Just because you can engage in broadcasting, though, doesn’t mean it’s easy — or that it will go smoothly. Behind every good broadcast is a team that has invested time, effort, and resources into laying the groundwork for that live experience. If your church, non-profit, or mission-driven company is looking to get into the live-streaming game, this resource will have everything you need to become a bona fide broadcaster.
What Is a Live Broadcast?
Before we get too far, we should clarify what a live broadcast is in the first place. While some aspects of broadcasting are easy to understand, there is some nuance involved.
The “live” part specifically refers to broadcasting events that are happening in real-time as opposed to a video-on-demand (VOD) approach, which delivers pre-recorded videos to viewers. You can run a live event with an active audience in real-time while watching pre-recorded video (we call this SimLive). This is different from a live broadcast, where the video source is capturing a live event, packaging it into data, and then delivering it to an audience as it happens (or with a very slight delay).
Another key difference with a broadcast is that there is a general flow of information from the broadcaster to the audience. This is different from, say, a two-way Zoom call. A live broadcast consists of an outward-facing live message that is “broadcast” to an audience, like classic television. Of course, we have many alternative ways to broadcast a signal, but the basic concept is the same.
It’s also worth pointing out that, while live broadcasting tends to be more of a one-way street (the broadcaster send a feed and the audience receives it) there is still room for two-way engagement with a modern live broadcast, which we’ll cover in a bit.
What Kind of Live Broadcast Content Can a Mission-Driven Organization Create?
It’s important for mission-driven groups (churches, non-profits, mission-driven businesses, etc.) to understand the value of a quality broadcasting setup. They aren’t just investing in a fun side project to offer a live stream to people who couldn’t make it to church or called in sick to work that day.
Broadcasting functions as an engaging alternative to live events, especially when an audience is geographically scattered or unable to attend an event in a specific location. It is also an effective way for mission-driven orgs to push a variety of specific kinds of content out to their target audiences. For instance, you can broadcast:
Educational Content
Broadcasts can be a convenient and accessible way to teach a geographically decentralized group of people at the same time. Webinars are a common form of this kind of digital educational content. Live teaching, training, and Q&A sessions can also be presented by an instructor or educator to a live audience.
Sunday sermons are one of the most common educational forms of content being consistently broadcast at the moment. By early 2020, the number of ministries doing live stream church services had jumped from 22% to 97%. While the reason for this was obvious (the pandemic was just beginning) many of these same churches are still streaming live church, even though they’re fully committed to in-person services again.
Community Building Content
Fostering a healthy community requires a long-term strategy — and broadcasting can be a powerful part of that plan. You can use a live stream to broadcast things like project updates in real-time or showcase a volunteer initiative through a live demonstration.
If you put on a community-focused event, like a gala or auction, you can make the event hybrid, too. Streaming the proceedings only encourages those who can’t be physically present to observe and, in many cases, even participate in the event remotely.
Transparent and Accountable Content
Live broadcasts give you an authentic way to showcase important things that your mission-driven org is participating in. For instance, if you’re a philanthropy engaged in fundraising, you can use a live stream to provide an update or share about the individual, group, or cause you’re supporting.
You can also use a live stream to provide a direct message to your audience or push an important announcement out in front of your followers quickly. You can even build a sense of exclusivity by providing a sneak peek of an upcoming event or giving a behind-the-scenes tour.
Fundraising Content
Most not-for-profit orgs fundraise in some capacity. From church tithes and offerings to non-profit fundraisers and community-based initiatives, there are plenty of reasons to need funds in the mission-driven world.
Live broadcasts can be a great way to get the word out on a fundraiser or budget-related initiative. A church might use a live stream to talk about a campaign for an upcoming missions trip or outreach. A non-profit could broadcast a fundraising event like an auction and use the live stream to expand the reach of its donor audience during the live event. If you use a platform that you can tailor to your needs, like Sardius, you can even get them in on the bidding in real-time.
Whether it’s a live stream specifically to fundraise or weaving that process into a pre-existing live event, this is a viable option for most mission-driven orgs willing to invest in a good broadcasting setup. The question is, what do you need to do to create that setup in the first place?
What to Consider When Creating a Live Broadcast
Now that we’ve seen some of the reasons to broadcast, let’s look at several things you want to have in mind when you create a live broadcast for your organization.
Set Goals, Objectives, and Outcomes
This is ground zero for any initiative. What are you trying to accomplish?
Your answer will lay the groundwork for every decision after this point. If you launch a broadcast (or do so repeatedly), is the goal to build awareness? Raise funds? Expand and strengthen your community?
Consider the SMART acronym as you identify your objectives. Is each goal specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound? Setting quality goals will help you stay focused and effective as you get your broadcast up and running. It will also ensure that you broadcast the right kind of content to the right people at the right time.
Evaluate Your Budget
You can set up a broadcast with your smartphone for free. You can also spend tens of thousands of dollars on a high-end setup. Not surprisingly, each approach can lead to a very different end product. Yet, they are both legitimate options. The quality and investment you put into your broadcast will partly depend on the resources you have available.
Once you’ve set goals, you can start to get a feel for the kind of broadcast setup you’ll need to carry it out. If, for instance, you’re a small church just trying to get a single live feed up and running for a handful of people who can’t come each week, you can probably buy a cheap camera. Connect it to a computer, download some free software, and train a few volunteers to run things each week.
If you’re putting on a massive hybrid conference, though, that’s a different story. An event like a Joyce Meyer conference or the Global Leadership Summit requires a lot more equipment and a much larger team.
Whatever your circumstances, make sure to evaluate your budget. Consider how much you can invest without unnecessary financial stress. At the same time, keep in mind that an online option can often reduce the overhead of in-person gatherings by reducing the size or scope of the event.
Select Your Team
Your team is the lifeblood of your broadcast. No matter what kind of budget or equipment you’re working with, if you don’t have the crew to go the distance, you won’t end up with a quality live stream. Evaluate your internal team and consider who should be involved in leading, running, and supporting broadcasts.
Willingness is great, but experience and knowledge are critical here. Remember, live events, especially at scale, come with complex broadcast workflows. If you find you don’t have the talent in-house, you may want to reach out to a third-party mission-driven ally to fill in your skill gaps. Sardius Media has filled the role of an end-to-end event partner many times, and our team can bring the clout and efficiency required to make sure an event goes off without a hitch.
Assess the Scale You’re Working With
We already touched on this briefly, but the size of your broadcast really makes a difference. If you want your live broadcast to be effective, it needs to be ready to handle the scale of your production.
For instance, if you have a single video source for a Sunday service, you don’t need a huge setup. If you have five or 10 video inputs and a variety of audio sources, to boot, you want to make sure your setup can handle the size of the production.
Distribution is also a factor. If you’re serving a local congregation or donor base, you can use a single feed on YouTube or embed a player on your website. If you want to reach tens of millions of viewers around the world, you may need a software solution like the Sardius Platform that can centralize and automate distribution and that comes with a robust content distribution network (CDN).
Consider the Equipment You’ll Need for Your Broadcast
Every broadcast requires equipment of some kind. Some of this is hardware, and some is software. Once again, as with things like teams and budgets, the specific equipment you need is contingent on the scale of your production. However, you should at least be aware of:
- Your streaming channels: Consider the live streaming services that your audience uses most. Do you need a YouTube live stream? A Facebook live stream? What about Instagram or X?
- Get quality equipment: Do you need cameras? Microphones? Lighting? Is your internet connection strong? Do you have a hardware encoder? What about a video switcher? You can find a more comprehensive list of the different hardware and software options in a typical broadcasting setup in our guide for broadcasters.
Consolidate and Streamline Where You Can
At this point, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed — and it’s okay. Most broadcasting setups are a bit intimidating. The good news is that there are many ways you can streamline your setup and make the process as simple as possible.
This is why we created the Sardius Media Platform. It functions as an integrated central crossroads that improves your broadcast workflow and brings all of the digital pieces of your broadcast together into one spot. This makes it easier to maintain consistent quality, control creative production decisions, and easily push your final product out to end viewers through multiple channels.
Build a Marketing and Content Strategy
Even churches and non-profits need marketing and communication strategies. As you prepare your broadcast, consider how you’ll promote it. Here are a few questions to get started:
- What is your audience?
- How can you communicate with your audience?
- What actions do you want your audience to take?
- What partnerships and promotions fit with your broadcast plans?
Along with a communication strategy, consider how you can take advantage of the unique live format to present your content. What storytelling styles and narrative structures should you use to present your live event? How can you tailor the presentation to meet the needs and expectations of a hybrid or fully remote audience?
Schedule Early, Stay on Track, and Practice
Live events can be unforgiving when it comes to time. Particularly for larger events, once you have a date set, it’s difficult to back track, delay, or reschedule.
Always start scheduling your events early. Start with your official event time and work backward. Create a timeline that plots out when all of your major creative, production, and marketing events need to take place.
Also schedule in a time to practice your broadcast. In most cases, you don’t need to do a full dress-rehearsal. However, it’s a good idea to do a dry run where you test out your setup and make sure all of your audio, video, distribution channels, and other major factors are in order.
Analyze and Repurpose
Finally, once your event goes live, make sure you’re tracking your data. Use your goals to figure out the metrics that matter the most from your event. Use these KPIs (key performance indicators) as a way to gauge the success of your event and make notes for how to improve next time.
Also consider how you can reuse your live content once it has aired. Can you repurpose clips for TikTok and Instagram Reels? Can you pull quotes for a newsletter? Can you isolate specific sessions for a pre-packaged seminar, podcast episode, or website archive? Always make the most of unique live content like this. (Again, the Sardius Media Platform makes things like clipping quick and easy!)
Using Live Broadcasts to Build Your Mission-Driven Org
Live broadcasted content is an effective way to build a mission-driven organization. Churches, ministries, non-profits, and mission-driven for-profit companies alike can use broadcasting to create authentic, real-time content and push it out to their audience in a cost-effective and amplified format.
The key is to invest in your broadcasting setup. If you can create a high-quality live event, it can create a lasting impression of your organization and keep people interested and engaged in your work.
Our team at Sardius has invested in making that process as easy as possible. If you want to learn more about our platform, broadcast solutions, and support services, get in touch. Let’s talk about how we can take your broadcasts to the next level.