As TikTok continues to refine its live-streaming options, YouTube is also giving its live-stream tools more focus, with two new additions to help maximize engagement and awareness of live broadcasts within the app.
First off, YouTube's expanding its Premiere trailers option to upcoming live-streams, which will enable creators to add a short preview clip to the stream event page.
As explained by YouTube's Conor Kavanagh:
"Last year, we introduced Trailers which enable creators to add a 15-second to 3-minute clip to the upcoming or scheduled page of a Premiere. Now we're delighted to announce that trailers are now available for upcoming and scheduled live-streams."
The option will provide another way to entice potential viewers along to your broadcasts, with a quick showcase of what they'll get from your stream.
To set up a live-stream trailer, you'll first need to upload the preview clip as a regular YouTube video. You'll then be able to choose that clip as your trailer in your live-stream event set-up.
Live-stream creators will be able to add trailers via YouTube's Live Control Room, with the option available to all channels with at least 1,000 subscribers and zero strikes.
In addition to this, YouTube's also expanding access to its Live Chat Polls option, which will provide another way to maximize engagement within live-streams.
As you can see here, streamers can set up a live poll from the chat window, where they can add up to four poll options to choose from. Live Polls were previously available to gaming creators but now, all streamers will be able to add in the option - though Polls can only be enabled via the desktop version of the app.
Worth noting too that Live Polls don't show up in live chat replays (more info here).
Live-streaming seemed to have its moment a few years back, when the arrival of Meerkat and Periscope opened up the world to a whole new range of creators keen to share their unique perspectives. But then it died down, as the overall quality of streams diluted the value of the option. But now, with both YouTube and TikTok exploring live-stream commerce, which could open up more revenue opportunities, it's having something of a resurgence, and if TikTok's going to push ahead with it, YouTube will undoubtedly follow suit, in order to limit any migration of creative talent as a result.
Which is why it's looking to add in these new live-stream options - and you can expect to see even more on this front, as both platforms race to provide the best commerce streaming tools to win over top stars.
Because direct selling facilitates more brand partnerships, and more monetization. And with live-streams regularly seeing significantly more engagement than regular video clips, it could end up being a powerful vehicle for promotion, in varying respects.
That could also be worth noting in your promotional planning - even if you're not looking to broadcast yourself. The right partner, with the right eCommerce stream, could be a great vehicle for enhanced brand awareness.
