You’ve been podcasting for a while. You’ve got a good amount of episodes in your Blubrry.com hosted catalog. You’ve got a great group of loyal fans. Most importantly, you’ve created a brand people are connecting with. Now what? How do you keep your listeners engaged? How do you spice up your content? How do you attract new listeners and make them take that additional step to like and subscribe? It might be time to consider adding some lights, camera and action by doing a livestream episode of your show.
One of the most important things in retaining your podcast audience is engagement. Your audience wants to feel like they’re part of the show. Not only will engaging with your audience by adding a video version of your show satisfy your loyal fans, doing a livestream on platforms like Twitter, Twitch or YouTube can also boost the visibility of your show for the Google algorithm search gods.
You may be thinking, “I only have a handful of listeners,” or, “I podcast because I don’t like being on camera,” or, “I’m not technically savvy enough to figure out how to livestream.” Let’s address some ways to overcome these common concerns and accomplish what’s most important about doing a livestream — connecting with your audience on a deeper level.
Audience Size
It truly doesn’t matter if you have five listeners or 500,000. Your fans WANT to be part of your show. They’re already on board for the inside jokes, your content, and your unique point of view. They want to see your reactions and maybe even your cool (even if it’s in a closet) studio!
For shows with a large following, set up a livestream as a special incentive, part of an offering for your Patreon subscribers, or even a platform to give out prizes from your sponsors. Maybe you’ve finally landed that guest you’ve been trying to get for months or maybe you have a big announcement that you want to make sure all your listeners know about. No matter the event, using a livestream as a reward, or promoted as, “exclusive behind the scenes content,” is incredibly effective for creating buzz around your show.
Shows with smaller followings can’t go wrong with live-streaming a show. If the goal is to grow your show, you want to create as many opportunities for people to find your content. The more variations on how your content is consumed or discovered, the better. You can also take clips from the livestream show and use those as promotional tools on your social media profiles.
The results your show can get from a livestream proves that size truly does not matter!
Camera Shy to Camera Sly
While there is no magic bullet for overcoming this aversion, there are things to consider if being on camera makes you want to run for cover. First and foremost, your fans already like you — they are rooting for you. They want to see all the ways you are reacting and having fun while you are doing your show.
Start where you are comfortable. Just turning on the camera while you record is a great place to start. Gradually welcome questions from your audience. You can branch out as far, or as near, as you feel comfortable, knowing that your show will reap the rewards from video engagement.
Think you come off as awkward and weird? Embrace it. Name it while you’re feeling it and know you are not alone in feeling this way. The more you can own how you’re feeling in the moment, the more relatable you become to your audience. Perhaps seeing you squirm and carry on will give other people the courage to do the same.
Take Me to the River…side
Livestreaming today has never been easier. If you have a computer or a smartphone, along with your podcasting setup, you have all the equipment you need to start.
Once your equipment is ready to roll, to record and broadcast a livestream, the only other thing you need is Riverside.fm. This platform is virtually plug and play. Set up your session on Riverside.fm, send out the invites to your guests, and everyone is up and running with one click.
If you want the option to edit your content before it’s posted instead of livestreaming, Riverside.fm has you covered. After you record a show, you can automatically download the participants’ individual video and audio files, creating a much higher quality content. You can post the content wherever you’d like.
If you’re already in for the livestream life, Riverside.fm has subscription options that with just a few clicks, can get your show up and running on the platform of your choice. You can livestream to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and even a custom RTMP link — all at the same time if you want! You can even edit the material using their Magic Editor. We also have a discount code for you to get started.
We can’t wait to SEE your show soon!
Written by: Tara Jean O’Brien
Tara Jean O’Brien has been a writer, actor, improviser, podcaster, and stand-up for nearly 800 years. When not producing, editing, and hosting her podcast, Single Vs. Married, or co-hosting, Cinema Craptaculus Presents: B-sides, she also writers on Medium and recently found a floor safe hidden in her coat closet.