Live streaming: 8 + 1 takeaways from #ONA15
I was fortunate enough to attend this year’s Online News Association conference in Los Angeles. Amongst the many excellent panel discussions, workshops and talks I found one session on the ‘live stream landscape’ particularly useful. The two speakers were Shadi Rahimi, from AJ+, and Tim Pool, from Fusion. An audio recording will soon be available online but, in the meantime, here are my top 8 (+1) takeaways.
- Live streaming gets you much closer to the story.
Shadi used the recent European migrant/refugee story as an example. She used Periscope and Facebook Mentions for live video and brought a rawness and immediacy to the story whilst avoiding big, impersonal panoramic shots with correspondent/reporter front of centre.
2. Live streaming on social media networks is mostly interesting for local stories.
Both speakers made this point and were keen to emphasise how journalists could make best use of it to amplify hyperlocal stories.
3. Data plans and battery power remains an issue but Livestream and Ustream video give you useful editing options (eg lower thirds) unlike Periscope or live video on Facebook.
Tim Pool says it takes him less than 30 seconds to upload a livestream video to his Youtube channel and the video will look “more polished” for being shot and edited on this platform. Tim then cross-promotes his videos on Twitter if they involve breaking/developing news as there’s little substitute for amplication here.
4. Live streaming helps journlists reach Millennials.
Shadi spoke of 20 percent attention from younger fans through Facebook Mentions live video.
5. Periscope vs Facebook Mentions (see graph below). Scrollable comments and video automatically saving to your profile/page are big advantages of Facebook Mentions. Verification, however, is a block to entry (unlike Periscope).
6. It’s useful to cross-promote your Facebook live video via Twitter.
Shadi spoke of how she encouraged colleagues to live tweet whilst she was live streaming and it really helped to draw in a larger audience.
7. Youtube live will be a “game-changer”.
Tim is a big fan of uploading his live videos to Youtube but recognises that a ‘Youtube live’ video feature (much discussed recently) will create greater immediacy and sharpen the battle between Youtube, Periscope and Facebook.
8. Define your objectives and goals.
It’s important to recognise what you’re trying to achieve through live-streaming. You might draw in an audience quickly via Periscope or Facebook Mentions but have you thought about your brand and ROI? What are you ‘giving away’ and how much is it worth delivering ‘off site’ first?
9. And one final thought from me on Snapchat.
Although it doesn’t provide a ‘live streaming’ option Snapchat stories is already proving useful for journalists looking to tell a story with raw mobile video. Witness this latest documentary treatment using Snaps, produced by the BBC’s Ravin Sampat, and uploaded to our BBC News Youtube Channel. You can question our reporter, John Sweeney, about his journey and Snapchat documentary via our BBC News Facebook page on 30th September.
