In the world of events, live streaming is becoming increasingly popular, and choosing the best streaming platform is essential—not only for its promotional benefits, but also because it allows you to overcome all geographical and time-zone barriers.
Webinars, client meetings, promotions of your products or services, interviews with industry colleagues... all these actions require streaming tools. Additionally, live video is one of the event trends and current marketing. How many times have we asked ourselves, What is the best platform for streaming?
Where to stream? Streaming platforms for events
For years, streaming platforms for events have been gaining strength, boosted by the arrival of the pandemic. Streaming platforms allow us to host different events: webinars, product presentations, conferences, etc.
With these live streams, we can also achieve monetization, so it's very important to know how to make money streaming through the platform we have chosen.
There are multiple platforms that facilitate the process of publishing a stream, but first it's important to differentiate between free and paid options, as well as by the needs we have to achieve our goals. What are these platforms for streaming?
Free streaming platforms
These are those that do not incur any cost for the company or the user. On a personal level, they are interesting to us because, depending on their use, they help cover all the needs that clients ask for. Likewise, there are programs for edit videos online that will help us.
YouTube
It’s the king of online videos; nothing else comes close. For many, it’s the best platform for streaming. It offers the ability to broadcast live streams, and sharing them is a breeze—simply copy the stream’s URL to share the event with all your users, customers, and others. It features a “Tips” system that allows viewers to tip the streamer in exchange for having their comments highlighted in the chat.
Facebook Live
This feature lets us share the stream with our closest contacts, business pages, and groups of friends. It allows for live streaming, creating live polls, and real-time reactions and comments. At the end of the stream, you can save the video to the fan page’s timeline.
Periscope
This platform belongs to the Twitter social network and specializes in live video streaming. It allows a conversation or topic to be threaded through «moments» and hashtags.
Twitch TV
With Twitch, we conclude the list of the best platforms for free streaming. It's the preferred streaming platform for gamers. It's mainly used for broadcasting gameplay and live competitions.
Did you know about all these top streaming platforms? Now let's move on to the paid ones.
Paid streaming platforms
These are streaming platforms that come with an additional cost. They stand out for the privacy they offer. In other words, on free streaming platforms, it's very easy to share the link, but on paid platforms, you need to follow security controls with access to view the stream. This enables many companies to conduct private streams without anyone being able to access the information shared during these events. Another notable feature is the minimal delay these platforms have, with a maximum difference of 5 seconds.
Akamai
Among payment platforms, the following stand out: Akamai. It offers the most comprehensive set of features of any app. It provides greater control and security over who is watching the stream. There is an option to ask questions of connected users—a sort of chat feature, but more personalized. It also provides more detailed statistics, such as regional data. And one standout feature is the app’s versatile viewing options.
Platforms for streaming video games
There are many streaming platforms out there, but if you want to focus on streaming video games, you need to know which platforms are best for esports streaming.
There is also variety within this sector, but we can focus on five of them. The one we can highlight is YouTube Live with an audience of over 2.2 million active users and a presence in more than 100 countries. Twitch, as it couldn't be any other way, is one of them and the favorite for both players and content creators. Facebook Gaming, less used and known, is one of the simplest platforms and fulfills its function as an alternative to consider. Instagram Live is another very simple and perfect option for broadcasting events, live music, or live streams with your friends for up to four hours. TikTok It had to be on the list—it has become a social media platform with over 2 million downloads and more than 800 million active users. The only thing to keep in mind is the length of the videos, which are usually 15 seconds long and can be up to one minute.
The choice of platforms we use for streaming video games will depend on our needs, goals, and target audience.
What platform is best for streaming?
Each platform fulfills certain objectives that must be closely linked to those of the streaming itself. To choose the best platform for streaming, we must first be clear about several factors:
- GoalsThey need to be completely clear, meaning, what do we want to achieve with the streaming? It's a key point for knowing which platform to use.
- AudienceThe audience size will greatly influence visibility within the streaming platform. We must choose between a private or public stream, which will be a deciding factor in choosing the platform.
- BudgetAs we've seen, there are paid and free options. This will also depend on the needs and the scope we want to achieve with the best streaming platform we choose.
- Prevent: not in all cases, but in others, it's advisable to choose a platform with the future in mind, in case we want to continue creating content that is always on the same one.
- Tests and trialsAs with any other project, testing is essential to ensure the best possible outcome. We can say that this is more than an indispensable requirement.
If we haven't yet answered your question about which platforms are best for streaming—specifically, which one is best suited for your live stream—there are still other options available.
Custom streaming platform
If you pay attention, practically all social networks offer the possibility of broadcasting live. Brands are aware of this and are taking advantage of its potential. Live videos are a way to generate a lot of engagement with their audience, as they allow them to showcase their knowledge, experience, and catalog of products and services, in addition to being a great way to gain visibility.
That said, we often struggle to find the best streaming platform—one that we truly feel comfortable with or that meets our goals. If we want to stream in a personalized and professional way, we need experts who can advise us and guide us through the process.
Do you need a streaming platform?
Aside from the best streaming platforms we've explained, there's an option to broadcast your stream through your own platform. Thanks to website technology, we can create a fully personalized landing page with the event's graphics and embed the streaming video within it.
At enbex, as streaming company for events, we've got you covered. We're not your typical event platform; we're digital content creators, and we develop fully customized solutions. The event website is very comprehensive and can be enhanced in various ways: word clouds, networking, private questions, online chat, monitoring, monetization through advertising, analytics, live polls, gamification, save-the-date features, online donations, and more. It’s the best way to fully customize your stream and make everyone who couldn’t attend feel like they’re part of the event.
Choosing the best platform to stream on is a matter that needs to be taken into account and carefully evaluated before you start broadcasting the event or live stream you're planning. There are also two very important and essential questions left:how to stream? ¿How to organize an online event?