin, who is one of my favorite YouTubers. I happened to catch his broadcast the other day. No I take that back. I should say, I know I could catch Nick's live stream because he consistently goes live every Saturday morning. He's started doing this months ago! His subscribers know that he does live Q&A's and YouTube Channel reviews each week. Most people might think that viewership would be down on a Saturday but because he continues to provide value and gives his audience what they want he has hundreds of people watching live and thousands watching the replays: YouTube Tips and Advice | Subscriber Hangout.
YouTube also has a unique draw for content creators. It's called Superchat. Here's an example.
Watch this video if you want to learn how you can make money on YouTube with SuperChat.
Importance of Internet Upload Speed Test
Before we go any further into other live streaming tools and platforms, let's take a minute to talk about the importance of your internet speed. I think I got so excited about YouTube SuperChat that I jumped the gun. Because the very first thing you need to do is run a speed test to be sure you have a powerful connection and that you have enough data to upload your stream to the internet. You can find out by going to Google and search for “speed test”. Hat tip to David Foster from Geeks Life who mentioned this in one of his live streams. 
Hopefully you have at least 3 – 4 Mbps upload speed or you might want to upgrade your plan. I'm using FiOS and my upload speeds are pretty high, so I'm good to go.
Facebook Live
Say hello to the 500-pound gorilla in the room. That’s right I’m talking about Facebook Live. As much as I love YouTube you just can’t deny Facebook because of the 2,000,000,000+ active users who are on the platform. And if you want to reach them, and you want to be able to target them in very specific ways Facebook and Facebook live is the way to go. However you might want to use one of the 3rd party apps that are available to improve the quality of your broadcast. Here are a few to try:
- Belive.tv
- EcammLive
- SwitcherGo (tutorial)
Instagram Live and Twitter #GoLive
If you have a following on Instagram you will certainly want to go live over there. They don't have any 3rd party apps (yet) but you can download the video when you're done or you can record it during the stream so you can capture all of the hearts and comments. Your replay can be watched by your followers for 24 hours.
Twitter and Periscope are also apps that you can use for live streaming.
I hope you get a chance to see how you can build a loyal following with your live streaming efforts. I'm sure you'll also end up having a lot of fun.
Happy streaming and before I go, here one more video: 5 Live Streaming Apps for iPhone and Android
If you have a question for me or want to be featured on the podcast, you have two options:
- Call-in to my station over on Anchor.fm or
- Use my handy SpeakPipe page to record your question in a voicemail.
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