Timing can make or break a broadcast. Your schedule is your foundation, and following it correctly ensures that people will tune in at the right time.

The challenge is that with a live broadcast, you have one shot to capture your content, process it, and distribute it to your audience. This narrow margin for error makes scheduling each stream a critical first step in keeping the experience seamless and enjoyable.

In this resource, we’ll break down how a consistent scheduling process benefits your mission-driven organization and provide tips to help you schedule your live broadcasts.

The Benefits of Thoughtfully Scheduling a Live Streaming Event

The concept of scheduling a broadcast sounds simple on the surface. Every event requires scheduling, right? 

However, when you plan a live streaming event, there are multiple unique elements that come from knowing when your event will take place well ahead of time. Here are three of the biggest areas that benefit from a thoughtful scheduling process.

Strategic Considerations

Scheduling your live broadcast early gives you the opportunity to make key decisions about your event without pressure. For instance, if you’re going to host a concert in your church three months from now, taking the time to schedule the right date gives you time to identify optimal time slots that work for your musicians as well as your target audience.

You can also take into account things like time zones or the availability of equipment, and ensure the availability of locations where you plan to capture your content to broadcast.

Technical Advantages

A live stream has many components. You have to consider cameras, microphones, lighting, scripts, event structure, personnel — the list goes on. A schedule gives you a clear window of time to get all of these things in order.

If you need to install software or upgrade a portion of your setup, considering your timeline can help you ensure you have the time to do so before you’re committed to a date. It also gives you time to test your equipment and make sure everything from applications and encoders to lighting and stream quality is in order before you go live.

Marketing and Promotion

Properly marketing an event is a complex, long-term activity. Constant Contact recommends starting at least eight to 12 weeks in advance, while some events require promotion as much as six months beforehand. 

Early on, this should focus on general awareness and shift to things like attendance and logistics as the event gets closer. The one thing you don’t want to do is start your marketing late. Scheduling your event ahead of time gives you a timeline to keep your promotional efforts on track as the big day approaches.

Tips for Scheduling Your Live Stream Event

Scheduling is more than an item on your streaming to-do list. It’s an instrumental element of a successful broadcast and something you don’t want to take lightly. With that in mind, here are a few tips to help you get the most out of the scheduling process.

• Consider your audience: Every broadcast has an audience. Your event might be focused on a particular region, generation, or some other demographic. Make sure you know your audience and consider their needs and interests when choosing your scheduled time. If you’re catering to an older crowd, don’t set your start time at 10 p.m. If you’re launching a youth event, consider school schedules. You get the idea.
• Use the lead-up to structure your event thoroughly: A schedule gives you a clear window of time to test everything about your live stream before it goes live. Consider your hardware, your software, and all of the individual elements of your broadcast. Google has a basic breakdown of things to keep in mind when prepping to capture a single-take live performance, including your frame, audio quality, and even network signal.
• Build anticipation for the upcoming event: It’s hard to overstate the importance of marketing a live event the right way. The exclusive nature of a live stream makes it essential to have your audience in attendance at precisely the right moment. A little too late, and they’ll miss out on the real-time element that makes this kind of broadcast special. Make sure to start building awareness early, follow up often to reply to any interactions from your audience, and be in communication during the final lead-up to the event.

Use these tips to be strategic about how you schedule your event and utilize the timeline that it creates.

Using Scheduling to Enhance Your Broadcast

Scheduling a broadcast is more than a routine activity. It is an integral part of creating, executing, and marketing a live-streaming event. It creates your timeline, directs your marketing, and generally orients your team as you prepare for your event.

If you’re struggling to find the best time to schedule your event or find that your timeline is shorter than expected, our team at Sardius can help. Our platform simplifies the streaming process, giving you a single dashboard to oversee your broadcast production. Learn more about the platform and its features here, or if your needs go beyond the technical components of your streaming setup, reach out to our team for more comprehensive live broadcasting support.

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