Right now, livestreams are as close to human interaction as we can get on social media. Until we invent Multi Holograms (excuse us while we research how to get a patent) it’s the next best thing to seeing someone in person. That’s why the Livestream feature is so popular on Clapper, both for creators and their followers.
So much so that there are creators who only livestream. Though it started as a fun, secondary form of content creation, it’s become its own industry full of creators, platforms, specially engineered tools, and more. Creators find their own styles and niches within the livestream format, and if they stick with it long enough they can become experts. Maybe they don’t have Ph.D’s, but a lot of streamers have been livestreaming for longer than many of us have been at our job.
Enter Rose, who began her livestreaming journey in 2019. And who’s content has evolved as she’s been creating.
Rose’s Journey
At first, I was just posting pictures on Twitter and I was really involved with the makeup community. That was how I got into YouTube: a friend of mine on Twitter had a cosmetics company and she said, “You need to start YouTube, blah blah,” so I did. But I didn’t like YouTube so much. It didn’t seem very personal to me and I felt weird talking to a camera as opposed to talking to actual people.
But she stuck with it and continued posting make-up content. It’s something else she’s an expert in: she went to cosmetology school and had been doing make-up until COVID hit. And, eventually, she expanded her content creation into a new form and another important aspect of her life.
I used to be an in-patient mental health counselor, and I started doing more of that when I got on TikTok. Once I could go LIVE, I’d start just hanging out with people. We’d help each other, talk about what’s going on, and sometimes just say “Hey, I care about you today.” I’ve been doin that since early 2019 and it’s just gone on from there.
And livestreaming turned out to be the best fit for Rose. She admits she’s not super tech savvy and that editing videos isn’t really her forte. And just talking at the camera without any kind of connection or feedback felt odd. She does post videos often and has a bank of ones she’s waiting for just the right time to share, but it’s not her priority. She focuses her energy on going Live.
Preparing for a Stream
If you haven’t tuned into Rose’s Livestreams yet (which, you should, she’s amazing) we’ll set the scene for you. Her goal is to go on, hang out with the audience, and have a good time. She’s been doing this long enough that she doesn’t really promote her daily Livestreams anymore.
Most of the people know what times I’m going Live. I don’t get mad if someone doesn’t show up; if they can make it, cool. If they can’t, cool too. I try to let people know if we’re gonna do trivia games or something.
This mindset is a fantastic one to have, especially as you’re staring out. Go on Live to have fun and don’t worry about who does and doesn’t show up. Promote your Lives if you want, but if you just want to jump on whenever, that’s great too.
The rest of Rose’s Livestream prep is pretty normal. She checks on her dogs and makes sure they’re alright, grabs whatever drinks she’ll need (coffee for the morning, maybe something stronger at night), and she makes sure her music is set up. She also double checks she looks put together, just so no one can give her a hard time. And, of course, she takes a second to check in with whoever she’s going Live with to make sure they all understand what they’re getting into.
Now that we’ve gotten to know Rose and her process, let’s move onto her advice.
Wait, One More Note!
We didn’t want this advice to be the standard nuggets creators often hear – and that we often share on our channels. Our goal for this article was to work with a Livestream professional and get new, exciting advice even we hadn’t heard. We have tons of articles and videos sharing Livestream tips and tricks, but this article is full of new things we haven’t shared before.
But, for the sake of being well-rounded, here are some of our favorite tips for your next Livestream.
- Make sure we can clearly see and hear you. Find some place quiet with decent lighting and make sure your camera is steady. Consider getting a tripod, some extra lighting, or a microphone if you start going Live a lot!
- Let the audience warm up. That doesn’t mean you can’t dive right into the Live, but chat with your viewers or vamp for a few minutes. This will give people time to come into your Live and will let you shake off your nerves.
- Notify your followers when you go Live and share the Live to your Group. If your community doesn’t know you’re Live, they might not be able to join you.
With that out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff.
Tip 1 – Go Live with Someone First
Many of us want to take the plunge on our own, whether we haven’t made friends on our chosen app or just don’t want someone to see a potential failure. But Rose has seen this tactic work time and time again, and it’s one we agree with.
I’ve brought many people up with me for their very first time going Live, just to make it not so scary. It’s easier when you have someone there that you can talk to and can show you what it’s like.
You’ll feel at ease if you have someone up there with you: it gives you an actual person to talk with, and they can help keep the audience engaged. Plus, having someone there to observe and learn from in real-time is invaluable. Seeing how people react and interact from the host perspective gives you a lot more insight to leading a Livestream than watching one ever could.
Going Live with Others
Admittedly, going Live with other people introduces a whole host of potential problems. All it takes is a little planning and communication to prevent them, but there’s a few more things to consider.
Who are you going Live with?
It seems basic, but you want to establish who will be joining you before you ever press that Live button. Whether you need to coordinate with a group of people you regularly go Live with or want to pair up with someone new, take a second to get an RSVP for who will be joining you.
What will you be doing?
Even if you just want to hop on a Multi Live and have coffee together, touchbase with all your cohosts and make sure you’re on the same page.
How long will you be Live?
Try to get an idea of how long you’ll all be on Live together. If you want to go Live for three hours but your friends can only join you for the middle hour, that’s fine! It just helps you get an idea of when you’ll have company and for how long.
Tip 2 – Don’t Fall Into Drama
Drama is bound to happen no matter where you go. Don’t fall into it, even if someone lays it on your shoulders. There may be drama happening in the chat that you’ll have to clear up or just sweep aside. There might be drama on another part of the app that somehow floats into your airspace.
And, sometimes, even your friends will bring you drama to deal with.
Just because someone doesn’t like someone doesn’t mean you won’t like that person. I’ve said “Not my circus, not my monkeys” thousands of times.
There’s a number of reasons why you want to avoid drama. For one, it causes a lot of undue stress. It makes Livestreaming and creating content less fun, and you may end up avoiding it. It also just causes trouble for you as a creator, which we absolutely do not want.
Tip 3- Be Consistent
This is perhaps one of the biggest content creation tips we can ever give. Be consistent – or at least stick to your word. While having a set time every day or week where you go Live (like Rose) is ideal, we know it’s not possible for every creator.
People will look for you. If you tell them you’re going to be Live at a certain time, you should be there.
Life gets in the way and we can’t always stick to the schedule we set, but do your best to stay consistent. People will be more likely to see you, viewers will be more likely to come back, and a lot of algorithms favor consistent content creation. Plus, a pre-scheduled, stable time can be easier to work into your schedule than a one-off Live.
Rose’s Clapper community was built around consistent Lives. People knew they could find her on Live at certain times, so they’d head to her account and wait for her to hop on. If you go Live enough, you’ll find your people. And if you’re consistent, they’ll have no problem finding you.
Tip 4 – Avoid Interruptions
This was one of Rose’s top tips, and is one we wholeheartedly agree with. Try to avoid interruptions if you can. Go Live in a quiet place where you won’t be bothered – your bedroom, the back porch, even your closet if need be! There’s a number of reasons we recommend this, but it all boils down to one, singular fact.
A lot of times, people will leave if you’re too loud.
If the viewer can’t focus on the Livestream host and what they’re saying or doing, they aren’t likely to stick around. Even if your Live isn’t meant to be tranquil, cut out as many distractions as you can. That includes changing locations a bunch of times, people or animals busting in and out, or talking with people off camera.
Sometimes you can’t avoid people bursting in or other random interruptions. Your audience will allow for those! But try to plan around other, foreseeable distractions.
Plan in Advance
This doesn’t mean you have to have your whole Live scripted out beforehand. But figure out where you’ll be going Live and what you might need to have in place ahead of time to avoid interruptions.
For Rose, this looks like having her drinks ready before her Lives, making sure her dogs are taken care of and settled, and test-running her music. By now her husband knows when she’ll be going Live and can work around her or avoid interrupting her. These are all little things Rose does in advance to make sure she (and her viewers) can focus on the Live.
Another creator might have to wrangle children out of the room or tell them they’ll be working. Other creators may have to get art supplies or ingredients from a recipe ready to go. And, for people really far out in the country, planning ahead might include making sure the internet actually works.
So before you go Live next time, sit down and think of all the things you might pause the Live for. Then find ways to get rid of them in advance. It won’t be perfect every time and you shouldn’t stress about eliminating every single distraction. But try to quell the predictable ones ahead of time.
Tip 5 – Be Yourself…Carefully
When it comes to social media and content like Livestreams, it’s best to be yourself. For one, it’s easier to focus on having fun and entertaining your audience when you’re not pretending to be someone else. But most importantly, you’ll find your audience and your community if you’re being your authentic self.
If you’re looking to build friendships and make connections, you’ll want to find people you would spend time with in real life. And to do that, you’ll need to be yourself. How else are you going to attract the people you connect with? Besides, whatever you’re trying to hide or cover up is what people love most about you. Rose summed it up best when she said:
People will like you better if you’re yourself. If you act fake they can see it.
Because that’s something people don’t often consider. An audience can tell when you’re faking something or pretending. It makes you feel stilted or awkward, and they would much rather see you for who you are. Be yourself, get to know the people that you pull in because of it, and don’t worry about everyone else.
Well…
We did say to be yourself carefully! It’s an unspoken element of social media that no one really talks about, but Rose was quick to bring up. Be careful who you trust and what you tell. You may really feel like you know someone or that you have a connection with them. But you’ve likely not met the whole person. That doesn’t mean you can’t befriend them – of course you can! Just be careful how close you let them get.
Not everyone is your friend, even if they act like your friend. On social media you only get to see what people allow you to see.
You can be close with them and be super nice to them. But you have to remember they’re friends you’ve made on Livestream. You’ve not actually met them yet, and you can’t be 100% sure what a person is like until you meet them. Don’t trust them with sensitive information, and don’t invite them into your space. You never know what someone’s intentions might be, so always play it safe.
Rose’s Final Advice
It can be easy to get caught up with what everyone else is doing and how big their Lives are. You may see a huge creator going Live with a steady audience of 2,000+ viewers and feel discouraged. Our suggestion is to shove that worried feeling aside. Don’t focus on the numbers; try to focus on what you’re doing in the Live. Shift your attention and zero-in on having fun instead of trying to get as many people in your stream as possible. And, again, Rose said it best.
I don’t care if I don’t have a hundred people in my Live: I’m okay with five. If that’s how many people. need the comfort, the support, the friendship, I’m there for it. I’ve never been one to worry about pushing out content, having to do this. I have to get on Live in the morning and I have to get on Live at night so that I can be there for the people that need me.
If you’re busy worrying about how many people aren’t in the Live, you won’t be focused on the Live itself. Your audience won’t be as likely to engage with you, and you won’t be as likely to enjoy yourself.
And make your goals manageable! Rose’s top priorities are to go on Live twice a day. You can start by going Live once a day, or hosting a Multi Live once a week. Make your goals something attainable that you can control, and make sure you’re enjoying the time you spend on Live.
Even if Rose didn’t say it as a piece of advice or a key takeaway, we can’t let the article end without pointing out that she’s created an incredible safe space for her and her viewers. She’s set clear boundaries for the hosts and audience, making her Livestreams a place where anyone would want to spend their time.
We don’t talk about politics, news, religion, none of that. If we’re talking about something that stresses someone out, it’s going to be an issue someone is having and they need help. We don’t exclude anyone, either. I don’t care who you vote for, I don’t care who you worship and I don’t care who you love. You’re safe in my space as long as you’re not attacking me.
And, honestly? Those sound like perfect guidelines to us.
You can follow Rose on Clapper at @RoseSaidStuff. She hosts Livestreams twice everyday at 7:30AM and 7:30PM PST. Sometimes she hosts trivia or karaoke, and other times you’ll find her talking about mental health, chronic illness, and pain. It’s a great chance to get out all your feelings and connect with new people.
We kind of like getting together in the morning and having coffee with each other, whining about our issues. Then we go on with our day and at night, we vent about it again, get over it, and go to bed.