When it’s over, is it really over? Tips for AFTER your live-stream ends
To answer that age-old question from Sugar Ray — no, when the live portion ends, your broadcast is not really over.
In fact, depending on your settings, your broadcast is theoretically never over — if you have your settings designed to preserve the video, viewers can — and will — go back and watch after the fact.
I always advise those I meet with that one of the biggest benefits of using LIVE video is the simplicity of the post-production — none necessary. But if you have the time and see the value in doing so, by all means, keep reading.
There are numerous ways you can maximize the value of your work, even after you turn off the live broadcast. For the sake of today’s conversation, we’ll focus on Facebook Live and Periscope. Let’s start right at the beginning — at the end, that is:
SAVING YOUR VIDEO
On both platforms, immediately after pressing “Finish,” you have the opportunity to save the entirety of the broadcast to your camera roll. Depending on how long your stream is, the size of the file may be burdensome, so if you need to save it immediately, be prepared with space on your device.
It is possible to save video from prior broadcasts after the fact, but considerably more difficult — especially on Periscope — so if you’re looking to repurpose parts of the video, I’d recommend saving on the spot.
If you did not save your broadcast to your device, it is still possible to get that video onto your computer. Here’s a how-to video with Facebook Live:
And here’s a website that allows you to save Periscope videos after the fact: www.downloadperiscopevideos.com/
SIMPLY TELL PEOPLE ABOUT YOUR VIDEO
This blog post will progress from ‘very simple tactics’ to ‘there’s absolutely no way we can do that,’ so let’s start simple: Just tell people that you recorded an awesome video!
You can write a simple Facebook post or Tweet, and link to the original video on Facebook or Periscope. For emphasis, you can include a screenshot from the original video. See how Mitch Jackson uses a screenshot to show a recent interview with Vicki Fitch on TheShow.Live:
REPURPOSING SEGMENTS
Highlights of your live video can make for terrific content on your other social networks. Whether you have your video saved on your device or on your computer, you can identify the most meaningful segment of the broadcast and repurpose it to give your audience a reason to go watch the original.
My good friends Midori Verity and Sara D Moore use this tactic after their weekly show, “Moxie №5,” (airing every Thursday night at 9 p.m. Eastern) to encourage people to tune in to the next broadcast.
Those with more advanced editing skills can stitch together clips from multiple streams, like Dollee Bhatia did with her husband Geoff Golberg’s live Periscope streams from the Heineken House at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. How cool is this?
RECAP BLOG POST WITH TIMESTAMPS
If you have the opportunity to write a quick blog about your live-stream, you can further entice people who want to know more about the content before they click play. Recapping the show is nice, but one of the best tactics to use is timestamping, so people can jump to exactly the part of the content they consider most relevant.
One of the masters of this tactic is Gary Vaynerchuk, who gives second-by-second breakdowns of each edition of #AskGaryVee on his website:
#TIMESTAMPS
1:45 — What should a goal be for teachers this year?
3:47 — Do you think a company staffed by 50 of your clones would be as/less/more successful than VaynerMedia?
5:07 — Six years ago you made a video called “Hey Mr. DJ” about curating content. Is this still a great opportunity in 2015?
6:26 — What do you feel I should do as a high schooler who wants to be a tech entrepreneur?
8:58 — You talk a lot about self-awareness. Do you think this can prevent people from pushing past their comfort zone?
With that detailed recap, I know exactly what Gary is covering in each minute of the video; and if I’m a high schooler who wants to be a tech entrepreneur, suddenly I’m much more likely to click ‘play’ and jump right to 6:26.
FACEBOOK LIVE SUBTITLES
Now we’re moving into a very time-consuming, but potentially high-ROI area. Facebook allows you to actually embed subtitles onto your existing videos. Why is this such a potential great move? Because most people who come across your video in their news feed won’t click to listen in. Seeing subtitles on the screen not only differentiates your video from the rest of the noise; just like the timestamps (notice the theme here?) it gives a potential viewer even more clues as to what’s happening in your video, encouraging them to click in.
Here’s betting that, in the next 6–12 months, Facebook will drastically simplify the process of adding subtitles (because, for now, it is extremely difficult). (BTW, hold me to this one, Brian Fanzo @iSocialFanz …)
(One potential use case for creating subtitles would be translating a broadcast into an alternate language. Many nonprofits offer services in Spanish and it would be really cool to see a Spanish broadcast subtitled in English, or vice versa!)
As a warning, again — adding subtitles to your Facebook Live video is extremely time-consuming, but if you’ve got the time, here’s how it’s done:
PLANNING THE NEXT BROADCAST
If you’re like me, one of the first things you’ll want to do when you’re done live-streaming is think about when your next broadcast will be. Consistency is key, and hopefully you had a plan in place even before the broadcast you just wrapped up — so you could let your viewers know before you left when you’ll be back!
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
There’s plenty of other fun ways to maximize your live video content after the broadcast, and I’d love to hear what YOU do to get the most out of it. Please leave comments here on the post and I can update this blog post accordingly!
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Chris Strub is the first man to live-stream and Snapchat in all 50 U.S. states, and the author of ‘50 States, 100 Days: The Book.’ He’s currently working as a social media consultant with Humana, and he’s still got a lot of post-production work to do on his live broadcasts!
