How to Choose a Streaming Platform

 

The advancement in technology has led to many online streaming platforms. More companies develop their streaming platforms due to the increasing demand for streaming services. Today, there is no shortage of streaming platforms. The only challenge is now choosing the right platform.Picking the right streaming platform is not just about signing up and going live. It requires you to take your time and consider what you want, both short-term and long-term goals. You also need to consider the features you want in a streaming platform that will help you achieve those goals. To help you choose the right streaming platform, I have explained a step-by-step procedure in this article to help guide you through.

Identify your Core Target Audience

The most important thing in live streaming is knowing who you create content for. That is the biggest secret to successful streaming. This is important in every step of your marketing. You’ll need to decide whether to buy TikTok views or to focus your efforts on YouTube instead. That is because knowing them will help you understand what they want, the problem they want to solve, and the challenges they have gone through. Knowing your audience has a deeper meaning than just cauterizing them based on gender and age groups.

Understanding your audience on a deeper level will guide you to ensure you create content that is within their interest. Once you know what they want, that will guide you to choosing a streaming platform that will help achieve those goals. The audience usually loves watching quality videos, not those they strain to manage when it comes to video streaming. They love an obvious video with a good sound system that aligns with the video being displayed. Not all streaming platforms will help you achieve what your audience want; that is why it is essential to analyze them one by one until you get the right one.

To help you identify your core target audience, there are questions you must ask yourself to help you uncover who they are. Some of those questions include:

• What are the secondary issues or challenges?
• What solutions have the audience tried?
• How have those solutions failed?
• What major problem is my audience trying to solve?
• What emotions do they associate with experiencing these challenges?
• What do they expect from a solution?

Apart from just discovering the problem that the audience goes through and finding their solutions, you also need to have it in your mind that there are other things the audience also looks for in streaming services. Apart from finding solutions to their problems, they also want to be entertained or discover moves about certain things or products. That means you also don’t need to limit your streaming or be too official. Instead, find a platform that will also offer entertainment and other things.

Define Your Goal 

Knowing what you want to achieve will always drive you to work harder. It is just like starting a journey without knowing your destination. There is nothing that pushes you to go faster. Working without a goal will always make you produce substandard services to your customers.

Once you have identified your audience and what they want, you need to define the goals that will help you cater to the audience. Defining your goals is not as complicated as some may think. Answers to the audience identification question will help you know what they want from streaming services, which can form a foundation for defining your goals.

By defining your goals, you also add structure to your audience engagement which is another secret for successful streaming. Another thing that will also help you determine your goals is knowing what stage your audience is in your funnel. Whether they are at the top of the funnel, middle of the funnel, or at the bottom of the funnel, each funnel level has its activities that should be engaged in.

Research Your Competitors

Streaming, just like any other business, faces a lot of competition. You have to give the best to be ahead of your competitors. Most business people always think negatively about their competitors, not knowing it contributes to your success, especially if you are a beginner. Doing enough research about your competitors will help you choose the best streaming platform to drive you towards achieving your set goals.

Once you have decided to explore the world of online streaming, create a table of your top five competitors. Some of the things you need to search about your competitors include the following:

• Identify their platforms-Check which platforms they broadcast through. Knowing which platform gets the most viewers can help you identify a platform where your audience thrives
• Find out What types of Livestream they produce– Knowing what type of live streams your competitors make is essential. It will help you discover other important topics you may want to explore. It will also show you how your funnel is growing.
• Research their monetization strategies-Monetization is one of the live streaming-specific features. There are several ways of generating income through live streaming. Identifying which method works best for your competitors will also guide you to choose the suitable means.
• Research their promotion channels-Promotion involves how your competition drives more viewers into their live streaming. To go about this, research their marketing strategy and look at how they are promoting their live event. Check through social media and YouTube platforms. You can also check their websites and other promotional channels. That will also give a hint on how you should promote your stream and the methods to use to drive in more viewers.

Align your Goals with the Features you need

It’s now the best time to find features to help you achieve your goals. Live streaming comes with different functionalities, and therefore you will be required to have a list of features you will need. Below is a comprehensive list that can guide you.

• Video content management system
• Live video monetization options.
• Auto-record to VOD with monetization and distribution
• Global payment processing
• Go-live notifications
• A brand streaming platform
• A fully customizable website
• Pre-registration pages
• Live chat engagement tools.

Conclusion

Getting the best live streaming platform is beyond just signing in and going live. To ensure you get the best streaming platform, you need to know who your audience is, what they want, and who they are. That will help you get a platform that drives you towards achieving your goals and those of your audience.