How can an online content creator incorporate Ustream into their strategy and justify the ROI? This was a question that came up this week in one of my mastermind groups.
It sparked me to share one of my latest strategy ideas which I’ve decided to share with you here.
My Latest New Media Strategy Idea
I’ve been contemplating recording my podcast live at a consistent time every week. I would use Ustream to broadcast live. The audio recording for the podcast would be done on my computer (not via Ustream) to get the best quality. Ustream is just a tool for live interaction and broadcasting.
There are several benefits that come from doing this.
1. Consistency
It would force me to be more consistent with my solo show which has been a constant struggle for me. Internet Business Mastery is has been consistent because there are two of us recording so we schedule times in advance.
2. Live Energy
I love doing the live thing. I’m a performer at heart. I love to speak live. I like the energy that it gives me and my content.
3. Interaction
This would provide an additional layer of interaction. Even if only a small group of people “attend” live, the entire show will have a more interactive feel to it for all the listeners. People will feel more like they are participating in something.
4. Easy Video Content
This would produce a video recording that could be posted on Ustream and, more importantly, on all the other video sharing services. The key to establishing a preeminent position with your brand is to repurpose your content and syndicate across multiple channels with multiple formats (iTunes, YouTube, Twitter, etc.) using the most time- and cost-effective means. This would be a very efficient way to do that.
5. Viral Conversation
Ustream’s Twitter integration not only makes the interaction live but also potentially more viral.
What if You Have an Audio Show?
Now, you might be thinking, “But Jason your show is audio and Ustream is video. How will that work?”
There are a few possible answers. I could…
- Broadcast my talking head via webcam. The audience would be listening in and watching me as I record.
- Prepare a short set of slides to show through the video as I record then offer those up as a download.
- Broadcast my screen showing the mindmap outline that I prepare for recording each show.
- Broadcast a static logo during the broadcast.
I’m not sure which is the right answer. You’ll have to consider your audience, content and time. The last option is the easiest, but the least interesting. It would be a good idea to poll your audience and ask them which they prefer after considering which you are willing to do.
Is it Right for You?
Using Ustream in this way is by no means something that everyone has to do. It’s just an option to consider. Will it provide ROI for you?
For me it would be worth the additional time and commitment if it forces me to record more often (accountability), boosted the energy of my content (more compelling) and made my show more interactive (building greater trust and influence).
I guess by writing this I’m committing to at least trying this strategy. I’ll let you know how it goes.
What do you think?
What are your thoughts or questions about this strategy? Do you have additional suggestions? Let me know in the comments below.
Email: jason AT jasonvanorden.com
Voicemail Line: +1 877-877-7799
September 30th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
I think it would definitely be a great tool for syndicating your show on various platforms for maximum brand exposure, even if all you did was put up a logo on the screen.
That being said, I think being able to see a person as they are speaking will definitely enhance the experience for your listeners. Since YOU are the brand, having your face on the screen just adds a whole new level to the relationship and interaction you have with your audience.
I’ve been on a UStreams by Darren Rowse at problogger, and although he wasn’t doing a recording for a “show”, he was just going down the chat area, answering as many questions as he could for an hour. It was honestly pretty awesome, and I wish he did it more.
Do you think there are any drawbacks to recording a podcast live, as far as people who have already listened to the show via Ustream and and therefore would not go to iTunes to download?
September 30th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
In the end what matters is that the content is consumed. I’m cool with my audience consuming it through whatever channel works best for them. Of course, the content will always encourage them to sign up for the email list.
September 30th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Jason – We have been doing this exact same process for our podcast. We do a live video broadcast every Friday via Ustream. We record the audio in GarageBand at the same time. On Monday we release the blog post with the Ustream embed and MP3 (which gets pushed to iTunes)
It adds an extremely nice touch to the podcast as we are able to take questions live and have a chat room open during the podcast. It’s also one more reason for people to come to our site – we drop our opt-in form right next to the video broadcast :-)
While its just the two of us on screen I often use a program called CamTwist to switch the feed to my desktop to demo whatever we are talking about.
If you’d like to check it out we are at http://managingtheedge.com and the live page is http://managingtehedge.com/live
Also – would love to have you on as a guest :-)
If you have any questions on how to approach it let me know! It would be awesome for us avid listeners!
September 30th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Andy,
Thanks for sharing that. I like the model that you are using. It’s a great example of this strategy. Do you push the videos out to any video sharing sites?
September 30th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Yea I usually push them out via TubeMogul after recording. Problem is some video sites (like Youtube) won’t let us publish there due to the length of the recording.
Our next phase we’ll be pushing the video out to iTunes as well (in a separate feed).
Currently I am trying to find a VA with video editing skills that can cut out segments of each show into their own topical videos so we can push those to more places.
Or we could just limit the length of the podcast – but YouTube maxes at 10min
Our goal is to repurpose our time and content as much as possible. 1 hour of content creation can equal several dozen different content outposts
September 30th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Andy – that’s awesome stuff. I really like how you did this on MTE. Are you using the wordpress plugin WP-Ustream to embed that into your live page?
Looks awesome. Good stuff :)
September 30th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Pat – No plugin – just created a page and dropped the standard embed code in. The only thing special that I did was to create a WP page template with no sidebars for the live page.
And then I dropped in the real time FriendFeed widget to track the twitter discussion and the links we share on the show.
October 1st, 2009 at 1:52 am
hi jason,
i just started my first podcast called “the approachable architect podcast” for my business and was gung ho to record it live via ustream and have the LIVE page here http://www.residearchitecture.com/podcast/live but ran into a snag last week. it was difficult to get guests scheduled for the 11:00 am thursday time frame that i wanted to do. realizing that content was the most important part of my podcast, i have put the LIVE portion on hold. i was originally going to do LIVE every other week because it would have taken a lot of prep work, BUT now that i’m not doing LIVE, i feel i can do a weekly podcast that i will release every thursday. i will schedule my guests to come in early in the week each week and record at their leisure (or via skype/phone). i’ve received an amazing response from guests as a result and in the last three days have been able to book a guest every week thru february of next year.
SO, by not going LIVE now, i’m able to deliver great content on a consistent basis. once i get more subscribers and a following, it will be easier to get guests more interested in a LIVE show because i’ll have built my following.
if you can deliver great content on a regular basis in a LIVE format, then you probably have the built in audience to make it work. it’s really going to depend on lining up the guests.
thanks, david doucette
October 1st, 2009 at 11:50 am
thanks for answering my question Jason.
I was thinking of doing the same actually… I assume the Ustream people won’t hear Sterling though?!?
Any way of having the audio from both of you on Ustream?
October 1st, 2009 at 4:10 pm
I was planning on doing this for my solo podcast, not for Internet Business Mastery.
It definitely would get a bit more complicated with two people. You might have to use something like GoToWebinar (or some similar solution) that would integrate both of your audios. I’ll have to give this some more thought as to the best set up for your case if you want to pursue this route for a co-hosted podcast.
October 1st, 2009 at 4:27 pm
We do this with two people but we are in the same room and are both mic’d to our mixing board.
We have done this where both are remote.. We use Skype Video Chat for audio/video recording. I use CamTwist to broadcast the video conference live on UStream
October 1st, 2009 at 4:38 pm
@Andy,
Excellent suggestion.
@Dean,
I think you are on Mac. Sometimes I forget about the Mac solutions. You should definitely look into Camtwist. If you are on a PC, look at WebCamMax.
October 1st, 2009 at 4:40 pm
WebCamMax – been looking for a camtwist -like solution for my pc sweet!
October 2nd, 2009 at 1:39 am
Check out how Todd Cochrane does it on Geek News Central some time. The camera is on him and switches around his studio, but he stays focused on the show and checks out the chat room when he can. the main focus is on the audio show, but the video doesn’t suffer as a result.
October 2nd, 2009 at 3:19 am
@Rob,
Very nice. Thanks for sharing that. It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to Todd’s show. I really dig his video set up he’s using now. I’m need to plan me out a nifty multi-camera studio now.
@Dean,
You should definitely check this out.
http://www.geeknewscentral.com/live/
October 2nd, 2009 at 6:50 am
Jason – great idea – I’ve been thinking about broadcasting a live video of us recording Internet Marketing for a while now. Looking forward to taking a look at your broadcast later – if I can work out the time difference between USA and UK?! ;-)
Keep up the good work – love IBM by the way.
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
First, thanks for sending this link by newsletter. I thought I’d already subscribed but apparently had not.
This is great info on recording live. I’m just developing my podcast concept. Is it a possibility to record an interview using a teleconferencing site, then use that for part of a podcast? Is that how everyone records phone calls?
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:34 pm
We will be doing our show live today at 1:00PM CST if anyone wants to check out how we use UStream
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:45 pm
@Deborah,
Using a teleconference line is a viable way to do an interview or record a podcast. If you want to get better audio quality you can use Skype. To record Skype on a PC, use Pamela Pro. To record Skype on Mac, use Call Recorder or Audio Hijack. Those solutions are all around $20-30 USD.
October 2nd, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Thanks Andy and Jason.
I will check that out.
We are doing a video episode over the weekend with Gary Vaynerchuk as our guest, very excited.
Dean