The live streaming industry grew by 99% in 2020. That’s no surprise when everyone had to resort to Zoom meetings and get-togethers. Churches had to work at a limited capacity during services and many chose not to have people at service to protect older parishioners from COVID-19. Churches learned to adapt quickly and create an online presence through live streaming. It was a way to keep everyone connected while apart. You must read this to improve your church live stream:-
You might have discovered that you can use live streaming to expand your online presence and increase attendance at services. You may also have found that you have a lot of room for improvement.
Read on to find out how you can improve your church streaming so you can expand your reach online.
- Live vs. Pre-Recorded
Should you stream live or broadcast a pre-recorded service. There are pros and cons to each.
In a live stream, you have the chance to interact with your audience through polls and questions. At the same time, anything can happen in a live stream. The technology can malfunction, or a camera battery can die.
A pre-recorded service gives you more control of the content, but you don’t have the chance to engage that much.
You could do a hybrid service where you intersperse pre-recorded clips with live segments. This keeps the church audience from checking out other sites while you’re giving a sermon.
- Church Happens Every Day
Live streaming is a great way to connect with parishioners during the week. All too often, churches and parishioners alike focus on the Sunday service to worship in communion.
The reality is that church happens every day and everywhere. Live streaming brings that point home.
You can get very creative as to how you maintain that connection. You can do a simple morning prayer or evening prayers.
You can also connect what it means to be a member of the church in everyday life. You can show discipleship in action.
The best thing you can do is ask your congregation how you can serve them. Many are suffering from loneliness and isolation. Your church can serve as a lifeline for those people.
- Mind the Music
Does your church service have music as part of the service? When you live stream services through Facebook and YouTube, you’re at their mercy because they can cut your stream off unexpectedly.
These platforms have artificial intelligence in place to detect any copyright infringement issues with videos and live streams.
Many churches that use music as part of worship services have experienced this firsthand. You want to make sure that the music in your service doesn’t include copyrighted material before you go live.
- Have Live Streams for Different Ministries
What usually happens at your church during the week at your church? There’s a good chance that church members gather for bible study and different events during the week.
You can do smaller meetings and live streams for these groups and ministries.
Taking this step can ensure that the ministries that are important to church members continue and build momentum.
- Always Test Technology
The more technology you use in your live stream, the greater the chance that something will go wrong during the live stream.
You want to take the time to test your live streams to make sure that you’re familiar with the technology and you know that it works before you go live.
You also want to make sure that everything is charged and has fresh batteries.
No matter how much you test, something can still go wrong. It’s a good idea to have a backup plan for each piece of technology.
For example, if the internet goes out, can you broadcast at all? What would you do in its place? Maybe someone at another location can broadcast a pre-recorded service as a backup plan.
If your mic goes out, have a spare nearby that you can immediately plug in. Think through every aspect of your broadcast and have a plan B for everything.
- Stream to Multiple Platforms at the Same Time
You’re no longer limited to live streaming on just one platform. Some people prefer to watch broadcasts on Facebook.
Others don’t want to turn on a phone or computer, or they don’t want to be on Facebook. There are people who would much rather watch a service on the TV through YouTube.
How can you cater to these different audiences? Well, you can broadcast to Facebook and YouTube at the same time.
There are live stream services such as WSN.live, Dacast, and BoxCast that let you reach a broad audience.
- Improve As You Go
The one thing that stops churches from live streaming is that they feel the need to be perfect from the start.
There doesn’t need to be a huge production value in your live stream. You can start with a very simple setup and add to it as you go.
You also don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on your live stream. You just need to start with a decent microphone.
Look back on your broadcasts with a close eye on the production. You’ll be able to find ways to improve with each broadcast.
Improve Your Online Presence With Live Streaming
As you continue to navigate these trying times live streaming has been a big part of staying connected to your parishioners.
You can use live streaming to boost your online presence and reach a broader audience. You can do both live and pre-recorded segments and use streaming services to reach multiple platforms at once.
Head over to the Technology section of this site for more tips to improve your live streams.
