Live Stream Tips & Trends for 2021

I talk about live streaming a lot in this channel, and I will be the first to admit that there are a lot of other really amazing live streaming experts out there to learn from. So in this video, I brought together 10 of my friends and experts to help give you more tips and trends that you can expect for your live streaming game in 2021.

“My quick livestreaming tip, it’s an obvious one when you hear it. But it’s to run a speed test before you go live. You want to make sure that the internet speed that you’re using, specifically the upload speed, is going to be good enough for a consistent, high-quality stream or feed from your computer or your device through to whatever platform it is that you’re going to be livestreaming on. – Justin

Head over to the website speedtest.net and run a test on there or grab the speed test app on your device. Specifically what you’re looking for when you’re running a speed test is your upload speed. You also want to make sure not only that you have enough upload speed, but also that it is a consistent upload speed, that it’s not really good for a few seconds and then really bad and fluctuating a lot.

Running a speed test will tell you those two things, that you have a decent enough upload speed, but also that it is a stable connection as well. Then for the cases where your internet speed might not be enough or it isn’t stable, then that’s when you could look at an alternative internet connection before you go live, so maybe hotspotting from your phone or another device, just so you can save your sanity and have a better, more successful livestream.”

“One of the tips that I would definitely give when it comes to entrepreneurs that’s getting into content creation is to really pay attention to short-form video content. If you’re already doing a livestream, one of the best things that you can do is begin to repurpose that content, meaning you’re taking your 30, 40, 60 minutes or longer livestreams, and you’re reproducing that into shorter form content.

When you think about TikTok and what all happened in 2020, it got to the point where everybody’s focusing on 15, 30, and 60 second videos, and you may be thinking that’s not enough time to really provide enough value, I would suggest that it actually is. When you think about what can you do in 15, 30, or 60 seconds, it makes you have to be very, very specific about what you say, what you show, and what you share. When you think about your outline or your run of show for your livestream, what is a tip that you can bake into that livestream so that you can go in later and pull that 15, 30, or 60 second piece out and redistribute that to whether it’s TikTok, Instagram, or what have you.

Really pay attention to not just the pieces and the tips and the value that you’re going to deliver in the livestream, but really start thinking about how you can repurpose that content. All of that is going to start in the preparation phase of your livestream, thinking about the outline, baking in those tips or the points that you want to address, that you can then pull those snippets out and share them on social media in short-form, micro content.” – Diana Gladney

“My number one tip for 2021 is to make sure that the streams you create this year hold true to your value proposition from the beginning to the end. This way, your viewers will find value not only in your regularly scheduled content but in the videos you livestream. The replay value can add up to thousands of more views than you’re already driving to your channel.” – Daniel Batal

“You want to be selective with who you’re going to have on your show. You want to make sure they’re going to fit the dynamic of you and your brand but also have something that they can share that your audience is going to find valuable. One of the other reasons I love having guests on a show is it actually is going to boost your reach because those guests are going to share your stream and your content with their audience, which could potentially get you in front of a whole new world that you’ve not been exposed to before.

The fringe benefit of when you have guests on your shows is that when you want to go be a guest on somebody else’s show, they’re going to check you out, and they’re going to look at your content. I bet you, if you have guests on your show, they’re going to have a little bit more faith that you know how to be a good guest as well, and they’re more likely to say yes when you say, ‘Bring me on your show’.” – Melanie Dyann Howe

“If I was to give you any single tip for 2021, when it comes to livestreams, it would be to connect with your audience. That means engaging with your audience. Start off by asking questions. You can stop throughout your livestream and just call them out, give them shout outs during your livestream. But the most important thing is just to connect. In 2020, we missed connection, real life connection. So in 2021, let’s start bringing it back by connecting with your audience.” – Matt Hughes

“I would have to say for a livestreaming tip, I love livestreaming so much because of the interaction that you get to have real time with everyone in your audience and the fact that you don’t have to edit. Love that so much. One tip that I would definitely give besides having the animations and cool overlays that you can put in and create just make it feel more like a regular video, being organized about what you want to talk about.

I always have post-its with me so I can have bullet points for points that I want to make while I’m on livestream. Especially if you’re getting started at first and you don’t know what to talk about and there’s no one there talking with you just yet, always be organized enough to have your own set of bullet points and topics that you want to cover during your livestream. Then when people come in, you can interact with them as well. I hope that helps.” -Shelly

“Here’s something that I just found out about not too long ago, and it’s called Amazon Live. Now, I’ve been a member of Amazon Prime for a long time. I’m in the affiliate program, but I got to tell you, I didn’t have any idea that you could livestream on Amazon as part of their Amazon influencer program.
You sign up and they ask you to validate it with your social media. Once you get in, not only can you have a storefront, but it allows you to livestream on Amazon Live. Amazon Live combines livestreaming, e-commerce, shopping, and community.

So my tip for you is see if you qualify to the livestream on Amazon Live and try it. Create a show, do more and earn more, and just see how it goes.” – Kevin Kolbe

“The biggest thing here for me is market data research. As a career coach, I needed to figure out what type of companies are affected, even though my niche is in the technology space, but I needed to make sure comparing all of the same company I have just mentioned, which one are doing well, the ones who are doing well, what products that’s making them do great. In this case, I easily can tell by doing research and data analysis almost every single day, blocking out time to follow the social media everywhere in a social media. TechCrunch, Facebook newsfeed is an excellent resource by the way, to pay attention to the directions of where those top tech companies are trending.

In this example, I figured that all of the companies that have services that are cloud infrastructure or cloud platform are going to be generating revenue, and I was correct because as folks are working remotely from home or those who’s been affected by the pandemic, they’re looking for work or even creating YouTube channel like you and I, need the cloud infrastructure to keep things up and running such as the Google and the Amazon of the world.

So the biggest tip I have for you, all of you amazing creators out there, when you’re doing your market data research, my biggest tip is, try to think of a way where you could be more authentic of being yourself and don’t do what everyone else is doing. Because I realized that my channel also grew not just because I talk about Amazon, was because I was being authentic. I was being real with the content that I was providing for them there.” -Holly Lee

“My quick tip for you is to make sure that you have a technical checklist before you go live, something that you can work through. Check off everything on the list and get it ready before you hit the go live button. In this case, I’m talking about turning on your lights, turning on your camera, plugging in your mic, firing up your streaming software, adding your overlays, adding a text and anything else that you need to bring in, maybe prep some titles for guests, whatever it is that you need to do, that’s technical.

It might even be some set decoration, make sure it’s on some sort of checklist, whether that’s on paper or it’s on some sort of app. Then when you get to going live, you’re less likely to be running into issues from the technical standpoint, because you’ve checked everything off. You’ve dotted your I’s and you’ve crossed your T’s.” -Doug Hewson

“My tip is exploration, think about exploring. Think about yourself as an explorer. Think about being a lifelong learner. Think about being someone who pushes past the artificial limits that society and ourselves have placed on us. Give yourself permission to do something new.

Here’s one of the slogans that we have on my channel, and that is, ‘Let’s figure it out together live.’ The truth of the matter is what we all bring to the puzzle together can sometimes be greater than what we bring by ourselves. Recognize that your brand, your channel, your livestream, isn’t just about you, not just about your value proposition.

It’s about the community and the platform that you’re building around your brand. So be an explorer. Boldly go where no one has gone before. Step into that unknown space, begin to turn on some lights, and invite other people in.” -Kirk Nugent