What is a simulcast?
A simulcast (or some call multicast) is a live video stream that is simultaneously broadcasted to multiple social media platforms for maximum exposure. A simulcast is simply wider coverage which equates to more people hearing your message in real time. Think of a US Presidential debate. The debate is broadcast to many channels for the widest possible coverage.
Not so long ago, broadcasting to multiple platforms would only be possible with established media corporations with big budgets and technical know. These corporations had control what was broadcasted, and the public had limited options to have their say and compete.
But of course that has all changed forever. We are now in control of what we listen to and who we broadcast (live stream) to. In a nut shell, simulcasting allows us to spread our messages to an expanded targeted audience.
Simulcasting will give you maximum exposure to multiple social media platforms with one livestream broadcast.
Why would you want to do a Simulcast?
Why would you not want to maximize the coverage of your live event? Obviously, there are events that need to be private and for a designated audience. There are many events though, that would benefit from a simulcast. The goal is always to reach a wider audience and if you monetize that, that means more revenue, more exposure and more recognition. If you optimize your live stream recording when the stream is over, you can benefit from the live recording for more distribution and visibility.
Things to consider
If you simulcast to multiple platforms and comments from your audience are important, there are a couple of ways to approach it
You can keep all the social media pages open (reducing the pages) and reply in real time. This method is tedious as it involves constant back and forth from each platform. The other way is to aggregate all comments from each platform in one chat window (a premium service). This is a more efficient method. Replying to comments in real time can be an essential part of a simulcast, so proper planning is essential.
Simulcasting might give the wrong impression if social media viewer count is important. Attendees will be split to different social media sites. For example, you might get 50 views to Facebook and 50 views on YouTube. If you were only streaming to Facebook, you could have had potentially 100 attendees. This might not be an issue, but just something to consider when deciding on live streaming to one or more platforms.
Who can benefit from a live stream Simulcast?
- Churches and religious institutions – Spread inspiration and motivation
- Educational organizations – Live stream education, graduation and award ceremonies, classroom lessons. Spread knowledge and academia
- Music and theatrical live events – Showcase your entertainment performances
- Political events – Make it easier for your base to follow you as well introducing your cause
- Local government – City council meetings, city boards, important public announcements
- Public speakers – Showcase your presentation live to gain maximum coverage
- Press conferences – Live stream breaking news to all social media platforms
- Sports events – Capture the action from every angle and excite fans
What are the best channels for a Simulcast?
There are many social media sites to choose from. The popular social media platforms are:
- Facebook Live (Not Instagram. You can only go live from the IG phone app).
- YouTube Live
- Twitter Periscope
- Twitch
- Crowdcast
- Vimeo
Simulcast wireless live stream setup Illustration
In the above example, we are using a 3 camera live stream setup. The three cameras and presentation slides are wirelessly sending a high quality 1080p audio and video feed to the Sling Studio hub. We then live switch camera angles and presentation slides using a simple iPad. At the same time we configure your social media requirements using Castr which in turn broadcasts the simulcast. We can produce a TV quality high resolution 1080p live stream with high quality results.
Alan Cash Video specializes in professional live streaming with multiple cameras in high resolution.
Ask about Simulcasting to gain wider coverage for your next live event.
