Why Your Streaming Software Matters

Live streaming content is one of the most exciting ways to connect with your audience. Transmitting your likeness in real time to your fans and followers builds a stronger connection and increases audience loyalty. Whether streaming is just a part of your content marketing strategy, or it's your entire operation, you need to make sure you have the right streaming software. If you use the wrong tools, you'll get the wrong results.

Functions and Possibilities

Streaming software essentially takes a TV studio and crams it into a single application. Most streaming programs allow you to set up scenes, for example, a pause scene, while you're away from your stream. You can switch between scenes quickly using button presses or mouse clicks. Many programs also allow you to manage audio levels by source or apply effects to your video feed. All of these are basic functions that you'll need to produce a high-quality streaming experience.

But not all programs are built with performance in mind. One of the most popular programs is OBS, open-source software that allows you to stream over the internet. But it's limited in many ways. High quality 4K video will likely slow down your computer. You cannot stream to multiple platforms at once. Some programs don't work well with specific hardware components. And even when a program functions well, it can still be quite confusing.

Ease of Use

Ease of use is everything when you stream. You need to focus on your content and your audience engagement. Technical difficulties due to a clunky interface will only make your viewers abandon your show. You need a program that lets you stream effortlessly.

You also need software that lets you stream in multiple ways. As anyone who's ever tried to stream to multiple platforms at once knows, the process is almost impossible with regular software. Not only do different platforms use distinct video formats and aspect ratios, but your home internet connection might not even be able to handle multiple outgoing transmissions at high quality.

Multiple Platform Streaming

So how can you stream everywhere at once? What you need is a content delivery network (CDN). Instead of trying to broadcast the same feed to multiple destinations from your own computer, you simply send your stream to one central location in the cloud. From there, the CDN takes the stream, duplicates it, and re-encodes it for each destination. You can stream to several platforms simultaneously without causing your computer to melt down or your software to break.

With multi-platform streaming, your content reaches more people with less effort. That, in turn, will lead to more revenue from your content.

More Eyes, More Money

The bigger the audience, the better the income. More eyes mean more opportunities for monetization. Perhaps YouTube will pay you for watch time while another platform will allow your audience to donate directly. While you stream non-stop on a private channel for paid subscribers, others get ads. You can monetize multiple ways thanks to multiple streams.

All you need is the right software. Request a callback from Lightcast or email us to learn more about our streaming system and how you can be everywhere all at once.