Category Archives: Group Chat

The 7 Best WordPress Plugins For Live Events

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Live events have emerged as a cornerstone of meaningful engagement. With the foundational strength of WordPress, selecting the ideal plugins is instrumental in shaping superior live experiences. Dive deep into this curated guide to curate exceptional live events.

Integral Considerations for Plugin Integration

  • Developer Engagement: Right functioning of a plugin heavily relies on persistent developer involvement. Neglected plugins may conflict with evolving WordPress versions, jeopardizing site security and operability.
  • Evaluating Costs: Although an upfront investment, premium plugins generally offer advanced features and unwavering support, distinguishing them from their free counterparts.
  • Optimizing for Performance: Striking a balance is pivotal. Prudent management of active plugins ensures a website remains responsive and user-centric.

Championing Live Events with Leading Plugins

1. Arena WordPress Plugin

  • Rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars
  • Last Update: 11 months ago
  • WordPress Compatibility: 3.6.1 or higher
  • Notable Features: With functionalities such as Live Chat and Live Blog, this plugin seamlessly meshes with popular social platforms.
  • Description: The Arena WordPress platform elegantly bridges live interaction with social media synergy. Integrating the Arena Live Blog is straightforward and poised to elevate your content landscape. Follow this clever 7-step guide to install Arena Live Blog in your WordPress website. Take a sneak-peak at what you can do buy adding social content in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxgRBLN5cGU

2. Embed Plus for YouTube

  • Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
  • Last Update: 2 months ago
  • WordPress Compatibility: 4.1 or higher
  • Notable Features: An avenue to directly embed YouTube live streams, while maintaining GDPR adherence.
  • Description: Ideal for funneling your YouTube audience onto your website, this plugin goes beyond mere streaming, offering diverse playlist curation avenues.

3. WPStream

  • Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
  • Last Update: September 2021
  • WordPress Compatibility: 5.6 or higher
  • Notable Features: Versatile video platform support and encrypted content delivery.
  • Description: Tailored for businesses inclined towards a pay-per-view model, WPStream stands out as a potent tool in the world of live-streaming.

4. Easy Video Player

  • Rating: 4.1 stars out of 5 stars
  • Last Update: 3 months ago
  • WordPress Compatibility: 5.5 or higher
  • Notable Features: Direct embedding capabilities for an array of video formats, complemented by autoplay features.
  • Description: Beyond its prowess in live stream facilitation, it offers an archival route for videos, fostering a rich repository for audience revisit and instructional sharing.

Supporting WordPress Plugins

The WordPress plugins above provide the basic components for a successful live event. However, your business website may need more functions to be healthy. Check out these WordPress plugins to keep your website functioning smoothly.

5. Jetpack

  • Rating: 3.9 stars out of 5 stars
  • Last Update: 4 weeks ago
  • WordPress Compatibility: 5.7 or higher
  • Notable Features: Holistic backup solutions with daily and real-time modalities.
  • Description: Conceived by Automaticc, spearheaded by WordPress stalwart Matt Mullenweg, Jetpack is synonymous with robust data backup and fortified security.

6. Yoast SEO

  • Rating: 4.8 stars out of 5 stars
  • Last Update: September 2021
  • WordPress Compatibility: 5.6 or higher
  • Notable Features: Comprehensive SEO toolkit with diverse language accompaniments.
  • Description: Yoast SEO’s footprint in the WordPress cosmos speaks volumes of its effectiveness. For those banking on SEO-driven traffic, it emerges as a nonpareil choice.

7. W3 Total Cache

  • Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5 stars
  • Last Update: 4 weeks ago
  • WordPress Compatibility: 5.6 or higher
  • Notable Features: Enhancements to optimize website responsiveness across a myriad of devices.
  • Description: In the age where loading speed is tantamount to user retention, this plugin is crucial. Its intricate setup necessitates technical prowess, underscoring the importance of professional oversight.

Embracing the Future of Live Events on WordPress

Harnessing the vigor of live events is an art and science combined. Though WordPress might not be inherently tailored for live broadcasts, plugins, especially Arena, infuse it with this dynamism. Embark on this transformative journey with a 14-day free trial of Arena. Once enmeshed with your site, a vista of unparalleled live events beckons.

For aspirants in the live events spectrum, this comprehensive 10-step checklist ro a successful event serves as the gold standard to ensure great results. The symphony of apt tools and visionary strategies crafts marketing masterpieces.

How to Leverage Live Sports Streaming on my Website

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Letting your audience watch live sports is one of the best ways to engage them on your website. It not only gives fans a way to follow their favorite sports, players, and teams, it gives them a fully interactive experience. There are several ways you can create an engaging live streaming event, and we will cover some of them in this guide.

How to Add an Engaging Sports Livestream to your Website

To leverage live sports streaming on your website, you first need to know how to embed a live sports stream onto your webpage. Then, you can add tools to create more audience engagement.

Set up and Promote a Sports Live Stream

Step one in adding a live sport stream to your site is to choose a sporting event to broadcast. Ask yourself, “Which upcoming event is most important to my audience?”

If your audience is an international crowd, it may be a waste of time to broadcast an NFL football game. If your crowd likes soccer, choose an important soccer match that would peak the interest of your audience.

Once you have an event in mind, select a live stream platform. Some of the best platforms we recommend include Brightcove, Dacast, Restream, and Vimeo. For more information on the best live streaming platforms, check out this list here.

Depending on the platform you choose, follow its specific instructions on how to embed the live stream on your webpage.

Finally, you need to promote your event. Since viewers often have many ways to watch an event, it’s typically best to create a free live sports streaming event. By offering people a free way to watch live sports, you’ll give them more incentive to choose your stream over someone else’s.

You can promote your free live sports streaming event by running paid ads, posting on your social media pages, and sending invites to your email list. Allow your audience to pre-register, giving you a virtual headcount for your stream and the opportunity to send reminders to those who sign up.

In your promotions, make sure to include reasons your stream is different and better than your competitors. You can also attract viewers by offering rewards like giveaways, discounts, and coupons.

Add Engagement Tools

Once you have a way for your audience to watch live sports, it’s important to give them a way to engage with the live stream. Two ways to do this are through live blog and live chat. Check out how Fox Sports Australia successfully leverages Live Blog and Live Chat in their sports coverage.

Set up a Live Blog

A live blog lets you provide quick updates and posts during a sporting event in real time. Adding a live blog to your stream is a great way to stand out from other live sports streamers.

The difference between a live blog and a regular blog is speed. By quickly adding updates to a live blog, you’ll have your fans informed as soon as something notable happens.

One way you can use the live blog to engage your audience is to provide play-by-play commentary. For example, you are live streaming a big football game on Sunday afternoon. A touchdown is scored on the opening play, and you send out an exciting update, “Touchdown Wildcats!”

Many sports including basketball, baseball, football, and tennis include breaks in the action. These can be a result of period changes, injuries, and timeouts.  Take advantage of these breaks by sharing content that keeps your audience engaged.

These can include sharing player and coach interviews, explaining sports rules, and sharing team highlights and schedules. You can also explain business aspects like player trades, contract values, and franchise salary caps.

For more examples for using a live blog, check out our article on how to add a live blog to an olympics event. If you don’t know where to start, consider using Arena Live Blog with your next live stream event.

Add Live Chat to Your Stream

Sports fans are extremely passionate, and they love sharing ideas and opinions with others. While adding a live blog is a great way to keep your audience informed, you’ll also want to encourage them to give their feedback too. To do this, you can add live chat to your live sport stream.

First, you’ll want to prepare some questions to ask your audience during the event.

For example, you can ask your audience if they agree with the coach’s decision to sit a star player during a crucial basketball game. You can ask your audience if they agree with a referee’s decision to give a player a yellow card during a soccer match.

Fans love to give their predictions for a sporting event. At the start of a golf tournament, you can ask your audience who they believe will finish with the best score. You can ask them who they believe will win a hockey game and by how many goals.

Get creative with your questions and make sure they are thought provoking to your target audience. These will lead to increased audience engagement and insightful answers.

Next, you can have an assistant read through the comments and highlight insightful answers. You don’t need to respond to every comment but make sure to pull out interesting comments. This shows your audience that you value their opinions, and it encourages them to engage even more.

Because there are no real consequences for misbehavior, internet commenters often post offensive or inappropriate comments and use profane language. Improve your live chat by eliminating internet trolls and foul language.

By using a tool like Arena Live Chat, you’ll have the ability to control internet trolls and automatically detect and block profane language.

Finally, you can create the best live chat experience possible by thanking your audience for their input. By positively reinforcing your audience through appreciation, you’ll increase their chances of returning and engaging with future live sports streams.

You can also show appreciation by offering incentives like coupon codes and discounts to those who comment.

Conclusion

Leveraging live sports streaming on your website isn’t hard if you have the right tools and strategies. By hosting an engaging, relevant, and free live sports streaming event, you’ll be sure to attract and retain viewers for future events.

Choose an event to broadcast, select a streaming platform, and promote your live sport stream to get started. You can further enhance your event by adding a live blog and live chat. A live blog gives you a way to provide real-time updates, and a live chat gives your audience ways to share their ideas and opinions.

The best way to add a live blog and live stream is through Arena’s intuitive software. With Arena, you can add a live blog and live chat to your website in minutes. Sign up for a free trial by clicking the link below.

Sign up for Arena today

9 Steps To Make Your Own Live Stream

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Making your own live stream is one of the best decisions when your goal is to connect directly with your audience.

Whether it’s to generate more leads, drive sales, or even get to know your audience better through data, there’s no surer way than to broadcast it live on your own website.

However, the journey only seems simple: it also hides many pitfalls.

Thus, to achieve the best results, important decisions need to be taken.

Just as some steps need to be taken on the path to effectiveness.

Create your own live stream checklist

With that in mind, we prepared a checklist containing the nine steps you need to go through so that your live stream becomes an engagement generating machine for you.

Check it out.

Conclusion

As with everything in life, excellence also comes with practice.

And the most important step you have already taken.

Deciding to make your own live stream is an initiative that, over time, will prove to be quite right, with better and better results. Do you want to see more tips on how to leverage live chat in video streaming? Have a look at this blogpost with 6 ways you can leverage Live Chat in Video Streaming.

What is an OTT Platform

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Over the top content (OTT)  is a booming entertainment market worth billions of dollars. Consumers are shifting their attention to OTT video more every year, a trend that has accelerated due to the pandemic. To seize the opportunity presented by the OTT video industry, take a few minutes to understand the market, significant players, technologies, and significant services.

What is an OTT Platform?

Starting with a definition of OTT is the best place to start. The OTT meaning is an abbreviation for “over the top” video. The term “over the top” is contrasted to traditional TV services provided by antenna, cable, or satellite. OTT video is provided through existing Internet services. When you think of popular video streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime, all of these services can be consider OTT video services.

For a consumer to access an OTT platform, they need to have an Internet connection which is usually separate from the OTT video service. For example, a consumer might have a cable Internet subscription and subscribe to different OTT video services depending on their entertainment services.

The OTT Streaming Industry: A Growing Market

The OTT content industry has been grown significantly over the past decade. However, the industry has indeed exploded in popularity due to the global pandemic. Consumers lost access to other kinds of entertainment, so signing up for streaming services presented an option. This boom in OTT video is clear from the market’s growth. In 2019, the global OTT video market was worth $121 billion, according to Allied Market Research. However, the industry grew to $171 billion in 2020. The market may be worth more than $1 trillion by 2027 if current growth trends continue.

There are several significant trends in the OTT market that make it different from traditional broadcast television.  

  • Original Programming. A decade ago, few OTT video platforms invested heavily in creating original content. That has changed significantly in recent years. According to Deadline, Netflix plans to spend $17 billion to create original content in 2021. Meanwhile, Amazon spent an estimated $465 million to create a Lord of The Rings TV show. Competing for customers without significant original content is going to be difficult. Some OTT video platforms apply geographic restrictions (“geo-blocking”). Some consumers circumvent these restrictions by using virtual private network (VPN) services.
  • Increased Competition For Older Content. Peacock, the NBC OTT video platform, has stood out by taking a different approach. In 2021, the OTT video company gained “The Office,” a comedy series that aired 2005-2013. Likewise, most of the Star Trek franchise will depart Netflix in September 2021 for other platforms.
  • Consumer Control. Unlike traditional television, an OTT video platform makes it easier for consumers to pick and choose the shows and movies they are interested in. In many cases, consumers access OTT video on their schedule. The exceptions are live events such as sports and live events.
  • Binge Behavior. The majority of adults between 18 and 64 frequently binge-watch (i.e., watching multiple episodes or movies in one sitting), according to an April 2020 survey. This habit is partly driven by the practice of releasing an entire season of content at once.
  • Increasing OTT Video Platform Competition. There are now multiple OTT video platforms with more than 100 million users. Netflix has 209 million global customers, and Disney+ has 116 million subscribers as of July 2021. Amazon Prime and Tencent Video both have more than 100 million subscribers. In addition, newer streaming services like Apple+ and HBO Max are adding millions of subscribers.

The migration of millions of consumers to OTT video has not gone unnoticed by advertisers. Keep reading to find out more about the latest advertising options.

OTT Advertising: A Fragmented Landscape

OTT advertising is currently evolving as the OTT market evolves. Some OTT video platforms are ad-supported while other platforms downplay advertising to customers. Let’s look at some of the different options available for OTT video platforms. For simplicity, we will focus on AVOD (Advertising-Based Video On Demand) and SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand).

Advertising-Based Video On Demand (AVOD)

This category of OTT video platform has the potential for a broad reach. These platforms typically charge customers either a low fee or no fee. Low-fee plans tend to include advertising, while no-fee plans rely on advertising to a greater degree.

  • YouTube. With an estimated 1 billion unique visitors, YouTube is one of the largest video platforms in the world. It is important to note that YouTube offers both user-generated content and traditional content like older videos. In 2019, YouTube generated close to $5 billion in revenue for Alphabet (the parent company of Google). The average cost per click on YouTube in 2021 fell between $0.10 and $0.20. However, your advertising costs will be higher if you are focused on higher-cost audiences. YouTube video includes both free ad-supported content and subscription plans such as YouTube Premium. However, it is still possible to advertise on YouTube Premium by directly working with YouTube channels to integrate advertising messages into advertising. However, arranging direct deals for sponsorships with YouTube video creators can take more effort than using the YouTube platform. The advantage is that ads created by YouTube creators may be seen as more entertaining and less likely to be skipped. Generally speaking, sponsored videos are highest when you work with an influencer with a large number of subscribers. Costs start from $500 to $1000 per video sponsorship at the low end to more than $5000 at the high end (source).
  • Hulu. The OTT video platform offers several plans. The lowest-cost plans are $5.99 per month, including ads, while the no-adds option is priced at over $11.99. For advertisers, the platform offers 7 seconds, 15 seconds, and 30 seconds ads. According to the DesignLoud Agency, Hulu advertising costs have recently declined to $20 per million impressions.
  • Roku. You might be familiar due to its popular video streaming devices. However, the company now generates a significant portion of its $1 billion revenue from the Roku Channel. The Roku channel reached about 61 million in late 2020, according to The Verge. Compared to other OTT video platforms, Roku offers a broader variety of advertising choices, such as ads on the Roku channel and the Roku channel store. In addition, Roku CPM rates were $38 in 2019 before the pandemic fueled a boom in OTT video use.

SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand)

Advertising on SVOD is quite different than the platforms above. The specific advertising opportunities vary by platform.

  • Netflix. The OTT video platform does not run advertising in the traditional TV sense. That said, the company has made brand arrangements with multiple companies. The New York Times reports that Subway, a restaurant chain, offered a “Green Eggs and Ham Sub” promotion alongside a Netflix show of the same name. The specific details and cost of Netflix’s brand partnerships are unclear. For the foreseeable future, advertising on Netflix is likely to be limited to the most prominent brands.
  • Amazon OTT. Amazon offers non-skippable advertising opportunities through its ad-supported Fire App. The advertising target offered by Amazon has some similarities to Google Ads. Advertisers can choose to advertise to lifestyle segments like “Home Owners” or “Recent Movers.” In addition, advertisers may increase higher conversions by buying access to in-market segments to customers interested in certain types of products like bedding.
  • Disney+. Today, advertising on Disney+ is limited, but that may change in the future. In a 2021 Credit Suisse conference, a Disney executive implied that the company might consider a low-cost ad-supported plan in the future. In addition, the video platform has started to add “product placement” warnings to some of its content, such as Marvel videos. For example, there is an Audi car shown in some of the Avengers movies. In other Marvel movies, characters are shown playing the video game Fortnite according to CBR. These examples suggest brands may be limited to traditional product placement on the Disney+ platform for the foreseeable future.

Finding OTT advertising opportunities takes significant effort because the market is fragmented. The upside of OTT video advertising is the potential for greater targeting. There is a greater opportunity to target advertising by location, consumer behavior, and other factors than broadcast television. For advertisers serious about building up their capabilities, seeking support from agencies may offer a solution.

OTT Technology and Tools

As OTT video increasingly competes against traditional television and video, consumer expectations for quality are increasing. As you plan your video content, it is helpful to understand the diversity of devices viewers are using.

  • Computers. Laptops and desktop computers remain a popular choice for OTT video streaming. Computer users may be more likely to multitask while consuming OTT video (i.e., play a video in one browser and answer an email in another browser). On the other hand, it is easier to engage computer users in a live chat platform.
  • Mobile Devices. As of Q1 2021, mobile devices accounted for 54% of global website traffic, according to Statista. The most popular mobile devices include Android smartphones (over 3 billion active Android devices), Apple smartphones, and tablets. The main disadvantage to mobile devices is the small screen size. Mobile device screens are typically 5 to 7 inches in size. As a result, videos created for larger screens may not always appear correctly. That said, mobile devices have high usage numbers. Data from eMarketer reports that the average American adult spends more than four hours per day using their mobile device in 2020.
  • Connected TVs and Smart TVs. Newer TVs come preloaded with Internet capabilities and the ability to download specific apps. The TCL 6-Series 65 inch TV, considered the best TV in 2021 according to Wirecutter, comes with a Roku interface. Like many newer TVs, the TV can display 4K video. As 4K video becomes more common, OTT video creators and platforms will need to add support for higher quality video.
  • Specialized Hardware. There are multiple popular OTT video devices on the market, including Roku devices, Apple TV, and others. These devices are significant because they tend to have proprietary tendencies. For example, the Apple TV has multiple Apple apps by default. Likewise, the Roku device emphasizes the Roku channel.

Ways To Make OTT Video More Engaging

Some OTT video platforms like YouTube encourage audience interaction in comments, microtransactions, and other actions. These interactive elements are significant because they help to hold the audience’s attention. To stand out in an OTT video world, content creators, broadcasters, and companies will need to emphasize interaction.

With an OTT plugin and similar technologies, adding interactive elements to a live stream video is easy. Providing a live blog may be a better fit in other contexts like sports events and live news events.

Planning and designing a video event with interactive elements takes planning. To get started, check out some of our previous posts:

Virtual events checklist: 10 steps to a stress-free virtual event

Organizing a virtual event for your audience is a powerful way to compete in a sea of OTT video platforms. This checklist will walk you through the process of planning the event. Whether you need support for event promotion, choosing virtual event technology, or practicing your delivery, the checklist has you covered.

Use content automation to grow your audience

Creating original programming is vital in OTT video. However, every company has limits in how much it can produce. Find out how content automation techniques and technologies can play a role in creating engaging online experiences. The best part? By involving your audience in content, you can set yourself from other platforms.

Find Your Niche In OTT Video

The OTT video world is set to expand significantly over the next decade. This is your moment to create memorable digital experiences for your audience. You don’t have to work from scratch either. You can invite your audience to share their questions, thoughts, and feelings by adding a live chat platform to your videos. To get started, click here to start your free trial of Arena.

Building Your Live Stream Video Chat App Toolkit

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You want to start live video streaming, but getting started can feel intimidating. You might look at experienced people on Twitch, YouTube, and other video streaming services and become overwhelmed.

Solving Live Stream Overwhelm

Take a deep breath….

Now take a moment to recognize what you have to share with the world. You might love to help users learn how to use new software—or sharing your analysis about breaking news stories. The world needs your perspective in a live stream video. Your next step is to learn about live video streaming tools so you can get started.

Building Your Live Stream Toolkit Step By Step

1. Choose a video streaming app

Live video streaming has exploded in popularity since 2020. That’s good news because you have many choices. The most popular options for live stream video include Livestorm, EventMobi, GoToWeb. BlueJeans according to Capterra. Many live video streaming services offer a free trial, so you can try the service before buying. In addition, you can use social media platforms like Facebook to share your live stream.

2. Select a live chat platform

Using a chat application is one of the lesser-known ways to make your live stream video more interesting. The reason is simple. By using a live chat platform, your audience has the opportunity to ask questions and connect with new friends. Arena Live Chat is an excellent choice for more significant events because it comes with moderation tools to discourage profanity and other problems.

While it is possible to have a live stream video without live stream chat rooms, it is not intelligent. If your audience wanted a one-way experience, they would turn on their TV or watch Netflix. On the other hand, a live stream chat is a social experience where you can connect with other people.

3. Test your audio-visual equipment

At a minimum, a live stream video host needs a high-quality camera, microphone, and speakers. Many laptops include these capabilities by default today. Use a website like X to test your equipment. Next, set up a test session with one or two other people. Using the live stream live chat, ask them if they can hear you.

If your audio-visual equipment is working well, take the time to buy a backup. Specifically, buying a backup pair of headphones with a microphone is smart. Headphone and microphone wires tend to break down over time (or even get chewed by pets!).  To avoid frustration, buy backup equipment now.

Tip: Are you planning to offer a live stream video in the evening? Get a lamp or ring light to light up your face.

4. Check if your Internet service is ready for a live stream

The quality and speed of your Internet connection is a critical factor in launching a successful live video streaming experience. The fastest Internet providers like Google Fiver, Xfinity, and Verizon offer fiber-optic Internet services. These services have average download speeds of over 100 Mbps, according to HighSpeedInternet.com. If fiber-optic service is not available in your area, ask your Internet service provider about the fastest service they offer.

If you already have a high-speed Internet connection in place, take a look at your wireless router. To maximize performance, connect your computer to a router with an Ethernet cable. If that option is not practical, make sure your wireless router offers the best speeds

Finally, make sure that your Internet connection can run live stream video. Tell other people about your plans if you are running a live stream video from home or the office. Ask them to avoid using online gaming and video conferencing for the duration of your live stream video event.

Brainstorm ideas for a live stream video

Buying, testing, and learning how to use live stream video tools is an excellent first step. However, that is just the beginning. The next step is to develop compelling content and ideas to attract your audience. Discuss the following ideas with your team and see which one resonates with you the most.

1. Provide commentary on an event

Providing commentary on breaking news or a significant business event like Apple’s WWDC for developers is an excellent way to get started. The next step is to find an event relevant to your audience and business. For example, a company that sells branded Marvel merchandise might organize a live stream based on the release date of a Marvel movie or TV show.

Once you select your event, take some time to prepare a script or speaking notes to guide your presentation. For more insight into preparing an engaging script for a virtual event, check out the virtual events script guide.

2. Launch new products

You can also organize a live stream video session to promote a new product. Make sure you include a live chat platform in the event. With new products, customers are more likely to have questions for you. For example, your customers might ask about express shipping options and shipping times around the holidays. Ask your customer support staff to prepare answers so that they can quickly respond to questions on the live chat application.

3. Invite guests to your live stream video event

What if your company has a small audience? Offering interesting commentary or promoting new videos in a live stream video may not attract much interest. In this situation, consider inviting outside guests to your video live stream.  To find potential guests for a live stream video, search for podcast guests.

To find relevant people, search Google like this: “NICHE podcast guest” or “NICHE podcast interview” (e.g. fashion podcast guest, politics podcast interview or electronics podcast guest). Once you have a list of 10 people, look them up on social media and see how many followers they have. Start by contacting people with 1000 to 10,000 followers.

How To Add A Live Chat Platform To Your Event

You probably already have a webcam, microphone and a preferred live video streaming service. There is just one more tool you need to add to create an engaging experience: a live chat platform. Reach out to Arena for a live chat platform demo.

How to Keep the User on Your Website

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Nobody wants a website with high bounce rates and low average time on page. Most people who view your site won’t be back again, so it’s important to convert these viewers into customers by increasing their engagement.

This guide will show you why it’s important to keep users on your site, and it will give you helpful tactics to increase your site’s engagement.

Why Keeping People on Your Site is Important

While generating more traffic to your site is great, it doesn’t matter if no one’s hanging around. The longer you can hold people’s attention span, the more likely they are to convert. That’s why keeping users on your site is one of the best things you can do as a marketer.

Keeping people engaged allows them to learn more about your brand, builds a relationship with your readers, and ultimately leads to conversions.

Simply keeping them on your site is not enough, however. You want to include call-to-actions, so viewers don’t simply consume your content and disappear forever.

How to Keep Viewers on Your Site

If your user engagement isn’t where you want it to be, keep reading. With the help of this guide, you’ll learn some effective strategies to keep users on your site and convert them into customers.

Use Real-Time Marketing

If you’re unfamiliar with real-time marketing, it is marketing that isn’t strategically planned out before implementation. Instead, it reacts to things like feedback, current events, and trends to quickly determine the best way to target customers at the right time.

In fact, 52% of marketers say they use real-time engagement on at least one platform. Real-time engagement is more relevant to customers than traditional campaigns are.

One of the best real-time marketing examples took place during the 2013 Super Bowl. During the game, a power outage caused all the lights to go out in the stadium. Oreo decided to take advantage of this.

It’s marketing team sent a Tweet with the caption, “Power out? No problem.”, and a picture of its famous cookie with the text, “YOU CAN STILL DUNK IN THE DARK”. Even though it wasn’t a commercial, it was known as one of the most buzz-worthy ads of the event.

So how do you use real-time marketing to keep users on your site? You can do this by including real-time content like live blogs and engaging users with live chat.

Live blogs are used to engage readers by posting quick updates on an event that’s happening in real-time.

Like the Oreo example, you can use a live blog to enhance user engagement during a live sporting event. Posting real-time content during a big game or annual player draft is a sure-fire way to keep readers on your site.

Live blogs can also be used during virtual events, in-person conferences, and breaking news events.

Don’t just post content on your live blog, encourage your viewers to join the discussion through live chat. Live chat is a way for people to ask questions, answer polls, and give their opinions on your live blog or event.

Globo TV is a great example on how to leverage Live Blog and Live Chat to boots retention and engagement for its reality shows.

Live chat doesn’t have to be used during a live event, however. Simply adding a one-on-one live chat to your website can instantly improve your site’s engagement.

You can use live chat to survey your audience, invite them to chatrooms, and use call-to-actions to convert them into customers in real-time.

Make Your Website Scannable

Making the content on your website scannable is one of the easiest yet most important ways to keep readers on your site. Content that’s scannable means that it’s easy for people to read.

There’s nothing worse than attempting to read a long block of text that covers half the page. The first way to make your website scannable is to break up long paragraphs into varying sizes.

As a general guideline, it’s best to keep paragraphs to three or four sentences max. This is a simple concept that makes your content seem less intimidating to busy readers.

Another way to make content more scannable is to ensure your font size and line spacing is easy on the eyes. Also, make sure your text and background have contrasting colors. For example, you can’t go wrong with black text matched with a white background.

Subheadings can be used to categorize content and grab reader’s attention. Images can be used to provide readers with breaks, and they make content more visually appealing. If you want to go the extra mile, include bulleted lists and bold important phrases.

Add a Call-to-Action

Bounce rate measures when readers view one page on your site then leave without viewing other pages of your site. A high bounce rate is bad, but you can decrease it by encouraging readers to navigate to another page on your website.

This is done through a call-to-action (CTA). An effective CTA is targeted, clear, and purposeful.

Marketers can mess up CTAs by including several of them throughout a post. This distracts readers and can cause them to not click on any of them. It’s best to include only one or two CTAs, giving the reader a clear action for what to do next.

CTAs should also stand out. Make them clear, bold them, and tell readers to click on them.  

Before you create a CTA, decide what its purpose is first. You can use one to encourage readers to download a free guide, sign up for your email newsletter, or take them directly to a product sales page.

By correctly adding CTAs to your website, you can lower bounce rates, keep readers on your website longer, and increase conversions.

Conclusion

For those having trouble capturing the attention span of their readers, use the strategies covered in this guide to improve engagement. Keeping users on your site creates a more impactful brand impression and improves your conversion rates.

Real-time engagement tactics like live blogs and live chats offer more relevant content and allows readers to interact with your brand. Creating content that’s easy to read prevents reader fatigue. Finally, make sure you include targeted, clear, and purposeful CTAs in your content.

These aren’t the only ways to keep people on your site. Live events can be used to improve both engagement and traffic to your brand’s website or social media platform.

To learn more about engagement and how to create a live event, check out our eBook by clicking the link below.

Download the eBook Guide: How to Create a Live Event

6 ways you can leverage Live Chat in Video Streaming

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Live video streaming is a proven way to sell products and grow your audience. Most people focus on creating the best possible video experience. At a certain point, upgrading your Internet service or buying a better camera will not improve your video streaming experience further. That’s where your live chat can make your live video streaming more engaging.

6 ways to leverage Live Chat in Video Streaming

1. Make your audience feel valued

Humans are social creatures. That fact hasn’t changed just because your audience is attending a virtual event. On their own, video streaming services can quickly become a one-way conversation if you exclusively focus on speaking into the camera. As you speak, your audience is going to have comments and questions to share. The only question is whether you will respond directly or not.

By adding live stream chat rooms to your live stream video event, you can make your audience feel valued in several ways. Use these simple ways to show your audience you care via a live stream chat.

  • Welcome people to the event. When a new user joins the live stream live chat, you can welcome them by name or username.
  • Pick good live stream live chat questions to answer. During the livestream, set a reminder to pause two or three times to answer questions. It is your right as the host of the event to choose which questions you answer. As a guideline, use popularity to help you decide what to ask (e.g., if five people ask if a product comes in an extra-large size, answer that question).

2. Provide support and tips

Livestream experiences are getting more popular, but they are still relatively new. Avoid assuming that everybody attending your event knows how to participate in your live stream chat rooms. Instead of continuously interrupting your main presentation to provide tech support, use live chat instead. For example, let your presenter focus on delivering great content while your tech support team monitors the live chat to answer questions.

To provide high-quality support using a live stream chat, prepare in advance with these tips.

  • Make a list of essential links. Posting a 10-step answer to a tech support question in live chat may disrupt the experience. Instead of posting such a response, respond with a link to your FAQ (frequently asked questions), knowledge base, or support webpages. Before starting the livestream, make a list of links that you can offer to answer questions quickly.
  • Offer alternate ways to get support. Some people may prefer to request support by phone or email instead. Let event participants know of other ways they can get help.

3. Reduce livestream technical problems

“You’re on mute!”

By now, nearly everybody has heard this kind of problem during a livestream event. There is even greater potential for technical problems in large-scale live stream video events with hundreds or thousands of participants. You can use a live chat application to cut down on livestream problems.

Specifically, make a list of ways that attendees can prevent common problems. You might recommend a specific browser (e.g. Google Chrome) for the best experience as a starting point. In addition, offer tips on how to “unfreeze” video and audio (e.g., suggest attendees close other programs or get closer to their wireless router).

4. Make it easy to buy

When your livestream event is focused on selling products, start with the end in mind. You are ultimately aiming to sell more products. Now, put yourself in your customer’s chair for a moment.

While they are watching your livestream, they probably have other programs open. They may be listening to you while writing an email or posting on social media. You can’t assume that you have your customers’ undivided attention. This kind of distraction is even common in the workspace. Stanford University research finds that people are more likely to multitask in meetings with more than two people. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that your customers are likely to be multitasking during your livestreams.

When you make an offer like offering a special discount for the duration of the live stream video event, make it easy for attendees to buy. Using a live chat application is an excellent tool to supplement the video presentation. If there are special coupon codes or links that people have to use, provide those links in the live chat.

Tip: You can also use live chat to provide social proof. For example, you might only have 100 units of a limited edition dress. Once that product starts to sell, post a few updates in the live chat (e.g., “Half of our promotional inventory has already sold. Order by 9 pm to save 50% off!”).

5. Qualify leads for follow up

Seeking an immediate sale is not the goal of every business livestream. For example, if you are selling complex consulting services like Deloitte or Accenture, the sales process takes multiple steps. The same principle applies to high ticket consumer purchases like cars and homes as well. In these cases, live chat can help you to qualify qualified leads.

For example, let’s say you offer a livestream event for business owners who want to improve their sales results. Your solution might be to offer sales coaching and better sales technology like a customer relationship management system. However, your solution works best for companies with at least ten sales representatives. In this situation, you can ask attendees how many salespeople they have on their team. For each participant who responds with 10 or higher, please send a private message inviting them to book a call with you.

6. Gather feedback to make the next event better

Providing engaging livestream events takes practice. After each event, it is wise to take a few minutes to evaluate how the event went. You might start by looking at your analytics and the number of attendees. That type of event data is helpful, but it is incomplete. You also need to gather insight from your attendees on what they like and what they didn’t like.

There are a few ways you can use live chat to gather feedback to make your live events better.

  • Ask short questions close to the end of the event. Asking simple questions like “what did you like most about this event?” or “what topic should our next event focus on?” can give you rich results.
  • Download the live chat transcript. With more significant events, reviewing the live chat transcript is helpful. To make the most of this review, look for patterns like questions asked multiple times.

After reviewing the live chat feedback, choose at least one improvement you make to your next livestream event.

Get Started With Live Chat In Less Than An Hour

Adding a live chat platform to your website or livestream used to be complicated. You had to ask the development team to organize a project and wait weeks for the live chat to be set up. Installing Arena is entirely different. Most of our customers install live chat in less than an hour (sometimes in just 5 minutes). Click here to start your free trial of Arena Live Chat.

10 Steps to create a Virtual Event

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Offering virtual events is a cost-effective way to attract customers and grow your audience. However, it is not the Spring of 2020 anymore. Poorly produced virtual events are no longer good enough. Use this 10-step checklist to improve the quality of your virtual events.

Why You Need A Checklist For Virtual Events

A checklist is a standard series of steps you use every time to increase performance and reduce mistakes. As Atul Gawande points out in his book “The Checklist Manifesto”, checklists are one of the easiest ways to reduce mistakes in surgery, flights, and other situations. By working from a checklist, you can avoid making the same mistakes in your virtual events. Use this audit checklist on each event you hold, and you will start to see engagement increase on your live chat, live blog, and videos.

Pre-Event Planning

1. What Is The Goal Of Your Virtual Event?

Start by writing out a short answer to the question: “What is the goal of this virtual event?

Common goals for virtual events include:

  • Increased engagement. Increasing engagement may lead to higher conversions or advertising revenue.
  • Grow your audience. Set a specific goal, such as adding 500 or 5000 people to your email list of social media following.

2. What Does Your Audience Want?

Knowing your goal is a good starting point, but it is only half of the equation. You also need to spend a few minutes covering the needs of your audience. Discuss the following questions with your virtual events team to get ready.

  • What questions do we get from customers? Look at your support email, live chat records, and social media to see what questions people ask you.
  • What successful live events have competitors offered? You can take inspiration from the virtual events offered by other companies. For example, an eCommerce company might look at the events offered by Amazon Live to inform their approach to live events.

3. What Technology Will You Use?

There are several choices to make in selecting technology for virtual events.

  • Webcam and microphone. Buy and test the best webcam and microphone you can afford and buy a backup just in case technical problems occur.
  • Lights. Buying a ring light may be helpful if you are planning to appear in the video.
  • Live Chat. Using Arena Live Chat is an excellent choice because it automatically can block profanity and can be installed in a few minutes.
  • Live Blog. If you have a team of reporters and experts who are ready to share their insights, use Arena Live Blog.

4. Promote The Virtual Event

Make a plan to promote your virtual event several days before the event. For example, you might ask your three special guests to post that they will be joining your event on social media.

Make sure you complete one or more of the following promotion events to maximize attendance and engagement at your live event.

  • Email Promotion. Send an email to your email list announcing the event.
  • Social Media Promotion. Choose the social media platform where your brand has the largest following and post about your event.
  • Website Promotion. If your website has a large amount of traffic, promoting the event can drive attendance. Consider posting an announcement banner at the top of your home page.

The Day Before The Event

In less than 24 hours, you will be running your live event. This is your opportunity to practice and gain confidence with your tools and content.

5. Test Your Virtual Events Technology

Taking 30 minutes to test your virtual events technology is an intelligent decision. For example, schedule a live blog or live chat session with a few colleagues. Start by asking everybody to make posts. Once that is done, experiment with advanced features like using polls and using a custom avatar.

6. Practice Your Virtual Event Content

Practicing your presentation is an easy way to become more confident. The exact details of your practice will vary depending on the format of your event.

  • Practice Speaking. Take a few minutes to practice your presentation if you are giving a talk at a virtual event. In general, a comfortable speaking speed is 100 words per minute. Keep that guideline in mind as you develop your presentation.
  • Make Notes. Some virtual events cannot be fully scripted in advance, such as journalists covering an election. In that case, you can prepare differently. Make a list of experts you plan to interview for your live blog, or have specific questions to ask your audience.

Tip: Keep asking yourself if your content encourages engagement. This means asking questions of your audience and taking the time to respond to them.

Day of Event

7. Double-check your settings

Remind everybody participating on your virtual events team to review their settings. In particular, check the following settings 30 minutes before the event.

  • Audio. Check your audio settings to make sure you are ready to speak.
  • Video. Check that your webcam is connected and ready.
  • Close all other apps. When you’re distracted, audience engagement will suffer. That’s why we suggest closing all other apps and web browsers that are not needed.

8. Start the virtual event early

Let’s say your virtual events team has scheduled the event to run from 7 pm to 9 pm. In that case, launch your live chat or live blog by 6:45 pm. This will give you time to post a few messages before the audience appears. If your audience sees a blank page or an empty chat room, your audience engagement may be slow to build.

Post Event

9. Collect feedback

Within 24 hours of running the event, collect feedback from your audience. Start by collecting numbers, like how many people attended the event or how many people posted messages in the live chat. If possible, search on social media for a few minutes to see what people posted about your events.

10. Complete your virtual event Debrief

Your final step is to have a short debriefing meeting with your virtual events team. Like any post-project effort, the focus is on improvement. To start the discussion, ask your team what went well (e.g., the audience loved asking questions to the fashion influencer in our live chat). Next, make a list of what didn’t go well (e.g., attendance was below expectations)

Get Your Free Live Event Guide

For more tips on organizing a successful live event, download a copy of our “Virtual Event Power Script” ebook.

The Power of Content Automation: Grow Your Audience

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Ever wondered if producing quality content for your audience could be easier?

Producing quality content isn’t easy. The process starts with research into your audience. The process continues with production – working with writers, designers, and other professionals. Finally, you have editing, production, and promotion. There is a solution: content automation.

What Is Content Automation?

Content automation is a set of software, tools, and methods to automate aspects of content marketing. While it is not possible to automate all of your content, a lot can be done to make it easier. For example, you can use tools to automate the following tasks:

  • Proofreading. There are some tools on the market that help improve the grammar and clarity of your content. For example, apps like Hemingway and Grammarly help writers improve their writing.
  • Search Engine Optimization. Several SEO software tools can help to improve content so that you get more search traffic.
  • Content Distribution. Use email marketing and social media scheduling apps to distribute your content on a schedule you determine.
  • Content Curation. Gathering content from many different sources, filtering it, and organizing it is a long-established type of content curation.
  • Content Management and Planning. Managers can use tools to stay organized with a team of creatives, agencies, and editors worldwide.

Most people tend to focus on content automation in terms of software. However, that is only part of the equation. You also need to change your workflow, habits and learn new skills to make content automation work for your situation. Think of content automation as a dedicated assistant that stands by to help you. These tools can only boost your engagement if you guide them effectively with a well-developed strategy and understanding what your audience wants.

Now that you know about the wide range of content automation options, let’s look at the business benefits.

How Content Automation Benefits Your Business

Every year, the Internet gets more and more crowded with content. Consider the following statistics for context.

  • Videos. In May 2013, there were 100 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute. By May 2019, that figure climbed to 500 hours of video every minute (source: Statista). In less than a decade, YouTube has become a much more competitive environment.
  • Blog Posts. While estimates vary, there are millions of new blog posts published each day. In Q1 2021, approximately five million WordPress blog posts were published every day, according to TechJury.

When you add in the millions of text messages, emails, and social media posts, it is clear that the online world is getting more crowded every day.

In light of these trends, keeping the attention of your audience is getting more and more difficult. To stay competitive, content automation helps in a few ways. First, content automation reduces errors, omissions, and mistakes. Second, content automation increases the productivity of marketing and editorial staff to create even more content for your audience. Third, content automation frees up your time to focus on strategic efforts like creating unique content that cannot be found anywhere else.

For example, let’s say that you save 2 two hours per week by using content automation. There are several ways you can use that extra time to make your content better. You could spend an hour a week building relationships with influencers. You might spend the time digging through your website analytics further to find out what topics your audience is interested in. These efforts will all play a role in boosting the quality of your content and audience engagement for the long term.

By gradually adding more content automation tools and methods to your workflow, you can boost engagement. For example, you might start creating a workflow for content promotion (e.g., every Thursday, we send out an email newsletter and promote our new content on three social platforms). Next, you might move up to using tools to enhance live events, such as a live blog.

Content Automation In Action: Rogers Media Grows Engagement With Sports Fans

Rogers Media, one of Canada’s largest communications and media brands, has achieved impressive gains by using content automation. The company wanted to grow audience engagement for Sportsnet. Founded in 1998, Sportsnet is a major sports brand offering coverage of hockey, baseball, basketball, and other major sports events.

The company used two content automation tools to increase its engagement: Arena Live Chat and Arena Live Blog. By using these tools, Rogers Sportsnet achieved the following results during coverage of live games

  • 64% increase in user engagement
  • 28% increase in user retention
  • Grew time on-site to 27.25 minutes

Achieving these results did not require months of testing either. The company installed Arena in less than 24 hours. In a day, the company was ready to bring their fifty-person team to the total.

By increasing engagement, Sportsnet has already increased ad revenue, app downloads, and subscriptions. As the company continues to use Arena, they are likely to keep growing.

Tip: Not sure how to create an engaging real-time event with live chat and live blog tools? Start by brainstorming engagement ideas ahead of the game. Make a list of experts and fans you will call on for additional insight. For additional tips on creating a successful livestreamed sports event, read our post How to Create The Best Live Sports Streaming Events.

How To Plan Your Next Live Event

There is an art and science to creating successful events. That’s why there are more than 100,000 event planners in the US alone. However, relatively few event professionals have mastered the nuances of creating engaging digital events. A successful digital event requires a careful selection of technology, content planning, and an interested audience. Fortunately, you’re not on your own.

To help you plan your next event, download Arena’s ebook Virtual Events Power Scripts . You’ll learn the fundamentals of preparing your event and researching your audience’s interests. You will also learn tips and techniques to make sure you come across loud and clear.

6 UX Best Practices for Livestream Chat Broadcasts

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Providing interesting content and community from the foundation of an exciting livestream chat. However, user experience (UX) factors matter a great deal. Without these factors, your audience might show up for a few minutes and then drift away.

Why Does UX Matter In Livestream Chat?

The Internet is full of compelling digital experiences. When you offer an experience to your audiences, you are competing with multiple other options like Netflix and Amazon. These digital platforms have invested heavily to make it easy to use their services. If your website feels slow or difficult to use, your audience will leave to enjoy a better user experience elsewhere.

1) Live Chat Readability Is A Must

Have you ever watched a foreign movie or TV show with captions? It can be a frustrating experience when those captions are the wrong color. When you struggle to understand the words, it isn’t easy to enjoy the experience.

The same principle applies to the live chat experience you offer during a livestream chat broadcast. Your live chat text has to be easy to use. To ensure live chat messages are easy to use, check for the following.

  • High contrast. Black text on a white background is popular for a good reason. It is easy to read.
  • Feature readability. Users should not struggle to tell the difference between various features like the main chat window and where they enter messages.

2) Offer More Than Text

Think of text messages in a livestream chat as table stakes: the minimum needed to offer. However, today’s users expect more. For example, iOS devices now support emojis, GIFS, and other advanced features. These features make it easy for your audience to express their feelings quickly during a fast-paced session.

Capabilities to look for include:

  • Emojis. Visit; emojipedia to discover the wide variety of options available today include “face with tears of joy,” flags, sports symbols, and much more.
  • Links. Offering live links can add to the live chat experience. However, keep in mind that suspicious or harmful links can be a problem, so advise users to exercise caution on using links.
  • Images. Look at your options to include images in your live chat. For example, the livestream host might offer high-quality images to supplement the video stream.

3) Organize Replies And Threads

In a livestream event with hundreds of people, the live chat discussion can get complicated fast. In particular, it is vital to manage replies. When replies are well organized, your audience can easily decide which part of the conversation to participate in.

  • Test how replies and threads work

Before your next major livestreaming event, organize a private livestream with your colleagues. This small event will give the chance to experiment with Arena live chat. Specifically, switch back and forth between joining existing threads and participating in the main chat.

Your audience might be unfamiliar with how to use live chat, mainly features like threads and replies. Near the start of your livestream, take a moment to explain how these features work with a coworker with a brief demonstration.

4) Plan to make conversions easy

When you offer a livestream event designed to sell products, UX matters as well. If users have to jump through multiple hoops to buy, conversions will suffer. Likewise, asking users to pick up a phone and call a phone number will cost you conversions. Instead, use features like conversion cards so people can convert without disrupting leaving the live chat.

UX tips to increase conversions

  • Make focus easy. Giving your audience too many conversion choices (e.g., buy this product, sign up for our email list, follow us on social media) at the same time will only lead to confusion. It is best to focus on one conversion goal at a time. For example, encourage users to sign up for updates at the start of a session so that you retain your audience. When you start to present products in the livestream, focus on purchases.
  • Use Conversion Cards. In Arena, you can create a conversion card, a graphic that will display in the event. You can choose the colors, images, copy, and landing page link. IF you have multiple conversion goals, create several conversion cards.

5) Boost Your Livestream Speed for a better user experience

Speed is tremendously essential in the online world. Slow speeds can make the event boring when users show up for a real-time content experience like a livestream. Offering a fast online experience can also improve your Google rankings as well.

There are a few ways to increase the speed of your livestream.

  • Fast live chat software. Start by choosing a live chat service like Arena Live Chat designed for speed. For example, Arena is made to run on desktop, mobile, and Google AMP.
  • Get insights from Google. Use Google’s free; PageSpeed Insights tool to measure your website’s overall speed. The tool will give you specific suggestions like properly sizing images to increase your website’s speed.

6) Be Responsive To Your Audience

Your audience comes to a livestream chat event because they are hungry for interaction. There are two ways to fulfill that need. Allowing users to chat with their friends in the chat is a good start. However, your event hosts are part of the story as well.

To ensure your event is responsive, keep these tips in mind.

  • Look at the live chat and comment. Remind yourself to look at the live chat every few minutes. By responding to thoughtful comments, you’ll make your audience feel unique and valued.
  • Use polls. Polls are a helpful tool to gain feedback about your audience’s interests quickly. For example, say you have a livestream eCommerce event planned, but you’re unsure which products to emphasize. You can use a poll with three options (e.g., t-shirts, dresses, shoes) so your audience can express their preferences.

Launch Your First Live Chat For Free

You can have a live chat app installed on your website in less than an hour and offer a livestream event. Click here to start your Live Chat free trial. You’ll have two weeks to use it for free to engage your audience and get more conversions.