How to Livestream on YouTube: Complete Guide for Unlocking Your Creative Potential

Livestreaming🎥 on YouTube is a trending craze for podcasters, gamers, or television📺 channels to broadcast stage shows, events, sports competitions, etc. The first decade of this century has witnessed buffering videos on YouTube. But with high-speed internet data, watching live telecast programs has become a reality.

The factual data proves that live broadcast viewership over the internet is getting popular in this decade. It is due to high bandwidth and internet accessibility options like smartphones, tabs, or Smart TVs.

A research agency in 2021 stated that almost 23% of internet users preferred watching videos in real-time, which was a credible increase in audience in successive years. According to the latest survey, about 70% of online viewers choose YouTube for watching live-streaming videos.

Therefore, potential creators prefer to join YouTube, which is the most relevant online video platform for leveraging the benefits of live streaming. All you need is a good webcam and your alls et to take quality videos!

We’ll discuss below the complete step-by-step guide on how to live stream on YouTube and the technical necessities. Lets us first understand the benefits of going live for content creators and their audiences.

Benefits of YouTube Live Streaming

Live broadcast is no more an attribute of television channels. Live streaming has made it convenient for people to watch live TV shows, programs, and events anywhere on their digital devices. Besides, live streaming tools also contribute to making the process easier for rookies.

It has also led influencers, entrepreneurs, and marketing professionals to easily connect with customers to resolve their queries and build strong trust instantly.

Why Livestream on YouTube?

• User-friendly Panel🎛️: YouTube is one of the finest online portals for live telecasts. With years of research, they have developed a convenient dashboard for creators who can effortlessly upload content. While users can easily search and play videos of their choice.
• Global Presence🌎: Among all the video streaming platforms like Facebook, Twitch, Vimeo, etc., YouTube has a higher user footfall with global outreach. So, a video channel on this portal has the potency of fetching followers from around the World.
• Higher Authenticity🤝:  Watching online videos on YouTube has always been a craze for internet users. One of the most reliable brands, Google, owns it, which instigates a higher credibility factor for viewers.
• Generate More Income💵: YouTube features multiple benefits for creators who wish to earn from their livestream content. They can choose to pre-roll, mid-roll, or overlay advertisements while broadcasting. You can charge a minimum subscription fee or use the super chat feature to earn a decent amount.
• Communicative🗣️: YouTube helps easy interaction with live telecast viewers. While you can effortlessly start the livestream, your followers can give suggestions through chat. You can send back messages instantly or read the texts and reply while you talk.
• No Limitations♾️: This platform is a hub of a large variety of video content. Hence, you can introduce a channel of your choice to generate traffic that desires to watch the content and wishes to connect on live sessions.
• Brand Management🎯: YouTube’s dashboard provides trending customization options for the creators, who can personalize the channel with a logo, background, ticker symbol, Aston bands, frames, etc.
• Video Listings👨‍💻: A live video can always be there in YouTube’s library, and viewers who missed it can watch the recordings anytime later as Videos on Demand or YouTube Shorts.
• Promotion⬆️: YouTube usually displays the video feeds to the viewers who show interest in similar content on the panel. This definitely helps gain more audiences.

You must add the YouTube link on your website to share your channel’s link.

How to Livestream on YouTube: a Step-by-Step Guide

YouTube has separately added a “Live” button on the panel for users to get a direct link to the channels currently playing live programs. This is in the left bar under the “Explore” section.

You can share the video link to your social media pages or send direct messages. While YouTube also displays the livestream video link in the top video suggestions to the users who have subscribed to the channel.

Here is the complete procedure for building a YouTube channel for streaming live videos, along with details about the technical necessities, equipment, and settings.

Also, before you launch into the world of video streaming, consider creating a compelling YouTube intro as well so that you gain a steady subscriber base!

Technical Requirements

Before starting your channel and going live on YouTube, you need to know some basic technicalities.

A verified channel is the first and foremost condition for launching a live-streaming video on YouTube. This means you need to set up a channel in advance so that YouTube officially verifies it, which usually takes a day for complete verification.

You also need to enable live streaming from the settings before you can proceed with the broadcast. Since you are planning a live telecast, arranging high-speed internet data for uninterrupted upload and download bandwidth is essential.

A computer with a webcam or smartphone, or encoder tool is another basic requirement for recording and uploading the video live. We’ll discuss this in a later section. Make sure to create the video in proper lighting with an additional mic for the best sound quality.

Furthermore, as you get the hang of this, you can even start adding chapters to your YouTube videos to boost engagement.

Setting up a Channel

You can only livestream a session on YouTube from a verified channel. Creating a channel is easy, but you require a Google (Gmail) account because it is the parent firm and has made it mandatory to personalize the YouTube experience.

If you do not have a Gmail account, then go to its official website and follow the steps therein to create one. Now check out the below process to quickly set up your YouTube channel.

Step 1: Open the YouTube portal on the web browser or download the application on your mobile.

Step 2: Register on YouTube with a unique username using your Gmail id. This will be your account id on this site.

Step 3: On the homepage, click the profile👤 icon at the top right corner.

Step 4: Choose the option “Create a Channel.”

Step 5: Enter an exciting name, YouTube handle, and upload your organization’s logo or a suitable picture if you do not have a logo.

Step 6: Hit the button to generate the channel.

Now your channel is created for uploading videos or live streaming. When your channel gets approved, you can customize the settings in the YouTube Studio, such as entering the contact info, description, etc.

Enabling Livestreaming

The portal introduces a formal step where you need to enable live streaming before you directly “Go Live.” It is a simple procedure and takes about 24 hours🕛 for enablement. But this step is required only for the first live session after launching the channel.

Open the YouTube app on your smartphone and click on the plus (+) sign given on the top or bottom, depending upon the iOS or Android device. Now hit the “Go Live” option to initiate the process.

If you are using your PC, open the YouTube website and click the camera icon with the plus (+) sign on the top right next to the profile icon. Just click the ”Go Live” button and wait for approval.

Livestream Through Different Mediums

You can live telecast a video program on YouTube via three specific methods. These are mobile phones, webcams, and encoder or streaming software.

Do check the privacy setting each time before you start the video. By default, it is “private” for users under 18👦 years of age and “unlisted” during mobile live streaming. While the default setting for the 18+ age group is “public,” and you can switch between the three regardless of age.

We’ll discuss each method in detailed steps.

#1. Mobile Phone:

Livestreaming through a smartphone is beneficial at some point because it is portable and can broadcast a show anytime on the go. But there are certain limitations too. The primary pre-requisite is that the channel should have a minimum of 50 subscribers, and a channel with less than 1000 subscribers will get limited viewership. Let’s see how to do it.

Step 1. Open the YouTube app on your smartphone and touch the create (+) option.

Step 2. Touch the Go Live option and write the title of the broadcast.

Step 3. Check the privacy setting.

Step 4. Add a description of the content from the “More Options” tab.

Step 5. Check other settings like the minimum age of viewers or monetization settings from the “Show More” tab.

Step 6. Hit the “Next” button to upload an appropriate thumbnail picture describing the content.

Step 7. You can also fetch the link to share on social networks from the “Share” tab.

Step 8. Now hit the “Go Live” tab to start live streaming.

Hit the End button to finish the livestream recording.

#2. Webcam:

Livestreaming through the computer using a webcam👩‍💻 paves less restriction than the mobile phone. Here you can start the telecast directly after the channel’s verification process. Let’s see how to begin.

Step 1. Open the YouTube website, and ensure it is signed in with your account id.

Step 2. Hit the camera icon (+) on the top right and choose the “Go Live” option.

Step 3. From the left pane, choose the “Webcam” option.

Step 4. Write briefly about the telecast in the “Title” and “Description” sections.

Step 5. Change the “Privacy” setting and schedule the livestream, if required. You may also alter other “Advanced Settings” sections from the “More Options” tab.

Step 6. Click “Next” to allow the PC camera to take a picture for “Thumbnail” for the video content. Alternatively, you can upload a suitable photo from the computer.

Step 7. Hit the “Go Live” option to begin live streaming. You can also add tags, activate live chats, alter monetization settings, etc., from the “Edit” option anytime during or before the session.

Once you finish your video, click the “End Stream” button to finish the livestream.

#3. Encoder (Streaming Software):

Encoder is one of the prominent options for creating a livestream on YouTube. It is a tool to record video and audio in synchronized form and convert it into digital format.

The encoder dedicated hardware system is also available in the market, which is expensive and preferred by expert professionals. But nowadays, it is also available as downloadable software such as OBS (Open Broadcaster Software), XSplit, Wirecast, and others.

These are convenient and mostly free, so you can easily install them on your PC. Here are some of the best live streaming software you can download. Let’s discuss the procedure for using the streaming software.

Step 1. Open the YouTube portal on a web browser, and sign in with your account ID.

Step 2. Hit the create icon with plus (+) sign, and click the “Go Live” option.

Step 3. From the left pane, choose the “Stream” option.

Step 4. If you are going to live telecast for the first time, you need to reset the settings from the “Create Stream” option.

Step 5. Check your privacy settings and monetization program.

Step 6. Now minimize the browser and open the encoder software to connect it with YouTube before live broadcasting.

Step 7. Go to the settings menu and select the “YouTube” option, if available.

Step 8. If the YouTube option is unavailable, go to the YouTube portal on the browser, and copy the “Stream URL.” Paste the on the encoder’s Stream settings server.

Step 9. Also, copy the “Stream Key” from YouTube to the encoder’s Stream settings.

Step 10. Check all the settings on the encoder and connect the camera, microphone, lights, and other devices to start streaming. The Watch page on the encoder shows the live video uploaded on YouTube Live.

Finish the live session by ending it from the encoder.

Points to Remember

You should keep certain factors in mind before transmitting a live video on YouTube. It will help leverage more benefits from your livestream to you and your audience. A perfectly worked-out broadcast will fetch more viewers and monetize💰.

Write a Catchy and Effective Title and Description:

Going live on YouTube will let you interact with people, but the catch is to attract more audience to your live stream. So how should you handle this? Writing a to-the-point yet creative title for the telecast is essential, while the description should provide proper detail about the content.

And once you’ve perfected these, you can take the help of AI script generators to create compelling content.

#1. Title:

The title of the video content plays a vital role in generating more traffic to the link, especially if you integrate relevant keywords to optimize search engine results. It should define the motive of the livestream in short words.

Aim to deliver more to your audience rather than generating over-expectation, which eventually negatively impacts the channel. The best way to write a compelling title is to use a short sentence of 5 – 6 words that quickly catches the viewers’ attention for CTA👆. The title can be like “In-conversation With Diabetic Specialist: Dr. John,” “New Year’s Astrologer: Live,” etc.

#2. Description:

Briefly describe what you are willing to discuss in the live session. Stick to the topic’s substance, and list a few touch points in bullets⚫ which the audience may find helpful. Add connecting tags in the description, and try finishing the write-up in less than 100 words. You can try description generators if you are stuck and unsure what to write.

Check all the Settings on the Dashboard

Though livestreaming is not a complex issue, you must not avoid the panel settings that facilitate an enhanced experience for your viewers.

• Turn On or Off the live chat option. You can switch it during the livestream as well. It also includes other settings like allowing only members or subscribers, secure from chats containing unwanted words, slow mode to keep the message rate slow, etc.
• Change the privacy settings from unlisted to private or private to public as needed. Here “unlisted” videos can only be seen by people who get the link and are not displayed in search results. “Private” videos are only seen by selected viewers and are not listed anywhere. “Public” videos are available in search results and can be seen by anyone.
• Monetize your livestream by enabling Ads, Super Chats💬 (paid messages get highlighted,) Super Stickers (similar to paid messages,) and Membership fees on a monthly, yearly, or lifetime basis.
• Enabling the DVR setting will allow viewers to pause or rewind the livestream, while disabling will restrict this feature.
• Check the analytics for Stream health (review video issues,) real-time analytics (duration, likes, viewer’s count,) and post-stream analytics (average watch time, peak hours, subscribers added, etc.)

You must check the dashboard each time while uploading a video file.

Use Customized Thumbnail

The thumbnail picture🤳 gives the first glance to the viewer, after which they show interest in reading the title and click on the link. You must use the best images that demonstrate the purpose of livestream. A simple image may not work, and therefore, you can use graphic photos or collages with brief captions in it.

Start Livestreaming When Ready

You can begin the video instantly from your channel, but make sure to re-check the settings and other features. It will work to attract more viewers and help them gain a better experience.

Other Things to Check Before Going Live

Apart from the settings, you must also consider the below factors for your livestream.

• High-speed internet📈 is a must for livestream videos. A broadband network is more reliable for continuous speed and connectivity.
• Test the sound🔊 quality of the microphone to make it perfect for recording.
• Depending on your telecast, you can use a webcam or a high-resolution camera🎦. Test each piece of equipment before beginning the session.
• A capture card📇 is also essential for encoder software and an external camera.
• Enhance the background visibility with lights💡 for clear vision on the screen.
• Include a moderator🧔‍♂️ in the backend to manage your chat conversation.

Also, prepare a script📃 to avoid de-tracking yourself while creating the livestream.

My Take on Livestreaming on YouTube

YouTube is a beautiful platform for influencers or creative professionals to start a channel and post video content. The livestream feature works incredibly in attracting more followers to the channel, thereby, trust and acceptance of the brand.

There is a vast possibility of creating live streaming videos, but if you are a beginner, then start with a smartphone for recording the video. Instead of investing in excessive resources like sound and graphics, you can focus more on delivering knowledgeable content.

As more viewers and subscribers add to your channel, you can gradually move towards improvement in the video quality. Maintain interactive conversation with the viewers, as it generates interest in them and adds more value to the channel.

Next up, top YouTube tools to grow audience, revenue, and more!