Posted on March 24, 2023

6 ‌Best Live Streaming Apps For Businesses in 2023

When you think about live performances, it’s easy to be carried away by their magic.  

Music fans travel long distances to watch their favorite band performing at a live show, creating a memorable experience that lives on years after the live performance. Fans also interact and bond over the music they both love, fostering a sense of community. 

While your company may not replicate the magic and wonder of a live performance, you still have an opportunity to deliver an interactive and memorable buying experience to your target audience through live streaming. 

Just as a band takes the time to look for a strategic venue to host their live performance, you also need to choose the right live streaming app that makes it easy for you to stream your content and engage with your audience. 

Here are six of the best live streaming apps you can choose from to stream live content to your audience. 

1. InEvent

Launched in 2013, InEvent is a live streaming app that helps event organizers stream virtual and hybrid events such as live meetings, live television broadcasts, webinars, and more.

InEvent serves event organizers in finance, healthcare, automotive, and government institutions. Educational institutions can also use the live streaming app to make online learning more effective. Its notable clients include Bayer, Amazon, Sony, and Whirlpool. 

Pros:

• InEvent has a CRM system that allows you to manage and customize event bookings in one place.
•  It allows you to create custom landing pages for events that align with your brand colors. You can also integrate the registration process with your website so that your event attendees complete their registration without clicking away from your website. 
•  InEvent provides event organizers with data and analytics reports about their events, helping them track event performance and identify areas they need to improve. 

Cons:

• InEvent’s pricing is ideal for enterprise-level businesses, keeping it out of reach for smaller companies with a small budget to live stream their events. 
•  It comes with features that present a steep learning curve to new users who have yet to attend the InEvent academy.

1. YouTube Live

More than 70% of Youtube users buy a product after watching a product video on YouTube, a trend that places Youtube Live in a prime position to share your content with your audience and generate leads and sales for your business. 

Most brands have a YouTube channel, so transitioning to YouTube Live doesn’t involve switching costs. It’s ideal for you if you want to control what you’re spending on your tech stack. 

Using YouTube Live, your audience can stream content live through their mobile and desktop devices and interact with the event in real-time via live chat. 

When hosting on a social media platform like YouTube, write compelling copy in the description box, so your ideal audience can find your live stream more efficiently. If this is something other than your area of expertise, you can use an AI content generator to create a description of the video.

You can also use YouTube live to monetize your content using ads and sponsorships. 

Pros:

1. Since YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google, Youtube Live allows you to reach a wider audience without much struggle. People are already watching content on YouTube, so if the content you stream is relevant to your audience, they will find it through Youtube’s recommendations in their search results. 
2.  You can also engage with your audience through Q&As in real-time, helping you keep them engaged. 
3.  YouTube Live is free, so you don’t have to worry about additional costs. You only need an excellent external camera and high-quality microphones. 
4.  It allows you to create attractive thumbnails, schedule your streams, and share with your users to help them show up when you go live. 

Cons: 

1. If your viewers know about your live stream, it is easier for them to find it. It’s also difficult to share your live stream on other platforms
2.  It lacks features other live streaming platforms have, such as chat moderation.
3. Facebook Live

For brands with many followers on Facebook, Facebook Live offers a great way to keep your audience engaged. 

You can use Facebook Live to host Q&A sessions about your product or services, provide product demos, or converse with your audience about a specific topic. 

Given that the streaming platform is free and easy to use, it has a low barrier to entry, so businesses can start streaming content live if they already have an audience on Facebook. 

Pros:

• Most Facebook users spend an average of 33 minutes on the platform daily, so you can reach them in real-time if you have many followers on Facebook. 
•  Given that 55.2% of Facebook users rely on the platform to research and learn more about their favorite brands and products, using Facebook Live provides a great way to showcase your products and services. 

Cons:

• Facebook is a busy platform with many different types of content and frequent notifications, so it can be challenging to keep viewers engaged for long periods
•  Only some people in your target audience use Facebook as their primary social media channel.

1. IBM Video Streaming

Since acquiring Ustream, IBM Cloud Video has since rebranded to IBM Watson Media, offering a range of AI-powered products and services related to video streaming. 

IBM Video Streaming allows marketers who run distributed marketing campaigns to integrate video into their content strategies to stream high-quality videos, track their audiences’ videos, and embed forms to convert viewers into leads. 

Pros:

• IBM Video Streaming comes with a free 30-day trial that allows you to test the streaming app to see whether it fits your needs. 
•  It has an easy-to-use interface and provides a variety of features, such as chat, polls, and the ability to include ads in your live streams strategically to engage your viewers. 
•  It provides real-time metrics on your live stream to help you customize your content to avoid losing viewers. 

Cons:

• The user interface has a tin of elements confusing and confusing new users.
•  IBM Video Streaming has many features in their paid plans that you may not need, which means you end up paying for features you don’t use.
•  Customer support needs to be more responsive to users.

1. DaCast 

DaCast is a streaming platform that provides a range of features, such as secure streaming, monetization, and robust analytics. 

DaCast is ideal for both professional and amateur streamers since you can use it to stream events, conferences, and other live content in industries such as sports, religious organizations, nonprofits, B2B companies, and media organizations. 

With its real-time analytics and reporting, DaCast helps you understand the success of your events and make data-driven decisions for future events. 

In addition to the reports you get from Dacast, you also want to use a tool to transcribe your live event to compare the content and the messages you get to identify where you need to improve. You can also share your transcription with attendees or repurpose it and share it on your website. 

Additionally, the platform’s pay-per-view and subscription-based monetization options provide businesses with a new revenue stream, helping them offset the cost of hosting events and creating content.

Pros:

• DaCast has a simple user interface and is easy to set up and use. It also offers a range of tutorials and support options to help users get started. 
•  DaCast offers several monetization options, including pay-per-view, subscription, and advertising. This makes it easy to generate revenue from streaming content. 
•  It offers secure streaming, encryption, and authentication options to protect content from unauthorized access. 
•  Detailed analytics allows users to track viewership and engagement. 
•  DaCast offers a range of pricing plans to suit different needs, from basic streaming to more advanced features. You don’t need a credit card to sign up for their 7-day free trial. 

Cons:

• It has a steep learning curve for new users
•  DaCast is only compatible with specific platforms, such as iOS and Android. 
•  DaCast offers a few streaming options, such as streaming to multiple platforms at once.

1. Brightcove 

Brightcove is a cloud-based video platform that enables businesses to create, manage, and distribute video content across multiple channels. It provides a range of features such as video hosting, streaming, analytics, monetization, and more. 

Brightcove also offers various services, such as video production, marketing, and advertising. It is used by businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises, including Adobe, BBC, Ford, MasterClass, and AMC Studios. 

Pros:

• Brightcove is easy to use and provides a range of features that make creating, managing, and distributing video content simple. 
•  It offers a range of services that you can tailor to meet the needs of any business. 
•  Brightcove can scale to meet the needs of businesses of any size.
•  Brightcove is a cost-effective solution for businesses looking to create and distribute video content. 

Cons:

• Brightcove does not offer many monetization options for video content unless you use the custom pricing plan.
•  You can only live stream by paying $499 per month.
•  The app is expensive, locking out small and medium-sized businesses.

Conclusion

Live streaming platforms offer different features tailored for small, medium, and enterprise businesses. The live streaming platforms we just covered have features tailored to your video streaming needs at different prices based on your budget.