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Marketing YouTube Live Streaming

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This post is under  construction - sorry about the formatting. 



As YouTube live streaming continues to gain users, it is important to consider how you market your live event. 

Where to drive your viewers and what web page or live stream URL to promote is extremely important to capture your audience and reduce your Production Cost Per Viewer (PCPV).

The following revised article was originally posted on Google+ here:
Shared publicly  -  5:17 PM

 

But controlling that viewing experience is also important. Most live events carry a message, call to action, or buy now - and the additional parameters of their viewing experience can help to establish that message. You should control as much as possible where your audience should go to watch the event. 
The new YouTube One Channel design might brings a new challenge if for diving your traffic to your YouTube channel for a live event. You can no longer 'feature' a live stream on the front page of your YouTube channel the same way you did before.
The naming convention is:
A powerful feature of the YouTube Watch page is its sharing mechanism. If your live event is being shared while it is occurring - chances are it is the Watch page URL which the new viewer gets. 
The other concern is that you have less control of the viewing experience because the Watch page has little customization. Some viewers are ultimately going to view from this URL but it may not be the viewing experience you desire. 
And if you want to promote the archive of the event, but the setup of the recording is performed incorrectly then you need to promote the post event uploaded video separately. 
Mobile viewers will most likely watch from the mobile version of this page unless a custom app has been created. 
At the conclusion of the event if not recorded then a "this live event has ended" is displayed.  
This URL is a bit tricky. It will automatically point to the live event Watch page - but only if that event has already started and is the first listed video in a Live Now section of your YouTube channel. 
You can create the Live Now section on your YouTube channel pretty easy from its front page. And you should get in the habit of always creating a Live Now section for any live event regardless of where you want to drive your traffic. 
It might be a challenge to utilize this link for pre-marketing - because if the event has not begun then the viewer is directed to your channel home page. From their they need to know where to watch and will hopefully see the Live Now section you created earlier.
It could be a good link to promote if you are frequently producing live events at least everyday.  
However, there is no longer a large featured, front and centered live video automatically playing when the viewer arrives (unless you have a ad account brand channel). 
A big change for the One Channel is that, if you are using a channel trailer, the unsubscribed audience will see that video playing when they arrive - but the subscribed viewer will not see the trailer playing. 
It is important to know that a big initiative of the One Channel is to encourage more subscribers. And the use of a smart trailer is a technique which might increase your subs. +Tim Schmoyer discusses best practices for your channel trailer. 
But your trailer can be useful for your live event. One technique is to use your live event Watch page URL as your trailer. You can feature the live event as a trailer for non subscribers and it plays automatically. 
Since subscribers will not see the trailer playing then they should see the Live Now section you created earlier. 
Your trailer can also be a brief teaser video which promotes your live event. Teaser videos can be very useful to not only announce your live event but also offer a test video to ensure your audience can watch the stream with compatible systems. OK, sure YouTube is has the most reachable audience and is one of the most compatible and ubiquitous platforms - but offering a demo or teaser video is still a good habit to keep.  
The naming convention is usually:
You create your live event, then create the playlist, then add the live event Watch page URL to the playlist. 
You can add multiple videos to the playlist so you might consider adding the teaser video mentioned earlier as the first video in the list. Lists can be changed at anytime so after the event is live then remove the teaser video and replace with a closing or thank you video.
Playlists are useful but the viewer has some options of what video to select first which might take away some control.  
These can be very simple pages or can be very creative and branded viewing experiences with multiple platform logins for comments and buy now offers. 
A hosted embedded player page also gives you another viewer statics option because you can look at your web server log files to get traffic metrics. 
Embedded player pages can also be created easily from other social media platforms and many content management systems. Because of the ubiquity of YouTube most platforms offer automatic embedded player pages by inputting the Watch page link.
These custom branded channels can be very creative and I'm always excited to see them when a big live event is announced. They are almost always the top featured live events from http://YouTube.com/Live.
Ask how many different types of links should promote for your live stream? One idea is to drive traffic to the only one event page. But because your audience is likely to be diverse, coming from various devices or social media platforms - you might take the opposite approach and offer many viewing options. But remember that each experience take work to create and managed.  

Ensure that all producers, planners, promoters and stake holders are coordinated with the correct live event address. 

Promote your live event by promoting a teaser video - then promote that teaser video through Adwords for Video. 

Will your archive URL be the same as your live event URL? If the video is under two hours then it is very beneficial to maintain one URL through the life cycle of the live event. 

When setting up the live event, select Public. It will then be listed at http://YouTube.com/Live which offers a bit of promotion.  

Encourage Viewer engagement from YouTube comments but also from multiple login platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. 

Keep URL links active through the life cycle of the live event: pre event promotion > live event > post event archive. This usually means one link throughout. 

Gaining subscribers to your YouTube channel should always be a goal for you live event!!
Ask how many different types of links should promote for your live stream? One idea is to drive traffic to the only one event page. But because your audience is likely to be diverse, coming from various devices or social media platforms - you might take the opposite approach and offer many viewing options. But remember that each experience take work to create and managed.  
Ensure that all producers, planners, promoters and stake holders are coordinated with the correct live event address. 

Promote your live event by promoting a teaser video - then promote that teaser video through Adwords for Video. 

Will your archive URL be the same as your live event URL? If the video is under two hours then it is very beneficial to maintain one URL through the life cycle of the live event. 

When setting up the live event, select Public. It will then be listed at http://YouTube.com/Live which offers a bit of promotion.  

Encourage Viewer engagement from YouTube comments but also from multiple login platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. 

Keep URL links active through the life cycle of the live event: pre event promotion > live event > post event archive. This usually means one link throughout. 

Gaining subscribers to your YouTube channel should always be a goal for you live event!!
Ensure that all producers, planners, promoters and stake holders are coordinated with the correct live event address. 
Promote your live event by promoting a teaser video - then promote that teaser video through Adwords for Video. 

Will your archive URL be the same as your live event URL? If the video is under two hours then it is very beneficial to maintain one URL through the life cycle of the live event. 

When setting up the live event, select Public. It will then be listed at http://YouTube.com/Live which offers a bit of promotion.  

Encourage Viewer engagement from YouTube comments but also from multiple login platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. 

Keep URL links active through the life cycle of the live event: pre event promotion > live event > post event archive. This usually means one link throughout. 

Gaining subscribers to your YouTube channel should always be a goal for you live event!!
Promote your live event by promoting a teaser video - then promote that teaser video through Adwords for Video. 
Will your archive URL be the same as your live event URL? If the video is under two hours then it is very beneficial to maintain one URL through the life cycle of the live event. 

When setting up the live event, select Public. It will then be listed at http://YouTube.com/Live which offers a bit of promotion.  

Encourage Viewer engagement from YouTube comments but also from multiple login platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. 

Keep URL links active through the life cycle of the live event: pre event promotion > live event > post event archive. This usually means one link throughout. 

Gaining subscribers to your YouTube channel should always be a goal for you live event!!
Will your archive URL be the same as your live event URL? If the video is under two hours then it is very beneficial to maintain one URL through the life cycle of the live event. 
When setting up the live event, select Public. It will then be listed at http://YouTube.com/Live which offers a bit of promotion.  

Encourage Viewer engagement from YouTube comments but also from multiple login platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. 

Keep URL links active through the life cycle of the live event: pre event promotion > live event > post event archive. This usually means one link throughout. 

Gaining subscribers to your YouTube channel should always be a goal for you live event!!
When setting up the live event, select Public. It will then be listed at http://YouTube.com/Live which offers a bit of promotion.  
Encourage Viewer engagement from YouTube comments but also from multiple login platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. 

Keep URL links active through the life cycle of the live event: pre event promotion > live event > post event archive. This usually means one link throughout. 

Gaining subscribers to your YouTube channel should always be a goal for you live event!!
Encourage Viewer engagement from YouTube comments but also from multiple login platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. 
Keep URL links active through the life cycle of the live event: pre event promotion > live event > post event archive. This usually means one link throughout. 

Gaining subscribers to your YouTube channel should always be a goal for you live event!!
Keep URL links active through the life cycle of the live event: pre event promotion > live event > post event archive. This usually means one link throughout. 
Gaining subscribers to your YouTube channel should always be a goal for you live event!!
Gaining subscribers to your YouTube channel should always be a goal for you live event!!
#YouTubeLive   #LiveStreaming   #seomarketing  #eventpromotion


hhttps://plus.google.com/u/0/113251903012045208366/posts/ejjegq2GKyU
by Bern Rexer

#YouTubeLive

Marketing your public live event is imperative to gain viewers for a successful public event and keep your PCPV at a minimum. 

The most important question your audience will ask is:

Where do we go to watch the event?

Understanding what the viewing experience will be is important to plan. And the device your audience views from will be diverse so the viewing experience will be a little different for each. 

So read on to learn ways to control the experience. 

Some options of where to drive traffic for your YouTube live stream include: 

➪ the Watch Page URL.

This is the origin or source URL for all videos and live events on YouTube. It is one of the easiest way to promote your live event. This page is formatted by YouTube, has little customization and looks almost exactly like an uploaded video Watch page.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=video_id 
The video id is generated by YouTube and unique to the live event video stream.

The Watch page offers many powerful features such as optimization with title, description, and tags. The comments section works well for engagement and their is a prominent subscription button. 

Promoting this URL can be powerful if you are confident it will not change before the event occurs. Also, If you have set up DVR and recording for your live event, which YouTube makes very easy and is available almost immediately after the event, then the recorded video uses the same URL as the live event. This makes your promotion of that URL even more valuable. 

The challenge with promoting this URL is that it is a source URL auto generated by YouTube. So you don't have exact control of it. For example, If you build the live event, get the generated ID, market the URL out to the public and then find that the URL needs to change, maybe because the live event wasn't initially set up correctly - then you will need to create a new event and market again.

➪ Generic Live URL 

The naming convention is

http://YouTube.com/user/{YourChannelName}/live

➪ Your YouTube Channel. 

This is beneficial if you want viewers to know more about your channel and other videos. And you want to increase subscribers. 






 

➪ YouTube Playlist 

A playlist can be created from your YouTube channel which creates its own URL and unique playlist ID.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=video1_id=playlist_id 

 ➪ Hosted Embedded Player Page
This is usually hosted from your domain web site. This option gives you a lot of control over the page content. You build and customize a web page that you host on your servers and embed the YouTube live video player on that page. 

 ➪ YouTube Branded Channels and 'Gadgets' 
Many large productions with large ad campaigns can have their channel custom branded. Often these customizations include links to external web sites, multiple network login for comments (such as from Facebook and Twitter along with Google), and other options.

One benefit is that the viewer is driven to the home YouTube channel URL and can see the event front and center and are more likely to subscribe or purchase. 

If your event is large enough then talk with your Google ad or YouTube partner rep about your project.   

➪ A Google+ Event Page

This is a very quick and easy method of creating an embedded player page that can target your audience through invitation and RSVP. It also encourages powerful engagement through comments. 

The Google+ Event Page is a great experience for Google+ users and is created from your Google+ account from the Events option. 

You can easily embed the live event Watch page URL here and create a custom banner image. 

Promotion and optimization of the Google+ Event Page is very easy and powerful. 

It can also be used for Hangouts and Hangouts on Air. Learn more about the G+ Event Page for events from +Ronnie Bincer. 

~

Things to consider about all options: 

What are some other event page options you use for live events on YouTube? 

Live Streaming Watched 2.5x Longer

By Bern Rexer

According to an Ooyala report, connected viewers watch online live streaming video 2.5 times longer than VOD.

Other resources:
ReelSEO
Streamingmedia.com

Download report here: Ooyala Global Video Index

The Weather Channel Live on YouTube Spikes Subscriptions

By Bern Rexer

The Weather Channel always gains viewership when major weather events occur. The television coverage of Hurricane Sandy was no different. But after streaming live on YouTube, not only did their Internet viewership increase but The Weather Channel’s YouTube channel subscription rate spiked significantly.

YouTube featured The Weather Channel’s broadcast coverage, less commercials, on YouTube’s Live event page and promoted the event with a notification after a user visited the YouTube site.

YouTube, owned by Google, continues to gain popularity as a site for viewing live events. Previously this month other YouTube channels gained subscribers by streaming live – most notably the 2012 Presidential Debates which were streamed live by major US newspapers including the New York Times , the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. 

Red Bull’s Status event streamed live on YouTube broke a YouTube record of over 8 million concurrent live connections.

According to the stats from SocialBlade and VidStatsX, increased subscription rates may be a direct result of streaming live events. And The Weather Channel's YouTube channel gained thousands of subscriptions during their webcast.

The stats from the YouTube watch page revealed over 7.5 million views during the multi-day live stream.