Topics to Talk About While Streaming To Keep Your Audience Engaged
The fear of public speaking combined with a need to be interesting can be nerve-wracking. It's especially tough when you're speaking to a big audience or producing live streaming content for the first time.
But don't worry, we have a solution! These conversation starters for streaming will have your broadcasts interesting while making awkward silences avoidable always.
We’ve prepared a list of topics to talk about while streaming that will keep your viewers engaged and prevent those cringe-worthy moments of silence. So, let's ace those streams together and make them super interesting!
What are some good topics to talk about while broadcasting?
To start off, it's important to approach live streaming videos as a marathon rather than a sprint. A typical Twitch streamer that has a significant following will stream for 5-8 hours per day.
Now, here's the best advice for new streamers: your audience has simple expectations, so don't stress about always being entertaining. Once you internalize this, you'll feel less pressure to keep your energy levels high all the time.
The best topics to focus on depend on the type of stream you're running. So, let's dive into some of the most popular stream ideas and the tips that go with them.
Good topics to talk about for gaming streams
Streaming and playing video games with your audience is a great way to have fun and engage with your viewers. It's a win-win situation!
One thing to keep in mind is that social media streamers sometimes overthink their content and worry about constantly being entertaining. Just remember, these types of video content are long, they aren’t supposed to be densely packed with edge-of-your-seat moments!
When those awesome moments do happen on your stream, your viewers can create clips to capture the highlights and share them on your channel. It's a cool way to relive the excitement and show off your best moments to the world!
Let’s take a look at some good topics to talk about which also serve as great conversation starters when streaming:
- Commentary — You can use commentary or narration to describe what you are currently focusing on in your presentation.
- Industry trends and insights — Discuss the latest trends and developments within the industry that the company operates in.
- Company updates and news — Share the latest updates, announcements, and news about the company.
- Success stories and achievements — Share stories of successful projects or accomplishments within the company.
- Community engagement — Ask your viewers questions, respond to their comments, and involve them in your stream by holding giveaways, contests, or polls.
- Q&A with executives and employees — Host a Q&A session with executives or employees to answer questions about the company or the industry.
If you're looking to grow your channel and build a regular following, it's essential to let your personality shine through on stream.
As you stream more and more, you'll become more comfortable being yourself in front of your audience.
And that's what viewers love. They want to get to know you and connect with the real you. So don't be afraid to let your personality and quirks show!
Good topics to talk about for ‘IRL’ streams
Another popular type of stream are IRL streams, or “in real life” streams. These are often filmed on a go-pro attached to a head mount which is a great way to capture your environment.
As this type of stream is mainly focused on your environment, it can be difficult when moving between filming locations. Having some topics to hand to pull from can save you from long awkward silences.
Here are some good topics to talk about while exploring and IRL streaming outside.
- History of the location — If your stream is exploring a location, talk about the history of the area.
- Past experiences — Tell your audience your experience when you visited the area,if you've been there before.
- Places to visit nearby — Mention your favourite place to eat nearby, even your favorite coffee shop. This gives viewers a better understanding of the location.
- Access tips — Let others know how to access the location themselves. Talk about nearby roads or train stations which will help others plan a similar trip.
- Similar locations —It is always worth mentioning similar locations for those who want to do more of the same.
There are many other types of IRL streams such as cooking and crafts, but the above tips can be easily modified to fit your broadcast.
Topics you should avoid while streaming
Although there is a lot of freedom to discuss a wide variety of topics while broadcasting, there are some topics that are best avoided.
Here are some of the topics that are best staying away from while streaming.
- Gossip
- Politics
- Rumors about other streamers
- Discussing your income
- Any sensitive subject matter
Your stream should be a place where people can come to relax and enjoy your content. It is best to aim to discuss topics to talk about while streaming that bring people together which will give you an easier time moderating your stream’s chat.
Using interesting content to grow your audience
Knowing where to start with your stream can be difficult. We have listed some ideas below which should help you decide how often to stream, fun things to do on live stream, and what to talk about.
Target Duration | Considerations | Frequency | Key Topics | |
Webinar/Event Stream | 1-3 Hours (with breaks) | Know your audience well and solve a problem for them | 1-2 days per week |
|
IRL Stream | Around 3 hours | 4G coverage, filming permission | 2-3 days per week |
|
How to get people to watch your stream
If you are trying to find out how to get people to watch your stream, one of the best ways is to just be yourself! You should let your personality come through on stream and let people get to know you over time.
A lot of new streamers get caught up with trying to emulate or copy someone else's style. If you try to be someone you’re not, most can spot it easily so just relax and be natural on your stream. One of the best practices for streaming is to stick to your schedule, have set days for certain types of streams, and be consistent.
Some great advice for new streamers on how to increase stream views is to take on board community feedback and suggested stream ideas. You should also spend some time each stream communicating with your audience. You can get some great content ideas from your audience while streaming.
Encourage community suggestions for fun things to do on live stream via a Strawpoll, for example, and store the results away for a future broadcast.
Many viewers are now avoiding big streamers and joining smaller communities. It is easy to feel like just a statistic when part of a huge audience. With smaller broadcasters, you have more chance of being heard.
Just keep this in mind when feeling disheartened by your initial follower and subscriber count when working on how to get people to watch your stream.
FAQs
Sadly there isn’t a quick fix to help you gain subscribers and followers. Thankfully though, there are a set of rules to live by when regularly broadcasting online.
In order to gain a stable following online and grow your audience, look to stick to the following tips:
- Research and understand your audience
- Host other streamers once your stream has ended
- Aim for niches instead of topics everyone is covering
- Stick to a schedule so that others know when you will be live
- Be persistent and consistent
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
— Will Durant
When starting out as a streamer, you will be constantly trying to learn how to be a good streamer, or how to be a “successful streamer”.
The best way to be generally successful is to be persistent and keep doing what your audience enjoys on your stream. Don’t forget to collect feedback, too!
This is essentially content marketing with live videos. So, it’s important to measure the effect of your efforts to know where you stand and what you can improve in your marketing strategy.
Although there are many different types of broadcast, there are some common best practices that you should stick to in order to grow your audience.
Here are some of the best practices for live streaming:
- Stick to your schedule
- Regularly interact with your audience
- Choose an accurate stream title that will attract new viewers
- Make sure stream quality and bitrate are consistent
- Use overlays to give your stream a professional appearance
- Try out different streaming platforms
- Check your upload speed
If you are looking to find out how to grow your stream in general, these above tips should be a great starting point for beginners.
Conclusion
Whether you want to know how to increase stream viewers through your search engine optimization or what makes a successful streamer, the article above should help.
Growing your company channel takes time and patience so it is important not to expect immediate results overnight.
As with most things, practice makes perfect. With time, you'll gain a better understanding of what your audience expects from your streams, and you'll feel more at ease speaking on them.
Be patient with yourself while streaming. You will notice a clear improvement in your content as time goes on, and as you hone your craft. Eventually, you won’t need to find topics to talk about while streaming as it will happen naturally.
Further reading
If you would like to find out more about any of the terms or subject matter listed above, please visit the below links.
- The Most Important Video Marketing Metrics
- A Guide To Live Streaming Video Marketing
- What Exactly is IRL Streaming?
- How To Add An Overlay To OBS
- Multistreaming 101 — How to stream to multiple websites
- How To Craft A Video Distribution Strategy
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