Did you know that 60% of the 100 most popular YouTube Live streams happened in the last two years? 

If you are planning to get into live streaming, YouTube could be your platform to get started. YouTube has over 2 billion logged-in monthly users, which is more than any other social network or streaming platform.

Need goosebumps? People spend more than a billion hours watching YouTube EVERY SINGLE DAY. 

Despite the fact that YouTube is the easiest-work-with video sharing and live streaming platform, it isn’t that easy to attract and engage audience on your YouTube Live stream. And without engagement, there is no point of doing live streams! 

Don’t feel disheartened! This blog gives you some of the tried and true ways to increase engagement on your YouTube live stream – 

9 Ways to Increase Engagement on YouTube Live Streaming

1. Engage First and Proactively

It’s a misconception that the quality of the content is what gets you engagement. Of course, there is no denying that quality matters, but in most cases the way you speak or interact with your audience has a lot to play.

So, don’t leave even a single chance to take the initiative to engage with your audience first. Mention their names, thank them for joining, and heart on their comments. Gestures like these encourage people to engage more on your streams.

2. Watch and Others’ Stream Too

As a streamer, you should be an active user of the platform too. You will need to visit other streamers’ profiles, and like and comment (or engage) on their stream. 

Make sure what you comment appeals to others on the turf.

3. Feature Comments and Conversations

The idea is to show that you respect the views of your audience, and don’t mind featuring them on your stream.

Say a user puts a noteworthy comment on your stream. Show gratitude on the same stream and if possible, feature their comment(s) on the next stream.

You can even video interview them, and include snippets from the same on your next stream. 

Seeing your responds and reactions, more people would like to engage on live streams on your YouTube channel. (In fact, this could be a potential content idea for your streams.)

4. Connect on Other Platforms Too

Twitter, Twitch, TikTok, Facebook, and Only Fans, there are countless live streaming platforms and social networks you can connect with your audience at. You can combine those URLs with only single landing page with Roket Apps!

It will give you a chance to understand the preferences and interests of your audience, and create content that is relevant for them. 

5. Ask Questions

While streaming live, you can ask your audience to ask questions or share their opinion – to be specific, questions or opinions related to your channel or stream, or maybe, a roaring social, political, or environmental situation that is in trend.

This can give a quick boost to the engagement rate of your live stream.

And you have the option to create polls as well.

6. What Highly-Engaged YouTubers Do to Increase Engagement on their Stream

This famous quote from Shiv Khera’s bestselling book “You Can Win” works exceptionally well when it comes to generating views and engagement on YouTube. Here we list a few examples of what leading streamers do to increase engagement on their YouTube stream –

7. They Use Simple and Attractive Thumbnails

As per an estimate, thumbnails alone can increase your engagement by 154%.

90% of best performing video productions on YouTube use custom thumbnails. When you use enticing headlines with your thumbnails, it can help you gain the attention and interest of users at the very sight.

You can do that too while uploading your videos or setting up your live stream from the interface (screenshot) below –

You can use some information about your stream or even an explainer as the text on your video thumbnail. This text will be different from the title of your stream.

If you are good at designing, you can design a unique template for your video/stream, which soon will become your identity.

8. They Include Add Annotations

Annotations are calls-to-action (CTAs) given by the streamer during and after the stream. These are small, text-based, clickable ads that users see while they watch your video.

The text appears on small transparent boxes on the video, and encourages the user to take a desired action, which could be to buy a product you are promoting or click on a link to fill up a form or participate in a survey.

When users take the action you recommend, it adds to the overall engagement of your stream/video.

You can create annotations using the Video Manager interface of your YouTube account.

9. They Stream at the Right Time

Timing is very important. If you choose to go live when your audience is busy with their work or sleeping, the rate of engagement will be disappointingly low. Leading YouTubers plan their live streams based on this very metric.

You could use your YouTube Analytics or some other third-party analytics tool to understand what time your audience is active. Analyze your most engaged or viewed streams to get detailed insights about the activity or availability of your audiences.

If you are aiming to attract a global audience, it would be wise to choose a time that works for different time zones.

People love to watch their favorite performers live. And when they feel they are a part of your live stream, they are already keen to engage on your content.

Provide them value through your content and using friendly gestures, and they are all yours. You just have to take the initiative to engage with them during and after your YouTube Live session.