If your business is live streaming, then you already know the benefits it provides. You also know putting on a live stream takes planning and effort. Once it’s over, though, it’s over. But it doesn’t have to be. If you record your live stream, you can use that content in on-demand video projects designed to grow your business.
The sorts of projects you can do depend on the content and your business. However, marketing is one area every business needs. Once you have your recorded live stream, you can edit the best bits into short videos for online or TV adverts. You can use snippets as teasers on your social media accounts to help build your brand and raise awareness. Or you can offer your website visitors a glimpse into your business with clips from your live stream.
Some businesses might even be able to repackage the video into a product for sale. This particularly true if your content is instructional. For example, a gym might offer live streamed workout classes. They could edit the recordings into a bundle to sell them to customers or offer them as a bonus with membership. Another example is a financial company doing a live stream with questions about investing. That content can be edited and offered as a class to prospective clients or as a standalone product for people who like to manage their own portfolios.
Now that you see the value in recording a live stream, here’s a look at how to do it.
There are a few different ways you can record your live stream. If you’re looking to repurpose your live streaming content, using an encoder offers you the most options and highest quality recorded video. But it isn’t the only option. Let’s take a look at each one in turn.
The first option is a DVR or digital video recorder. These are often included as part of the online video platform (OVP) you are using. It functions the same as a DVR you might have in your home. Viewers can often pause, rewind or fast forward a live stream (fast forward limited by where the video is in real-time). Not every OVP offers the DVR option, and even if they do you may not always have access to the file when the live stream ends. Common uses of DVR are IP cameras used for security or view cams in cities. The quality of the recorded video is often impacted by the compression used in streaming too. So, even if you can access the file from the DVR, your options for repackaging the content are limited by the quality.
Another option is using software to record the live stream from your screen. There are plenty of options available to do this, including one built into Windows 10. Another popular paid option is Snagit by Techsmith. There is an open-source (free) option called CamStudio. These provide the ability to record your stream as it plays on a monitor. While this is easy enough to set up, there are reasons you should be cautious about it.
The maximum video quality is limited by a couple of factors. One is that your display resolution is the maximum resolution the recording can have. Even if your cameras are recording in 4k, if your display is only running at 1080p, then the video will be 1080p. Another factor is the processing resources required to record and encode the video. The process is CPU/GPU intensive so if your computer has trouble keeping up, the resulting video can have errors like stuttering or dropped frames. If you’re using the computer to do other things at the same time, this is more likely to happen.
It’s worth mentioning that recording your own live stream using screen recording can be useful if it suits your requirements. However, using screen recording to capture other people’s live streams to use as your own content violates copyright laws in many countries. There are exceptions for fair use, but you should always check with your solicitor before using content produced by someone else.
Using an encoder to record your live stream is usually the best choice if you plan on repurposing the content. This is because every encoder includes the option to record as well as stream. It usually is just a matter of checking off the option to record in the settings. This can produce a duplicate of your live stream at the same quality you captured it in.
There are software and hardware encoders. Both receive video input from a camera or computer and convert it into a digital signal that’s streamed over the web (that is the process called encoding). The difference is that one is a software program that runs on a computer and the other is a piece of equipment that only does encoding.
In terms of the recording produced, the two are similar. Which one you choose depends on your budget and how complicated your live stream set up is. Software solutions can be found for free. Open Broadcaster Software, or OBS, is open source, powerful, and popular among video game streamers and businesses alike. There are other options like vMix and XSplit that offer free and paid solutions. Depending on the computer you have though, you may need to buy additional components like a video capture card to connect to external cameras. The computer you use should also meet the performance requirements of the software you choose. Hardware encoders can be expensive but don’t require additional purchases. They range from a few hundred pounds into the tens of thousands.
Whichever encoder you choose, you’ll have the freedom to edit and repackage your live streaming content however you wish. Just keep in mind, viewers of on-demand content are less patient than their live viewing counterparts. It’s best practice to trim out the awkward moments, the uncomfortable silences, and technical glitches. But do add in titles, music or other effects to spice up the video in a way that makes it the most entertaining, educational or sales generating.
Now you know why and how to record your live stream. If you have any questions about recording your live stream while using Zidivo, our experts are ready to help you find the best solution for your business.
We probably all have our fingers crossed 2021 will be different than 2020, but there’s little doubt it will be good for video streaming. But will the trends that took off last year continue? Will there be major changes in technology? It’s time to check-in and make some predictions about these and other questions.
To answer the first question, will the trends continue, the answer is a firm yes. Most industry experts expect to see a strong increase in live streaming, even more OTT content, and more live sport. Also, they predict businesses will use, or leverage, user-generated video content to a greater extent than before. While some companies had been doing that already, the sheer amount of it last year proved its value as a way to stay connected with customers.
The full roll-out of 5G won’t be completed until 2022 or later, but the changes coming this year will still affect video streaming. According to the State of Streaming Report by Streaming Media, ‘well over 50% [of respondents] think 5G is going to have a significant impact on their video streaming strategy’. In city centres and around stadiums across Europe and other parts of the world, updates in 5G will bring ‘multi-gigabit speeds over short distances’ (Android Authority). These speeds can further enable live streaming of sport using wireless cameras and the bandwidth load of thousands of fans at the same time. This could open up new opportunities for producing sport streams once production companies adapt to the technology. Still, given 5G is in transition, experts recommend a hybrid approach that uses a 4G failover – just in case. The conclusion the Streaming Media experts made was that the industry needs more education about the 5G capabilities available, so we might not see it used widely until later in the year.
Television networks in the US and across Europe announced their coverage of the Tokyo Olympic Games would rely on ‘heavy’ remote production. It’s a sign that the trend towards using the cloud for production will continue to grow at a fast pace in the coming year. In part, this is due to the uncertainty about travel and access because of the pandemic, but also for business reasons. Remote production often reduces cost and results in more flexibility to meet future demands as they arise.
And it isn’t just big production studios going remote. A study by the International Trade Association for the Broadcast & Media Industry showed that 45% of their respondents had started moving production to the cloud and another 40% planned to do so (SVG Europe). Companies with smaller teams find shifting their production to the cloud allows them to save money and have happier employees working from home rather than travelling (Streaming Media).
As anxious as we all are to get back to normal, quite a few experts suggest that virtual entertainment and conferencing will continue. This makes sense given the uncertainty still surrounding this year and how the pandemic will play out, but when it’s over will people still want to attend events from their home?
Of course, only time will tell, but many conferences planned for this year have already announced they will be virtual or hybrid. For example, look at Toggl’s list of the top 100+ tech conferences across Europe. As you might expect, many in the near future are virtual. Looking farther out in the calendar, you’ll find many are still planning to be virtual or hybrid. One notable example is Latitude59, in Estonia, that happens in May. It’s billed as the ‘flagship startup and tech event’ and normally has over 2500 attendees. Last year they switched things up, running a hybrid event in September. It went so well according to their own report that they intend to keep doing it.
But most of the tech conferences listed after June haven’t updated their information for 2021, so it’s hard to draw any conclusions about whether people will prefer virtual over in-person events. Even before the pandemic, conferences often offered an online option, even if it was just access to the recordings on-demand. It’s likely that more conferences will include some sort of streaming or virtual attendance, but will it replace the in-person experience for most people? We’ll have to wait and see.
What about entertainment? Will music concerts or theatre continue via live streaming rather than in person? It’s likely according to an article in Rolling Stone. But don’t expect to see musicians playing stripped-down versions of their songs from their living room. The Dua Lipa livestream at the end of last November set the bar for how to stream a concert and make a ton of money doing it. Ben Mawson, co-founder and co-CEO of TaP Music told Rolling Stone: ‘Even when touring comes back, I think this will be part of the new model … It’s a new creative form for live’. Like many other areas, live streaming in the music industry was already on the rise before the pandemic and it simply took off faster than it might have otherwise.
Video marketing is a no brainer for most businesses now. Even if they aren’t doing it, they know about it. But when live streaming became the only way to interact with customers, it became even more important than creating traditional videos for marketing. A Restream.io study said half of the businesses weren’t live streaming in 2019 but started in 2020, spurred on by the pandemic. However, 91% of those businesses plan to keep streaming after COVID, and 81% say it will be a social media priority in 2021 (restream.io).
Beyond social media and brand awareness, many companies found livestreams give instant sales boosts. Whether you’re doing a product launch, a live demonstration, or an interview, these generate immediate interest which leads to sales. Now that many businesses realize this, 2021 will see a surge of live stream marketing.
There’s not much certainty in the world right now, but the fact that online video and live streaming, in particular, will continue to dominate the Internet in 2021 is as sure a bet as you can make. The details and timing may differ from what we’ve written above, but the trends have too much momentum to stop now.
Last year, live video in remote working became essential. The technology is one reason so many could do their jobs from home when the pandemic forced both employees and employers to rethink how they work. And it looks as if the shift to remote working is something here to stay. Statistics show that over the previous five years the percentage of people working from home in the UK grew steadily, albeit slowly. But thanks to Covid-19, the percentage of people working from home jumped from 5% in 2019 to 48% in April 2020.
Video conferencing tools helped these remote workers to communicate in real-time with coworkers. These types of live video solutions work well for a limited number of people, but only if schedules align (as with any in-person meeting). There are many factors that impact remote workers that require more flexibility in scheduling and different options for communications. For example, it may not be possible for an employee to work the usual day hours because they have children at home. But they can work in the evenings when the children are asleep. Many other domestic issues can make work schedules asynchronous, even if everyone is in the same time zone.
So, live video meetings may not meet the needs of everyone. Companies embracing the work from home shift are discovering they also need the services of an online video provider to compliment the tools they already have. Here’s a look at how and why these services can help companies ensure their remote workers are engaged and staying productive.
Despite all the effort that goes into deconflicting schedules when planning a meeting, things happen. For one reason or another, one or more people can’t make the scheduled time. But sometimes the meeting needs to happen anyway. The good news is that most video conferencing tools allow you to record meetings. In concept then, there isn’t an issue because the missing person can watch the video later to catch up. Except it’s not that simple.
While conferencing solutions may you record the video, they don’t all provide a platform for sharing the recording later. Meeting hosts often have two choices: Record the meeting to a file locally on their computer or record it to the cloud storage of the vendor. Let’s look at the latter first.
A recording on the cloud sounds like a perfect option, but there are usually size or time limitations on those recordings. And yes, recording this way will cost you extra in most cases. In addition, the meeting’s host is usually the only one who has access to the video. The worker that missed the meeting can’t just click to watch it when they have the time. In many cases, the host can’t share the video but only has the option to download it. Which leads back to the first choice of recording locally.
Whether recorded locally or downloaded after, how does that video file become available to workers who need to see it? Video files can be large, usually too large to share via email. Uploading them to public video sites, even as unlisted videos, puts your internal company information at risk of being discovered.
The solution?
Use an online video provider to upload your meetings and provide a secure on-demand option for employees to watch when their schedule allows.
One of the many issues facing companies with remote workers is supervision. How do you know your workers are actually working? There are some drastic options that require your employees to install software that lets you watch what they are doing. While effective, they don’t do much for employee morale. But when live video meetings between coworkers or managers are recorded, then made available via an online video platform, supervisors can check in discreetly and see how the employees are working during the meeting. If any issues arise, the managers can follow up directly and take whatever action is appropriate.
One drawback of video conferencing is that it doesn’t scale well for large organizations. The most attendees you can have at a meeting is about one thousand, no matter what vendor you’re using. Even then, it requires the most expensive package available to get to that many people. Larger companies needing to conduct a live training or make important announcements to all employees at the same time are limited by this. Using an online video platform, you can live stream to an unlimited number of viewers. Because these services are designed to handle large streaming events, there usually aren’t any extra charges based on the number of viewers. Company-wide events like this can help employees stay connected and feel like part of the organization, even if they are far away.
Having an online video platform as part of your remote working program provides many opportunities for employees to collaborate visually. There are many situations where real-time video isn’t practical. For example, a geographically dispersed workforce may be in opposite time zones. A face-to-face video call isn’t practical. Email is great, but sometimes a brief explanation or demonstration is better. In these cases, an employee could make a short video using their mobile phone or webcam, then upload for on-demand viewing by another employee.
The last few months have shown us that video is critical to a remote worker’s ability to do their jobs. Whether it is planning or collaborating, live real-time video only solves a portion of issues that arise with a distributed workforce. Companies looking ahead are investing in tools that help them manage and deliver video for a variety of use cases from training to employee management. Online video platforms are designed to meet these needs now and in the future.
There’s only one way to look back at 2020, and that’s through the lens of the pandemic. While lockdowns slowed the pace of life for most people, they provided rocket boosters for the streaming industry. It’s safe to say nearly everyone, worldwide, participated in some aspect of video streaming from binge-watching to participating in online meetings or classes.
But it isn’t just that people were streaming more. Trends that had been increasing slowly over the last few years to decades took off at incredible rates. Entire industries shifted to support the increase in streaming or adapted to using it. Let’s look at some of them.
One of the biggest shifts happened in video production. Travel restrictions, lockdowns and self-isolation meant it was near impossible to send a full production team out for events, conferences or TV shows. Suddenly TV hosts with no technical knowledge needed to set up the equipment to live stream from home. Event organisers switched to virtual events, then needed to figure out how to coordinate the remote guests into a single stream for people to watch. For events that remained live, they had to work with just a small video production team (or none) when they usually had tens to a hundred people involved.
Some video production companies had been moving towards remote production setups prior to COVID-19 and were prepared to shift entirely to remote with little trouble. Others discovered how to do it quickly, and the industry as a whole worked to define best practices. This was important because relying on guest presenters or hosts for work that would normally require a camera operator or audio team was problematic. They needed to make the process as simple for them as they could. During the Streaming Media West Conference in September, the panel discussed how this situation led to production workflows that moved most of the work to a remote site where a producer handled the encoding, mixing and even controlled cameras. In these cases, the guest or presenter just needed to physically place the camera, lighting and audio, then the producer, sitting somewhere else (perhaps far away), did all the hard work.
Another side effect of remote production is that viewers became more forgiving about video that might have been considered unprofessional before. For example, people produced videos in kitchens, bedrooms, hallways, and cars instead of a slick studio. People appeared without the full makeup applications they’d normally get prior to appearing on TV. And yes, there was the occasional dog barking, child crying, or strange undefinable noises that sometimes distracted everyone. Though I haven’t found statistics to back it up, I think this more realistic style helped make everyone feel more connected when we weren’t able to be physically with other people.
Once sport could resume, fan-less games behind closed doors survived because people at home could still watch. And they were, and are, willing to pay for the experience. Almost two-thirds say they would pay more than £10 per month to watch live-streamed sport (Sportspromedia). That’s not surprising when 62% say attending a sport in person isn’t
important to them (Statista). Live streaming sport grew by 155% in 2019, and 2020 was supposed to see that trend increase (Insidersport.com). With fans forced to stay away from sport events at all levels, live streaming became one of the primary ways to watch, especially games or events that weren’t already broadcast on TV.
Online education has been around for decades, but it’s always been a small subset of people who used it. That all changed this year when everyone from primary students to business people had to rely on remote learning. Traditional education wasn’t the only area affected. Music lessons, martial arts classes, and clubs all went remote too. Fitness classes were another area that saw massive growth as streaming workouts replaced visits to the gym. One example is yoga and meditation. The number of minutes live-streamed for these types of fitness videos grew by 392% between March and August (uscreen). One local yoga studio live-streamed classes, but also put up over 300 hours of recorded classes accessible with a monthly fee. That is one minor example of how the business of education changed to meet the challenges of 2020. But like sport and video production, it isn’t unexpected. The online fitness industry existed prior to covid and was growing. This past year just accelerated it.
Video marketing is another business tool that has been around for a couple of decades now. This past year, though, many companies found that just creating video wasn’t enough. They needed to connect with their customers in an alternative way given that the in-person experience disappeared, or was modified. In one study half of businesses said they hadn’t streamed at all in 2019, but started in 2020 in response to the pandemic. Live streaming provided them a way to interact and provide that person-to-person experience in a safe manner. It seems to have worked as 73% of those businesses said they plan to increase their live streaming budgets in 2021 (restream.io).
All this increase in streaming must have affected the Internet, right? In the beginning of the lockdowns there was a drop in average speeds of wired connections and an increase in outages. However, an analysis of the Internet worldwide shows that these were temporary and probably because of the ISPs reconfiguring to handle the demand. The final assessment of how the Internet performed is that it “bent [but]…the coronacrisis didn’t break it” and “the state of the Internet is healthy” (diginomica.com).
Last year proved to be a perfect stress test for the Internet and we know now it can handle the increased usage. It’s good to know we have nothing to worry about, at least when it comes to streaming video.
WiFi will always be a desirable and convenient way for us to access the internet, requiring only the device we’re using and no messy wires. Despite WiFi being the newer and shinier way to connect to the internet though, it doesn’t mean its the most reliable and best option for streamers to go for.
Before going live, you should aways consider which type of internet connection is best to go for, depending on your stream’s purpose, professionalism, goals and more. If you’re not live streaming while on the go, why not stick to using a reliable ethernet connection to avoid your stream lagging or cutting out unexpectedly?
The Zidivo team are going to set the record straight on which type of internet connection you should be using and why.
In a nutshell, WiFi refers to wireless internet technology. You don’t need any extra equipment besides the device you plan to stream on whether its your smartphone or laptop, and a WiFi router/hub.
Ethernet connections are simply the opposite; they are wired connections which need an ethernet cable to connect your device to the internet hub. If you plan to connect a number of devices, you will also need crossover cables and a network switch, so there can be a lot more kit involved.
| WiFi | Ethernet | |
| Speed | Fast depending on your router, whether your device can support the speed and your proximity to the router. | Fast with no bandwidth reduction even when far away from the router. |
| Reliability | Signal becomes less reliable the further away you are. | Hugely stable connection, no interference. |
| Security | Less private. WiFi connections can be interfered with if multiple devices are connected to a router. | Highly secure - no one can connect unless they have a cable to do so. |
| Latency | Some latency, dependent on where you in proximity to your router when streaming and how much interference there is. | Little to no latency. |
| Flexibility | No cables - can be connected to from anywhere within range of the router e.g. can connect from different rooms without extra wiring. | Requires wiring from your device to a router and may need a network switch to connect several devices. |
| Setup | Can be easy to setup - will usually need a password. | Quick and easy - simply plug in a cable with no passwords required. Cables are cheap to buy. |
When it comes to the debate on WiFi vs ethernet for streaming, ethernet is arguably a better option for streaming the majority of the time. It provides you with a dedicated connection rather than using a WiFi router that multiple other devices can connect to and interfere with. Ethernet connections require a cable to be directly connected to your device, meaning you don’t have the worry of who else might connect to your router mid-way through your stream and cause it to lag or even cut out.
WiFi may claim to offer high speeds but this doesn’t take into account the potential interference, devices used, proximity to the device and much more - all of which can effect not only the speed but the security of your stream.
When conducting important, professional and pre-organised live streams, whether its on your own site or another persons site, its important to remove as much risk as possible and find the best internet solution. Ethernet connections don’t dip in and out or let you down, unless you are to physically unplug the cable yourself.
For those doing gaming streams or any type of stream for that matter, there’s nothing worse than your stream lagging. The whole point of a live stream is your audience want to watch you in real-time, something that an ethernet connection can always provide. There is little to no latency or ‘lag’ when connected to an ethernet cable, unlike WiFi where there can be delays due to a multitude of factors.
Last but not least, you should always use ethernet connections when you need to ensure complete security of your stream. With ethernet connections only being established directly through a cable, no one can interfere or tamper with your files and everything is kept private.
It may sound like we’re advising you to always use ethernet, but WiFi can also be effective for streaming, just in the right situations.
Think of the accessibility and ease of use that WiFi offers, for example, for live streams where you want to be able to move around or stream on the go, WiFi can be your only option and still do the job just as well. It’s all down to where you are, how powerful your router is, how many others are connected to the router and whether your device is able to support the strength of the connection consistently.
WiFi can be ideal for instances where you want minimal equipment, no wires to tie you down and a flexible connection location wise, it’s just less reliable by nature.
Overall, ethernet does offer streamers a better connection, simply down to the reliability, speed, security and consistency of the connection it can offer. Of course though, ethernet connections aren’t always possible if you want to move around.
Before going live, its always worth testing the speed of both a WiFi and ethernet connection to see which gets the best results. Ultimately, think about the purpose of your live stream, if you want your latency to be non-existent, aim for an ethernet connection, but if you want an animated and dynamic stream, WiFi can be just as effective.
The Zidivo platform supports all types of internet connections, enabling you to go live from any device of your choice with minimal hassle. For professional streams on your site, you can brand up our white label players to represent your brand, set restrictions for who has access to your stream to make it a more exclusive event. Start a free 30-day trial of the Zidivo software today!
Video is constantly becoming more prevalent in every aspect of the online world, with practically every post we scroll past on social media now consisting of a video, whether its a 30 second TikTok or a longer sob story that ends up holding our attention. Video is only going to become more of a focus for every online marketing strategy and Google recognises this, with search engines displaying more and more video results for a wider range of informational search queries.
Zidivo are here to share just some of the ways you can optimise your onsite videos to rank in the search results and the benefits of using video for SEO…
Video has been part of Google search for a long time, with the ‘videos’ tab allowing browsers to easily switch between the types of content they want to be displayed. Despite this, the main SERPs is where the majority of search visibility can be gained, with the increasing commonality of video and image packs being featured in the main results for a wider range of terms. People don’t just want to read a response to their search query anymore and Google understands this, which is why they will always display a variety of SERP features depending on the intent behind a keyword.
To rank in the Google search results and benefit from the hugely increased visibility and brand awareness this can bring, you first need to make sure your videos can be found and indexed by Google’s crawlers.
There are several ways to make sure your video content is optimised for SEO purposes.
First, make sure you publish and host your videos on the right platform to suit your needs and goals. For example, if you’re a brand looking to generate the ultimate amount of visibility with your videos, you may be best going for a popular platform like YouTube or Vimeo. For those looking to drive and keep traffic on a certain landing page using video, a more dedicated hosting platform may be better suited to your purpose. Take YouTube, for example, there will be ads involved and once a video has finished playing, it will recommend similar videos as suggestions afterwards which can draw attention away from your brand and even cause your traffic to click elsewhere.
Zidivo offers a dedicated and tailored hosting solution for brands that want to embed video on specific webpages and landing pages. All our players are white label, so you can brand your videos up completely and ensure there are minimal distractions from your video content at all times. What’s more, you can create your own video playlists rather than having to rely on auto-generated suggestions, so once a user has finished watching your video another relevant video will automatically be played to keep them engaged.
Once you’re set on where your videos will be hosted, you need to make sure you have subtitles or closed captioning set up. Not only does this make your video content far more accessible and open you up to a wider audience who may be watching without sound, but it means search engine bots can better crawl and index your videos. The more easily your videos can be indexed, the better Google will understand what your video is offering and the far more likely you are to rank in search for a wide range of relevant search queries.
Similar to when optimising written pieces of content, a key factor in optimising your videos is titles and descriptions. Spend time making sure your video titles and descriptions are accurate and include your target keywords where they fit naturally. SEO is becoming increasingly about offering a quality user experience, so don’t let your titles appear keyword stuffed. Instead, focus on creating titles and descriptions that grab attention and encourage clicks.
Our next tip to using video for SEO is to create dedicated video sitemaps when embedding videos on your site. These are an essential step to having your videos crawled and indexed effectively, as they tell Google bots important insights into your video content that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to detect, such as the topic, duration, and format. Search engine crawlers cannot crawl visuals, so a sitemap is key to making sure your videos have an opportunity to rank.
Another key aspect is your video thumbnails, which can be make or break for the success of a video. If you want your videos to stand out against the crowd, encourage people to click-through to your site and in turn boost your rankings, you must nail your thumbnails. Think of a thumbnail as a snapshot into what the video will be about - they must be high-quality, professional and eye-catching.
Last but not least, make sure your videos are featured in the right places. Google bots also use the copy surrounding a video to determine its purpose and topic, so if you are embedding videos on pages with no relevancy, your videos are far less likely to rank for the right search terms. Only embed a video on a page where it matches the right search intent, fits with the surrounding copy and adds value to the piece, otherwise it can end up doing more harm than good for your site’s visibility in search.
Zidivo offers a free 30-day trial of our video hosting platform, so you can see for yourself how to embed videos on relevant webpages and generate increase visibility in the search results. What’s more, our team are on hand to support you at every stage, whether you need advice on the entire process or just the technical aspects of video hosting.
Christmas 2020 is going to be a largely different affair in terms of the festivities and celebrations we’re able to have. With the ever-changing lockdown restrictions and the small window where we’re able to spend much-needed time with friends and family, it’s easy for the current situation to put a dampener on our Christmas spirit.
Despite the obstacles that COVID-19 has thrown our way this Christmas, modern technology has meant that many businesses can efficiently work from home and stay connected with both their colleagues and their target markets. How? Primarily through video and live streaming, which has meant Zoom meetings, virtual concerts, online pub quizzes and more are the new norm.
This Christmas, why not make the most of the opportunities that video has to offer and create plenty of Christmas content to show your customers and prospects you’re still up and running and spread some joy? Zidivo is here to share their favourite Christmas video content ideas for 2020.
Although December has already crept up on us all this year, there is still plenty of time to do a Christmas countdown - a popular form of content used by businesses and creators during the festive period. You could create ‘12 days of Christmas’ countdown with unique and branded animated videos to release each day in the run-up to the big day.
To make your countdown stand out in a sea of festive content, try to offer something unique each day, whether its an interview with your MD, a discount or a product giveaway to one of your unsuspecting customers. By letting your audience know that your countdown will have lots of surprises along the way, you can drum up attention and keep people engaged right through December. You can benefit from professional animation services, use an in-house video specialist or benefit from the vast array of user-friendly video tools on the market like Promo to create your brand’s countdown.
If you are looking for Christmas video ideas that are simple and can be boxed off early in the month, why not offer your audience a simple ‘Merry Christmas’ video on behalf of your company. You can make it funny, serious, as straightforward or as high-production as you like depending on your equipment, budget and available resources. Businesses can even keep their Christmas greetings content topical by having it recorded on Zoom!
Although wishing your customers and prospects a ‘Merry Christmas’ might seem like something so simple and unnecessary, it puts faces to your brand name and helps you to establish trust with your audience online. By making sure your video content stays in line with your brand’s guidelines and persona, you can help to boost awareness and better establish your brand’s reputation.
If you are an ecommerce business or you have a range of products to offer, Christmas is a perfect time and excuse to showcase these with festive gift guides. At a time of year when everyone is panicking about getting their Christmas shopping ticked off, businesses can use gift guides to do a round-up of your top products. You can even create multiple gift guides throughout December aimed at various age groups, genders and budgets to get the ultimate benefit from this form of video content.
Whether you have physical products to promote or not, another option is to create promotional videos. You can offer Christmas discounts on your products or services, offers to encourage people to buy multiple products and even free giveaways, which are hugely popular with brands at the moment to generate engagement and attention to their brand. Although a giveaway doesn’t necessarily directly result in sales and increased revenue, the increased brand awareness they can bring makes them one of the most effective forms of festive content - people simply love free stuff.
As we get closer to Christmas, we also get closer to the end of the year, people start to reflect, and our ‘new year new me’ mentalities begin to show. Another popular form of content for businesses is to do an annual review, rounding up all the highs and lows for your brand, highlighting critical successes and milestones and outlining any new plans for the following year.
Of course, 2020 has been a year no one expected, so why not use it as an opportunity to show how your business has demonstrated resilience and managed to keep going despite the challenges thrown our way?
With most festive events cancelled this year, its an opportunity for your business to host a virtual event online. Whether its a live interview with someone famous in your industry, a DJ session, or a live church service - there are plenty of opportunities to get your brand in front of people without being overly self-promotional. In light of the pandemic, Zidivo has launched a new virtual events service, providing all you need to host an event online. You can monetise your events, restrict access for members, brand them up and even add chat rooms to encourage engagement from your audience.
Zidivo is here to support businesses and content creators this Christmas. Our professional video hosting and live streaming platform allows you to go live from any webpage to vast audiences using a simple embed code. You can host large-scale virtual events or keep it simple this Christmas with a ‘seasons greetings’ video to show consumers you care. Try the Zidivo platform entirely free for 30 days today!
The global pandemic was something none of us expected from 2020, and aside from the clear challenges this has placed on our national health service, many other industries have suffered and had to adapt too. The music industry is one of these, with all live and in-person concerts, gigs, theatre performances being entirely off the cards.
Virtual concerts have always existed, but the lockdown has forced them to take the spotlight. What first was a substitute for live events and an effort to keep the live music industry going during the pandemic, has now arguably become the new norm. Not only do virtual concerts benefit musicians, producers and venues financially at a time when people are unable to spend money face-to-face, but they have also helped to keep a large portion of the UK population sane during a scary time.
On top of this, virtual events and concerts are not what they used to be. Constant advances in technology mean that artists can push boundaries and offer an entirely different yet refreshing live music experience for people no matter where they are.
If you’re a music venue, musician, producer or merely an individual who is looking to stream music or theatre live from a venue or your home, Zidivo have put together a simple guide to hosting a virtual concert and some key reasons why virtual events are so crucial in the current climate.
First things first, whether you’re an independent artist looking to stream a performance from your living room or you are going down a high production route, hiring out a large venue and working with professional producers, you need to decide whether your virtual concert will be pre-recorded or live.
There are pros and cons to doing each, with pre-recorded offering you room to make errors or for aspects of your performance to go wrong. Pre-recorded events also allow you to add visuals and make edits to ensure your concert is as entertaining and visually appealing as possible.
On the other hand though, at a time when we are all missing the atmosphere and ability to go to concerts or the theatre, live virtual shows allow you to achieve a certain level of spontaneity and unpredictability that live events bring. To offer a live virtual concert that doesn’t let your audience down though, you will need to have a robust and highly reliable internet connection and sufficient equipment to offer your stream at professional quality.
Billie Eilish is one artist that has set the tone for virtual concerts in 2020, with her ‘Where Do We Go?’ live stream blowing people away and pushing the boundaries for what a live virtual event can offer. The live stream offered visuals to transform the backdrop for each song and show the audience an authentic experience that, while it doesn’t compare to live music, changed the live streaming game. Keep in mind, though; your live streams don’t need to be high-production events that involve a large investment, all you need is a smartphone or HD camera to offer a high-resolution image quality.
Your virtual concert can be high-brow or minimal and straightforward, depending on your purpose and goals. If you want to offer a professional, attention-grabbing live stream that you plan to monetise, you will need multiple cameras to provide a range of shots like close-ups, wide shots and various angles.
Alternatively, you can offer a more intimate concert online using a simple smartphone, tripod and well-lit setting.
Before going live or recording a video, it's important to consider where your virtual concert will be shared. With all social platforms now offering the ability to go live, you can share your event to your existing audience and following on a specific platform for free.
For artists wanting to generate revenue from their stream at a time when funding is limited for independent artists and musicians, you may want to opt for a more professional live streaming platform to share your content. This way, you can monetise your stream on a pay-per-view basis, where only those who pay a certain fee can have access to the concert.
There’s no good hosting a virtual event or concert if you don’t have the budget or time to invest for promotion. People need to know about your event if they are to consider tuning in at a particular time or parting with their money.
In the run-up to your virtual concert, be vocal on all your social channels and even use paid advertising to make sure your target audience know where to find it when to tune in, who is performing and what the concert will entail.
Even in a pandemic, people are busy and have lots on their mind. Make sure to set up reminders and send out regular updates beforehand, or you can end up with a limited audience and a wasted investment.
Virtual concerts and events, in general, have been a saving grace for many people during the pandemic, and the chances are they aren’t going to disappear anytime soon with many big names offering live streams. They allow artists, venues and merchandisers to generate revenue, increase the accessibility of events and go hand in hand with the constant advances in live streaming technology.
Zidivo now offers a complete virtual events package, including all artists need to launch a successful event online. Depending on your needs, equipment and experience, you can build your package. Whether you need a complete package including a website, restricted access features, custom domains and support with live streaming, or you simply need Zidivo to be a helping hand should anything go wrong during your event.
Get in touch with the team today at hello@zidivo.com to find out more about hosting virtual events!
How-to videos are arguably the most popular form of video we see as we scroll through our social feeds or through search engine results pages. Why? Because audiences react so well to them and they can be designed to suit a specific niche and answer specific queries that people may have.
Whether your audience are looking to follow a recipe, learn how to use a piece of software, or build a piece of furniture, how-to videos go further in explaining something than text alone ever can.
Zidivo are here to explain how to get a how-to video right including the purpose, key aspects and what you will need.
There are a few main reasons why how-to videos can be hugely valuable for brands to create and offer their audience online. Firstly, it allows you to show your audience what you know. By creating ‘how-to’ videos on a range of specific topics within your niche, you can basically flex your team’s skills and expertise and establish your brand as an industry leader and expert in your industry over time.
Secondly and on a more simple level, how-to vidoes are entertaining - people love watching them and learning new things without having to read chunks of text. Because of how responsive and engaging they are by nature, you can grab the attention of your audience and keep it, benefitting your brands engagement levels on socials and/or your website traffic.
Last but not least, how-to videos and informational videos in general are a valuable way to boost your brand's visibility online. By targeting common informational topics and queries, you can generate brand awareness which will in turn positively impact your conversions, whatever they may be.
How-to videos actually encompass a wide range of content types, whether you are a brand creating an animated explainer video to ‘explain’ what you do, a content creator screen sharing your gameplay, or an individual offering an instructional video.
There are several key components of an instructional or informational video to keep in mind when planning, creating and promoting your content.
When creating any content, it's important to put your audience at the forefront of your planning stages. With how-to videos in particular though, its arguably even more essential to make sure your videos are providing what your target audience want to see.
Ask yourself and your audience questions like, what will your audience’s pain points be? What will they want to know or learn? Why will they be watching your video? Create a specific persona for your target audience. This way, you can create highly focused and targeted videos and offer incredible value, rather than trying to appeal to a general audience and not really answering any of their queries sufficiently.
As well as considering your audience’s queries, aim to pinpoint their demographics like education levels, age, profession, interests, goals and concerns. This way, you can make sure you’re speaking their language in terms of terminology, visuals, duration and format.
Choosing specific topics for each video allows you to target a specific group of people, where you can grab and hold their attention, rather than trying to appeal to everyone and seeing people drop-off your video when they realise its not what they’re after.
All how-to videos need a backstory to tell throughout, such as an example to talk your audience through. Having a story allows you to keep your videos on track, avoid any important points being missed and create a rough script so your video doesn’t appear chaotic or unorganised to viewers.
How-to videos can be an effective strategy for any brand, content creator or individual to have a go at and boost their visibility online. Because of this, you don’t need to invest in expensive camera equipment to create a professional piece of content. If you’re planning a video where you’re in front of the camera, start basic using your phone’s back camera and a tripod to create a simple setup. It’s far better to start basic and work your way up than to invest in equipment before you know how best to utilise it.
When it comes to editing, how-to videos can be as high production or simplistic as you like. Think about the purpose of your video when editing to make sure you use graphics where needed, cut out any footage that doesn’t add value and make sure important steps or points are clear to viewers. Don’t forget to create branded, unique and eye-catching intros and outros for your videos too - your intro is the make or break factor in whether people click on to watch your video or scroll past.
Finally, consider where your video(s) will be shared, streamed or hosted? Whether your how-to video is solely for social channels, or it has been created for your website, make sure your video suits that purpose in terms of duration, file size, orientation, visuals and more. Where possible, you should adapt your videos to suit each platform that they will be shared on so you can boost your visibility on all channels such as YouTube, Vimeo, socials, your websites and more.
Zidivo is a user-friendly, affordable and reliable video streaming and hosting platform, which allows you to share your how-to videos on as little or as many platforms as required with minimal hassle or video expertise needed. You can create a simple embed code for your videos to share your videos on any webpage in minutes.
What’s more, we offer a free 30-day trial, so you can use the platform without spending a penny for an entire month to see how it works for you.
Every year Streaming Media holds conferences sharing the state of the industry, forecasts, and in-depth training. In Autumn, they usually meet in California so they can soak up some sun while mingling with other people in the industry. This year is not like others though, and like everyone else, they needed to make other plans.
Instead of beach basking, they live-streamed, which only seems appropriate given who they are. For four days they connected with their audience on Zoom, providing presentations, discussion panels, and how-tos. I sat in on a few sessions and came away with some interesting lessons, tidbits and facts anyone who live streams would want to know – especially professionals or businesses trying to leverage streaming to stay open.
You’ll notice some common themes in all the sessions. The main one is how much Covid, and the response to it, affected all aspects of the industry.
The kickoff session had a three-person panel discussing the preliminary results of the “Autumn 2020 State of the Streaming Market survey”. Earlier in the year, they released a version of the study done before Covid. This Autumn version of the report, with data collected six months or so after most countries went into lockdown, provides a measure of how events pushed streaming further into the mainstream.
Most of the respondents are from the United States, but about 20% are from Europe and other areas. Also, only companies that created or distributed media, or both, are included in the data. With those disclaimers, here are the major takeaways:
It appears Covid caused a “break the glass moment” according to panellist Gordon Brooks. Companies had slowly been working towards adding more streaming and remote options for their workforce and infrastructure, but Covid sped up those plans.
A five-person panel of video production professionals shared their experience of, and advice for, changes in streaming under current circumstances. The discussion started with some facts about how healthy the industry is. By 2024, revenue is expected to top $80 billion (£62 B) including ads and subscriptions.
The rest of the discussion revolved around some key issues, one of which is digital rights management (DRM) for live streaming. It appears pirates steal live stream content as soon as it begins. The discussion wasn’t too technical in how to mitigate it but mentioned that it is a big issue for larger, high-value productions or events (e.g. sporting and music). Fortunately, if this is an issue for you or your business, there are companies that specialize in providing DRM for live streams.
This panel agreed with the conclusion from the keynote session. Covid accelerated the adoption of live streaming, and in particular remote live streaming. Rather than sending full teams out to set up professional production equipment, remote live streaming often uses consumer grade equipment—mobile phones or webcams—as capture devices and the production takes place somewhere else. Some examples would be music artists who perform “together” but each alone in their homes in front of their mobile devices. All the signals get sent to a person, or team, each working in their own space who then use their equipment and software to create the production that streams live over the internet to the audience. A couple of panellists said they had been moving in this direction anyway to reduce cost and provide better quality of life for their employees (less travel needed). Once Covid happened, they were prepared to go entirely remote.
This remote approach is being done to bring the audience back to the performers too. Musicians playing to an empty theatre or sports teams with empty arenas just aren’t the same as having a live audience. To make it more interactive while still staying remote and safe, the audience is included by turning the cameras back on them. The effect is much like what Britain’s Got Talent did for the finals, where selected audience members appeared on screens opposite the performer.
Anthony Burokas, founder of IEBA Communications and a production veteran, covered some remote production principles using his setup as an example.
He had multiple devices including a laptop running vMix, Zoom on a second device, a third with prepared content, plus a remote input (mobile phone). He stressed that his specific devices or software aren’t important, and you can use OBS or Wirecast, a desktop or a laptop, and other devices. What you use depends on what you already have, what your needs and budget are, and what sort of production you are doing.
The main takeaways are:
The overall takeaway is that it's possible to produce live streams with multiple inputs that look great from a remote location and this is something that Zidivo can do for you.
Covid gave live streaming a boot up the backside. The pandemic forced people to use it and companies are innovating how to make it simpler and even reach professional quality production levels remotely. There is no one size fits all solution or configuration. While Zoom, Teams and Meet are popular for remote workers, not all use them. And sometimes those are used in combination with other options, such as an online video platform like Zidivo, to create a live streaming experience and not just a meeting.