How to Effectively Monetize Live Video Content
A survey recently conducted by New York Magazine found that as many as 80% of the people who responded preferred watching live video footage produced by a company, rather than reading text on their blog. As many as half of the people who regularly watch live video feeds are even willing to pay for access to videos from speakers, artists, performers, or athletes that they enjoy.
Creating live video streams for your brand is a great way to add an additional income stream. The hardest part is deciding how to go about monetizing your videos. There are a number of different approaches to take, depending on your goals and objectives, as well as the size of your company, experience level, and the types of videos created. Below are four different options to use to start earning money from live video feeds.
Methods for Monetizing Live Video
Ask People to Donate
People who create valuable content often monetize it by asking their viewers to make donations online. This fast-growing monetization method is a lot more effective than you might think — especially when you consider that there is a 13% annual increase in the amount of money that is donated online. The live streaming platform that you choose should allow you to easily take donations from people who are watching your content. For instance, the Livestream embedded player and the page for the event itself both have buttons available that viewers can click on to make a donation, while simultaneously watching your stream.
Well-known organizations, such as the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, and musicians, such as CENTERSTAGE in Ireland, both rely on donations on their live streaming pages.
Google Advertisements
Another way to monetize live streaming content is by using Google Doubleclick for Publishers. This program allows you to add advertisements to broadcasts. In a way, it is the same basic concept as the commercials that you see on TV. Because people are already familiar with that advertising format, they typically aren’t turned off by disruptions by ads during video streams.
Ads that are inserted in the middle of your content are more likely to get views than those that are inserted before your content. For instance, AdAge discovered that ads at the beginning of content were only watched through to completion 78% of the time, while those in the middle of the content were watched 90% of the time. Synchronizing your Google Doubleclick for Publishers account with your Livestream account is extremely easy and only takes a few minutes.
You can see this type of advertising in action by viewing the live streams of organizations, such as LawNewz and BeTerrific. These groups broadcast their content throughout the world.
LawNewz provides live footage of some of today’s leading criminal court cases. They have developed a loyal group of viewers who return to watch the content again and again. Each time they tune in, they are presented with advertising, helping Lawnewz increase their revenue.
Capturing Leads
Hubspot recently found that businesses that added live video to their marketing tools were able to convert as many as 80% more customers. Live video content can make your marketing much more engaging, regardless of whether people are viewing your content on traditional computers or on their mobile devices. The hard part is figuring out how to maintain the same conversion rate even after your live stream is over.
The lead capture tool included with Livestream makes it easy to gather contact information from your viewers. If you include a lead capture form with your broadcast, people who want to watch will be asked to complete the form prior to watching your live stream. This makes it a lot easier to keep track of viewer demographics.
The New Orleans Saints currently rely on lead capture to get a clearer picture of who their viewers are. They broadcast shows both before and after the game, connecting with thousands of fans. The live streaming content that they present provides value to the fans. At the same time, the lead capture forms enable the team to more effectively market to those fans through email at a later date.
Charging Viewers
Creating pay-per-view content is a bit like asking people to buy a ticket to watch your show. This is why a quality streaming provider is important. Live streaming pay per view makes it possible to easily promote content and charge customers to watch whatever content you are live streaming via Facebook and other platforms.
Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions has changed the way that sports are broadcast. They capture extra income online through the pay-per-view feature that they have implemented for their network, called Ring TV Live. Some of their broadcasts are free, while others follow the standard pay-per-view model. The idea is to draw viewers in by providing free content. Then, once they are already hooked, they can easily be converted into subscribers who are willing to pay for the content they are viewing.
Ultimate Fighting Champions use a similar model. They provide free access to their smaller fights and charge pay-per-view fees for their larger fights. You can set up a system of your own that is similar using the Simulcast tool from Livestream. This tool provides a combination of free and pay-per-view content to viewers.
The Benefits of Monetizing Live Video Streams
In the past, online video has absolutely exploded. As of right now, nearly 2/3 of all traffic on the Internet is dedicated to streaming video. This number is expected to rise to 82% as soon as the year 2020. There has never been a better time to get started with live streaming. Working with a company like Livestream makes it easy to not only get your content online but to monetize it. There are a lot of different options available when it comes to generating revenue from your videos. Using the available tools, you can come up with a customized strategy that works for both you and your audience.
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