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Per Variety magazine, Coachella 2019 was live streamed by over 80 million people. While this is an extreme example of a popular festival a few years ago, I list it to illustrate that live streaming is here to stay, and continues to grow year after year. There are plenty of independent streaming creators that are boasting large numbers and dedicated fans on their regular streaming platforms. More creators are migrating online each day. Some full time, some part time, depending on their goals.
With the millions of creators broadcasting online everyday, how will you ensure that you are memorable and someone that viewers want to come back to? What is the brand of “you” all about? In part four of this “Live streaming for Musicians and Artists” series, we’ll explore the ins and outs of building your brand.
Think about your favorite content creators. What stands out to you? How do you identify their content from a thumbnail? What keeps you coming back? How do they communicate to you? Today we’re going to discuss what to stream, and how to make it memorable. Without any further delays, let’s get into it.
Name –
First things first, you have to have a name. Whether this is a solo project or a collaboration or band, you will need to be known by something. Preferably you want a name that no one else has. Do a Google search and check all the social media sites you plan to use. Verify that the name you have chosen can be claimed by you on all sites, website domains, etc…
If you’re already established online you will most likely want to use the name you’ve built up. When you start livestreaming, using the same name will help your fans find you easier while you continue to grow your brand in new avenues.
If you are starting out fresh, or rebranding yourself, when you start livestreaming you can be as creative as you’d like. Will you use your government name, a quirky moniker, an homage to a franchise or brand you are a fan of? The name you choose should ultimately reflect your online personality and/or brand.
Genre –
Time to think about the broad topic, or category, you want to stream under. Music, Podcasts, Graphic Design, Art, Chatting, Radio, DJ, Dancing, etc… There are so many creative categories that consumers are excited to watch. Start by narrowing down your broadstroke category. Once you have a topic in mind you can work on narrowing down and identifying your niche within the broader category. For instance, let’s say you are a music streamer. Your subcategories, or niche, could be acoustic, folk, traditional. Or duo, soul, upbeat. If you’re a graphic design artist your sub category could be logos, and numbers, or photoshop. Be consistent in your genre to start. Don’t jump around too much.
As you grow your brand you may want to incorporate other categories. Perhaps you are a music streamer, but you’re also a really talented painter. Once you have solidified yourself within your genre it’s great to once and awhile showcase your painting skills with a special stream. Streams outside of your normal genre can be great for helping your audience connect with you in a different way. Special streams can also help you reach new fans that might not have not have found you otherwise.
In the beginning you will notice that your viewers/audience will come to watch you for the subject specific content that you create. As you become more well known and recognizable your audience will return to watch you time and time again simply for you being who you are. Think of it like this. There are a million musicians in the world. What makes you watch and follow the musicians you enjoy? Is it simply their musical prowess? Do you also enjoy their personality? What keeps you coming back? In most cases talent gets them in front of you, but personality keeps you as their fan.
What happens if you want to change genres? Let’s say you’ve been a music steamer for 3 years and suddenly you want to become a body painter. The most important thing you can do is communicate with your fanbase. Let them know how you feel. Talk through what a transition period might look like. Be ok with knowing that you will lose a portion of your fan base because some of your audience may not be interested in body painting. That is to be expected. Things fluctuate in transition periods, but as long as you are consistent you will be able to continue doing what you love. At the end of the day the most important factor in your success as a streamer is YOU DOING WHAT YOU LOVE. You can’t expect to be successful at anything in life if you don’t love it. Especially something as demanding as streaming and content creation.
Communicate with Your Community
Speaking of communication, let’s dive into one of the most integral parts of the streaming career. Communication between you and your audience is huge. Communication helps you connect with your fans. Communication helps keep your fans up to date on what events are taking place in your streaming world. Communication looks like many different things and we are going to discuss them all!
Starting with an email list. This is your most valuable communication tool. You need to start your email list today. Even before you start streaming. The only platforms you will own in the digital space of your content creation are your email list and your website. At any time, for any reason, you could be de-platformed from a site. Imagine building up a sizable following on Instagram, or TikTok and suddenly there is a rule change and you can no longer post to the site. Now, all of you fans that have come to expect your content can no longer find you. They are not seeing your regular posts and streams. Your website has not been updated and they start to forget about you. Because let’s face it, in the digital age, if you’re not consistent someone else will show up on their feed.
You haven’t set up an email list and you have no way of contacting your fanbase. You also have not been consistent on other platforms so your fan base cannot find you on other sites to figure out what’s going on. You have to have an email list. This ensures direct contact to your fans at any time.
Next, you need to be active on other social media sites beyond the main site you plan to stream to. You want to cast the widest net possible for growing your audience base. Every site has a specialty. So learn how and what to post to each site to attract new fans, while staying connected to the fans that have already helped you to grow. You’ll have fans that will follow you on every site. Others will only follow you on the select sites they interact with. As a streamer you should be posting your schedule, highlights of your stream, fun tidbits about your life outside of streaming (from time to time), and other creative posts that tie into your main category of streaming.
Whether you plan to only stream occasionally on Instagram or everyday on Twitch, you should start a Discord. Outside of your email list a Discord server is the next best way to connect to your dedicated audience. A Discord is essentially a group chat/ community center for your whole community. Actually a Discord will help you turn your fans into a community. You can post relevant updates, watch movies together, share inside jokes, celebrate one another, etc..
Yes, you will be able to maintain a great level of privacy once you decide to become a streamer, but a big part of your job as a streamer is ensuring that your fans have access to you and you have access to them. If you have to take a sabbatical from streaming and/or content creation you should definitely let your audience know. If you plan to change, you need to let your audience know. If you want to do a pop-up stream on a site you don’t normally stream to you guessed it, you need to let your fan base know. Communication is key.
Logos, font, overlays, brand colors
You’ve decided on a streaming platform, you have your hardware, software, you have a streaming name and platform all setup. You’ve let your community know and you’re ready to go! Congrats. Now it’s time for the extra details that will set your brand apart from all the others. It’s time to think about design.
Do a quick Instagram scroll, or Youtube search and you will see the same thing on all your favorite creators’ pages. They all have a theme that distinguishes them. The theme is their main colors, the type of font they consistently use on all their posts, their logo, and specifically for streamers you’ll see their overlays.
These are not something you have to create right away, and they don’t have to stay the same forever. Even big bands like Coke and Pepsi change their look throughout the decades. But, note that once you have a logo, etc… you’ll want to stick with it for a while. Your logo, font, colors, and overlays should be well thought out. If you are a rock music streamer, having pastel pinks and a soft, delicate font probably isn’t all the way on brand.
Look at the thumbnails and posts from other creators in your same genre. Are there similarities? Are there things about the genre that are universally used? Do your research and start to play around with combinations that might work for your brand, and also that appeal to your overall aesthetic preferences.
You want your audience to be able to identify you instantly. Even before they hear your voice or see your face. A fantastic tool for branding is Canva. I have been using Canva for over 5 years now. My initial logo was designed on Canva, and sent to Fiverr to be cleaned up and fully customized. Canva also has brand tools to help you customize fonts and branding colors. In addition I use Canva to create social media posts, pictures, GIF’s, overlays, and videos. Use the following link to get Canva for free or to try a free premium trial. https://partner.canva.com/c/3237278/647168/10068
Fiverr is another great tool to assist you in creating the content needed for branding yourself as a streamer. I use Fiverr to order emotes, fun animations I can’t make myself, character design, and more.
When it comes to branding some people know right away what they want, others start with nothing and create the brand as they go. There is no right way to become a professional streamer. Think about the resources available to you currently, and set a list of goals for the things you’d like to accomplish within 6 months. Once 6 months come, reevaluate your goals. Which ones did you accomplish? Which ones need revisiting? Which ones aren’t a priority anymore? Set new goals and continue this process a couple times a year.
As you remain consistent in streaming you’ll inevitably become more confident and experienced. As you journey through the life of a streamer, make friends with others in your field. Ask questions, collaborate, join other streamer Discords, and join fellow streamers in Takelesson Live Music Lounge class where you can ask questions, share ideas, and connect with other streamers, and future streamers, as well as musicians and creatives in all fields.
Reina Mystique