Stream On: Best Streaming Platforms, Stats and Other Technicalities
Live streaming is getting bigger and bigger and choosing the best streaming platforms is a big challenge. It can be seen in the sheer number of people wanting to start their own streaming career. We understand that sometimes it’s hard, and you just don’t know how to and need some help. No worries! We are here to support you and help you develop.
If you are looking for some beginner tips, read how to start your streaming career. But if you want to dig deeper, check out some tips from veteran streamers on the best streaming platforms, if checking stats is profitable and other technicalities!
- Streamers’ favourite platform
- Analysing streaming stats
- Increase in viewership
- Viewership drops
- Attracting new viewers
- Best settings to use while streaming
What Are the Best Streaming Platforms and Why?
You will certainly not be surprised to learn that Twitch is in the lead. But why is that? See what streamers have to say about it and how do they honestly feel about YouTube and Facebook Gaming!
Twitch, mostly because you can only stream here. YouTube is totally unsuitable for streaming. Firstly, the chat is completely different there. Secondly, the premise of YouTube was completely different from the beginning and was meant to be used for watching videos. There are certain things you may or may not like about Twitch. But I don’t see competition for it. Facebook gaming cuts the reach, because there is no big audience as on Twitch and if the streamer does not run other social media, such as YouTube, they only lose their reach and you can see it by the creators who are there. Many came back to Twitch later.
Twitch. I just started there honestly, and now that I have a contract with Liquid I am obliged to stream there. I also do some content on YouTube, but not streaming. The content I produce on Twitch goes to YouTube as well.
Twitch because I’m used to this platform. It has a nice layout, the chat is convenient, and it is strictly designed as a streaming site.
I have been using Twitch since the beginning, being both a professional CS:GO player and a streamer. On this platform I watched matches played by the best in the world and thus I learned to play and took my first steps, transmitting my actions. Over time, I started to get to know the cool communities that were created there.
If you want to know more about the pros and cons of each streaming platform, read this article!
Do You Analyse Your Streams?
If you want to become big someday, you need to know where you are coming from and what your destination is. For this, you will need to check your stream statistics from time to time in order to see how your broadcasts performed. And analyse why some of them were better than others.
Sometimes, but rather in terms of my behaviour or recall of the situation (more for RolePlay, which is streamed the most often on my channel).
From the very beginning. I analyse the statistics of each of my broadcasts on an ongoing basis. Thanks to this, I draw a lot of conclusions about improving the quality of my streams. I believe that every creator should watch their social media to constantly develop. From time to time, I also collect feedback from viewers and ask them what I am doing wrong, what I could do better, what they like and what they would like to watch.
Nah, I don’t have time for that stuff. After the stream ends I usually just hit the gym. […] I really recommend going to the gym because exercise allows you to play better. All these great endorphins and other things come in. It is seriously better to fire up the stream after exercising because then the endorphins are there, and you have a completely different attitude to the stream. No bs.
At What Point Did You Notice an Increase in Viewers on Your Channel?
Taking notice of increases in your viewership can help you with deciding what kind of content you are best at and what your viewers like to watch.
I noticed an increase in my average viewers once I started to play with other streamers on streams but also took the time to post on social media and YouTube.
When I was actively engaging with content I enjoyed and sticking to a regular schedule.
What Actions Have Caused Your Viewers to Start Dropping?
On the other hand, when your views start dropping, it’s a signal for you that there is something you need to change. Don’t be afraid to ask your viewers what they like and what they dislike. This can be a helpful guide for your future broadcasts!
Playing games that don’t interest me, causing me and my community to become bored.
I recently took a break from streaming and social media due to the death of a family member. My numbers dropped when I did stream but this was necessary and important to do. They have quickly come back up and are back to growing now I’m back to a regular schedule.
What Would You Change About Your Approach to Attracting New Viewers?
Attracting viewers can be hard especially if you don’t know where to start. Check what some of the veteran streamers have to say about it in order to help you grow!
Play games that keep everyone entertained (including myself). I found that there was one game that everyone enjoyed, so I play that as my regular game and then swap between other games when I feel like it.
I need to create more time to post content on other platforms like Tik Tok, YouTube and Instagram. My Twitch and Twitter are in a good place but my streams would grow more if I did other content too. My biggest advice is don’t create content you think others want, create what you enjoy and your audience will find you.
What kind of settings do you use for your streams?
If you want to start streaming, there’s one thing to keep in mind – it’s not the hardware that makes you a good streamer. It’s everything about you. So you don’t need anything special for starters, it will come in time either way!
I have all my SteelSeries hardware now and it’s great. But really, all you need to stream is a nice computer, microphone and Internet connection. More than that, nothing better is really necessary.
Tbh, the most important thing at the start is the camera and the light. You can get those very cheap cameras from Logitech for example. And just some light to improve the quality of the camera. You can do it on a budget. And having twoscreens really helps so you play on one and you have the chat and other things on the other. In terms of a microphone like someone actually reached out to me to use their microphone as a sponsorship so I got it from them and I just kept using it honestly. Things that I would recommend later on if you get to the streaming, an arm that holds the microphone is very useful.
Only the stripes on the top and bottom to give a more interesting effect while playing. And maybe, a small picture somewhere in the corner. Nothing else is really needed.
From the very beginning I have been using OBS LIVE with the plugin released by StreamElements. Graphical development in terms of transitions and backgrounds is equally important to me. In addition, for some time during the broadcast I was struggling with a significant drop in FPS, so I decided to switch to streaming dual PC. I think it has made broadcasting easier for me and viewers can enjoy better streaming quality.
We understand that beginnings can be rough. This is why we are here with the “Stream on” series. So you can get real advice (like on the best streaming platforms) from real streamers and make your start a little smoother. Share your thoughts about this post with someone who also wants to know how to start streaming and create their own streaming career, and help them grow!
