In a digital world where direct and instant connections to potential customers are vital in helping to build a brand, live streaming online tool is the tool of choice today. It provides businesses with the opportunity to speak directly to the people they are trying to attract. This communication is often done in an informal manner, making people feel at home with the brand and helping them to become familiar with what it stands for.

We spoke to experienced advertising and media professional, Glenda Wynyard about the benefits of live streaming. She told us that she relishes each opportunity to put her television and media experience to use, helping clients to unleash the power of live streaming for their organisations.

Start small and grow your audience

Live streaming can be daunting to anyone who is new to it. Often the answer is to start by using a social media tool such as Facebook Live to stream to an audience that you are already familiar with, such as a local business forum. Once you are used to the tool, you can start to expand your audience across your potential client case, and start to see the power that professionals like Glenda Wynyard are talking about.

Producing a live stream that works

Given that the live stream algorithm on Facebook is ranked higher than all other content; you have the potential to reach a large audience, so it’s important you get your live streams right. Remember that this is your opportunity to allow people to see your business as you want to present it. Keeping the content at a relaxed level is usually a good idea.

You are not entering your live stream at the Cannes Film Festival, so no-one expects it to be a masterpiece. For instance, if you are using the live stream for a Q&A session, people are going to be more concerned about your business being open and friendly than they are about a phone going off mid discussion.

However, you do not want your live stream to be completely unprofessional. You want to stay on topic and to ensure that the live stream is easy to see and hear. With this in mind, there are some useful tips to follow.

• Decide on a topic and format for the live stream. You may want to take a look at professionals such as Glenda Wynyard on Twitter and check out what the media professionals are saying. You can use this as the basis for topic decisions.
• Ensure that your WiFi connection is strong.
• Check that there are no potential background noise issues that could distort the audio.
• Produce a basic script. This can be just points to be discussed, so that you stay on track.

A good live stream allows you to build your brand, by connecting with your customers. It allows them to see the human face of your business and to feel connected to it. This makes it more likely that they will become regular customers of your brand, as well as recommending it to others.