How to Use Live Streaming To Drive Audience Engagement
Honeycommb started out as a traditional company but over the last two years, we’ve transitioned to a remote-first team. That means that a majority of those who work at Honeycommb work from their home instead of our main office in Boston, Massachusetts. It’s easy to identify the pros and cons to both working remote and/or having to work from an office but what’s important is understanding how to effectively communicate within the environment you find yourself.
At Honeycommb, we like to use what we build. This is how we continuously improve our platform and relate better to our partners and help their networks grow. Our CEO, Sean Duhame, runs weekly live streams, called ‘Live on The Hive’, where he updates the whole Honeycommb team on what’s currently happening, what we’re working towards, and what he’s excited about. During this time, the team watches in real-time and is able to ask Sean any questions or share what they’re excited about too. Livestreaming on a consistent basis such as every Monday is a great way to set the tone of the workweek and get everyone on the same page.
Since the global pandemic of COVID-19 began around the beginning of 2020, the world has also noticed a change in the way workplaces are run because many of them were forced to allow their people to work from home. Teams that are used to collaborating in person have had to figure out new technologies to stay connected and keep that team’s bond strong. In-person events have been flipped to solely committing to virtual platforms to continue their networking and communication purposes. Fitness centers and gyms are still shut down so trainers are forced to use digital channels to share workouts and meal plans. Every industry has been effected and has learned to adapt to digital tools becoming the most successful solution.
Here are ways some of our partners are using live video content in their network on a consistent basis:
The Duomo Initiative
“At the Duomo Initiative, we use our Honeycommb community to enhance our members’ development in the financial markets, beyond what they initially learn in our courses. Since the things they are learning about are very practical and involve something that changes each and every day (the financial markets, the economy, etc.) it’s important that they have a chance to also learn in a very real-time way rather than the static information in an online course.
We use live streams to deliver this sort of learning and we have seen massive improvements from our members since we began doing them. In fact, we get a lot of comments from our members telling us that they saw the most progress in their own abilities and understanding since we started doing live sessions
At the moment we hold 3–4 live streams per week inside our community that run on a weekly schedule, so our members know what they are tuning in for at specific times. The final session of the week each Friday is a bit more light-hearted, we call it ‘Community Hour’ and it gives us a chance to discuss any key themes from the past week, show our appreciation for members that are standing out for one reason or another and to point out some amazing discussions or work that our members may have missed. It’s safe to say the live streams are a critical part of the experience we provide for our members.”
Zaazu
“We are a community of people who love Disney and we’ve created a bond around this special place that brings us together. Because COVID-19 shut down amusement parks around the world and we are missing physically going to these fun places in our community, going live has really helped bring our audience together by recreating that magic we miss from the Disney parks.
We use video to fully engage our users with interactive content, this has allowed us to be inspired and encourage others to create their own content. It’s also another channel that people can make friends through!”
MC Purpose:
“We have a coaching platform that we are teaching individuals to build more a free lifestyle. What we love about being able to live stream is it allows us to do office hours and let people discuss issues in real-time on the platform. This adds tremendous value to our membership and gets everyone together on the platform at a specific time. It is a great community builder and a way to teach and connect all at the same time.”
Here are some tips to summarize how Honeycommb’s partners take advantage of live-streaming content in their networks and ways you can start today!
- Set a consistent schedule to live stream.
Be on time when you say you will and let your audience know when to join (send out a mobile push notification as a reminder!) so they can interact. For example, pick a day of the week and make sure it’s the same day moving forward so you can create that habit with your users. - Share a highly engaged content type.
Live-streaming has skyrocketed across social platforms because users like to tune in and see what's going to happen; it’s a top-performing piece of content when analyzing impressions, likes, and comments. - Provide value to allow for community growth.
You can use the time to welcome new users, share features being added to the platform, or just reiterate the value your network is providing your people. Encourage your users to ask you questions, connect with people, and jump headfirst into being an appreciated member.
Reach out to Honeycommb today to get started or Book a Demo to see what we can build together for your audience.
Originally published at https://blog.honeycommb.com on August 21, 2020.
