
According to Vimeo, the number of live streaming users will reach 90 million by 2024. It's not surprising, given that YouTube and other video streaming sites are among the most popular on the web. So, for business owners, it's worth exploring live stream ideas that will increase conversions and revenue.
If you haven't jumped on the live streaming trend, it's not too late. Another study from Wyzowl revealed that more than 85% of businesses use video marketing and 92% agree it is a critical part of their marketing strategy. There's no better time than now to create a winning approach to get a share of this growing trend!
Why You Should Go Live on Social Media
Before introducing some fun and interesting live stream ideas, let's delve into the benefits of going live on social media…
It Engages Your Audience
A report from Statista forecasts that marketers in the U.S. will spend nearly 42% more on video ad campaigns by 2024. Why are brands and marketers willing to allocate that much on video and live streaming? It's because this is the type of content that audiences want.
Regardless of your industry, video is the preferred content because it is interactive, engaging, and easy to consume. Most web users would rather watch a video than read a blog post of the same content.
The best part about the engagement you get from live streaming is that it provides more authentic connections. It's a great way to humanize your brand in front of your audience.
It Builds Your Community
To piggyback on the previous point, using different live stream ideas can help you build a community among your followers and supporters. You can use this opportunity to establish credibility by providing useful content. And you can reestablish your position as a thought leader in your industry.
Another way to build community through live streaming is to forge meaningful relationships with your audience. Your investment in building online communities can pay off through new leads and conversions.
It Expands Your Reach
One of the key reasons marketers like to use video content is that it expands the reach of in-person events. Since you are not limited by geography or physical location, you can reach more people than you could if you were to host an in-person event.
Be strategic in choosing the best social media platforms for your live stream to maximize your reach where your ideal audience is hanging out.
It Improves Brand Awareness
Doing a variety of things on live stream is a great way to let your audience know about your brand and to discover potential prospects. Leveraging the reach of live stream content on social media is your opportunity to tap into new markets and introduce what your brand is about.
Maximize how you plan your live events to build new connections and generate new leads. It also pays to know the common video mistakes on social media so you can avoid them.
It Gives You Real-Time Feedback
Live streaming is a great opportunity to interact with your audience in real time. Unlike on-demand video content, you can participate in the conversation as it happens.
Encourage your audience to share your live video to get more viewers or to comment or discuss with other viewers. That's a great way to create more engaging content by utilizing your viewership, which isn't something you can achieve with blog posts or on-demand videos.
Live streaming is effective because you can connect with your audience directly and without delay. It's almost as if you're on FaceTime with your audience, and that's a connection that people crave.
10 Live Stream Ideas That Will Engage Your Audience
If you want to reap the benefits of live streaming and maximize the value of this tactic, you need to put thought into how you conduct each session. So, it's important to focus on making your live stream events high quality and engaging to achieve your business objectives.
Use these ideas to create live streams and get the most from them…
1) Do Product Demos

Holding a product demo is a classic idea, but it's one that never gets old. If you have a product that is unique, it makes sense to do a live session with your audience wherein you demonstrate how to use that product.
A product demo live stream is wise for two reasons:
- It allows you to educate your audience about how to use your product.
- It increases engagement because you can encourage your audience to ask questions about the different features of that product.
2) Offer Behind-the-Scenes Footage
One of the best live stream ideas you can use is the behind-the-scenes approach. It's an excellent way to show your followers and audience what goes on within your company.
The reason this type of live stream content is effective is that it humanizes your brand. It makes your brand relatable and helps the audience feel valued by getting a glimpse at the inner workings of your brand.
3) Show Off an Event
If you're attending an industry event, you can live stream that event for your audience to participate virtually. Virtual watch parties are a common trend in social media. It is a nice change of pace for your viewers and lets you step off the hosting duties for a while as you just have fun while including your audience in what you're seeing and doing.
Don't avoid live streaming because you're waiting on the perfect backdrop or equipment to use. Use what you have; in most cases, a phone works great! If you are live streaming an event, just make sure to test the camera angle and view it as an audience member. You want them to feel like part of the event, even virtually.
4) Host Q&A Sessions
If you want live stream ideas that will engage your audience, this is a winner. Hosting a Q&A session during a live stream boosts interaction and engagement among your audience. It also allows you to develop meaningful connections with them.
If you want to build authenticity as part of your marketing and branding, a Q&A session will help with that.
5) Provide Tips & Thoughts on a Relevant Topic
The people following you on social media do so because they trust your expertise and believe you're credible. Reward their trust by using your live stream event as an opportunity to teach or share valuable industry tips.
In fact, one of the best things to do on a live stream is host a series of events, with each one focusing on a particular topic. You can make these events related to each other to keep your audience looking forward to the next part of the series.
6) Promote a Challenge or Giveaway
Hosting a challenge or giveaway and then selecting a winner after the event is a great way to generate excitement for your audience. It can also bring new faces into your live stream events.
Get your audience excited to tune in by offering up some great prizes, and think of creative ways to make the event a lot of fun.
7) Interview Someone Relevant
Aside from sharing your knowledge and expertise in the industry, you can also bring in other experts from your niche for a live event. Your audience will get to enjoy an alternative perspective. And it's a great opportunity for you to expand your reach by leveraging the following of the expert you've invited to your live stream.
8) Launch a Flash Sale
If your business deals with selling specific merchandise, another idea is to launch a flash sale during the stream. Your audience will most likely take advantage of this offer, especially if it's a limited one.
In addition, it will generate excitement for your future live events because your audience will stay tuned for the possibility of another flash sale.
9) Teach a Webinar
Hosting a webinar is another excellent idea for a live stream because it helps establish your authority and expertise in the space. Plus, people often purchase large ticket programs and services from webinars.
Make sure to promote the event a few weeks or days beforehand to get as many participants to your webinar as possible so that you can make it interactive.
10) Just Go Live!
Finally, just go live! You don't always have to prepare something in advance. Sometimes, it's worth going off the cuff and keeping things casual.
There is a huge surge in creators, brands, and spokespeople going live and chatting with their viewers by reading comments live on the stream and having a conversation that way. It's a great way to humanize your brand and really connect with your audience.
One common mistake with live streams is ignoring your audience. The reason people go live is to connect with their audience right then and there. You need to engage with viewers to keep them engaged and watching your stream.
Takeaway
Research has shown that viewers watch live videos 8X longer than on-demand videos. If your goal is to drive more traffic or build brand awareness, now is the time to explore various live stream ideas to give your audience what they want and build engagement. It's important to change things up so you offer fresh content that keeps them guessing and generate more buzz on your chosen platform. If you could use a little help, take advantage of our free social media toolkit to make sure you're following best practices and more.