Why You Should Repurpose Your Livestream Videos with Matt Pierce

One type of content sits at the very top of the content pyramid. It gives you the most repurposing opportunities, can keep you accountable, and can build rapport with your audience like no other…livestream video.

I’ve talked before about why video is the best kind of content to repurpose. There are just so many things you can repurpose it into, including audio, text, graphics, shorter and more refined videos…the possibilities are almost endless.

But livestreamed video adds another dimension. That it’s LIVE!

It turns content into an experience - providing access, transparency, and the opportunity to build a community.

This makes it the content type with more potential than any other. But you don’t have to take my word for it…

TechSmith, one of our incredible Content 10x clients, has seen first-hand how powerful repurposing livestream videos can be. Their weekly show, The Visual Lounge, is a perfect example of just how much content can come from one livestream video…and the impact it can have on growing your audience.

So, I invited Matt Pierce, TechSmith’s Learning and Video Ambassador and host of The Visual Lounge, to join me on The Content 10x Podcast and talk about all things video.

We covered everything from how The Visual Lounge started, to practical tips and tricks, to creating your own awesome video content. Matt also shared how repurposing their livestream videos has benefitted both TechSmith AND their growing audience.

To listen to the full conversation, hit play for the podcast episode:

Watch this short video to hear just some of the best bits from my discussion with Matt:

Or read on to learn all about why you should repurpose your livestream videos.

Why TechSmith are a leader in their industry

If you’ve not heard of TechSmith before, let me give you a little background. TechSmith are a global leader in screen capture and screen recording software. Their products help over 65 million users worldwide, and include Camtasia (video editing and screen recording software), Snagit (screen capture and recording software), and many more tools to help you create content.

But their products aren’t just what makes TechSmith really stand out in their industry. TechSmith are widely known for their dedication to education and helping people level-up their content creation skills – whether they use TechSmith products or not!

TechSmith has an enviably large audience with over 70k subscribers on YouTube, 30k followers on Twitter, and many more fans across multiple platforms. So, when the pandemic hit, and they no longer had the same touchpoints with their audience (in-person events, etc.), they looked for a way to reach out.

They also spotted a problem. People now had to do most of their communication remotely…for many, this was a big challenge.

Launching The Visual Lounge

TechSmith’s mission is to help people. So, they took the opportunity to start sharing content that would do exactly that. Once a week, they decided to start hosting a livestream video show sharing best practices for remote communication. They realized this content had so much potential…

Instead of just “going live,” TechSmith created The Visual Lounge – a weekly one-hour livestream and podcast that provides helpful content and gives their audience a chance to interact live with the show’s host, Matt, and/or the guest(s).

The show focuses on two aspects. One, interviewing experts linked to creating images and visual content (like TechSmith’s products do) and two, information-based topics, where they share tips, advice, and workflows, such as "How to record better audio." Both focused on helping their audience “level-up” their skills.

Why create livestream videos over pre-recorded videos?

Every content creator has a preference for live or pre-recorded video. It can even depend on the moment. But for Matt and TechSmith, they decided to create live video for the following reasons…

Accountability

Matt says that having a set time every week to go live has helped him get into a livestreaming habit. Knowing that you’ve got a live audience waiting at that day and time is a great motivator to staying committed to creating your content.

Authenticity

TechSmith wasn’t concerned about having the most polished videos or the perfect interviews. They wanted to host helpful conversations that felt real. Now, Matt has become a natural at dealing with everything from interruptions to tech issues during the livestream shows. That’s live video for you!

Audience interaction

The Visual Lounge also serves as a space for TechSmith’s audience to get involved and speak to the experts. Matt encourages the show’s viewers to ask questions and he answers them live. This is both a great way to build that bond and relationship with viewers, and how TechSmith can be sure they’re providing content that their audience enjoys.

Why TechSmith wanted to repurpose their livestream videos

Going live every week and creating high-quality content is both a commitment and a big investment. So TechSmith wanted to make sure they got the absolute most out of The Visual Lounge. That’s when they reached out to us at Content 10x.

Matt says they saw how valuable their content could be, so they wanted to maximize its chances of helping as many people as possible.

TechSmith multi-cast (livestreaming to multiple channels at once) The Visual Lounge to LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube ­– automatically increasing their reach. But live content only really captures an audience in real-time. Their challenge was finding a way to keep their livestream video content useful for people who wanted it on-demand, in different locations and formats, and to make it more polished than their original, live videos.

How repurposing increased their livestream video’s reach

Matt was aware that not everyone has the time to sit down and watch an hour-long YouTube livestream. If TechSmith only created content in this medium, it would only appeal to a small percentage of their audience. However, if they turned their livestream video into other formats, it could serve many more people.

This is one of the main reasons people choose to repurpose content ­– because one format doesn’t suit everyone. How you provide helpful and instructional content is even more crucial (like TechSmith’s) because your audience need to consume it in a way that actually helps them.

So, TechSmith enlisted our services to multiply their livestream into many, many more content formats. From that one livestream video we create a fully edited podcast episode, a long-form blog post, a polished YouTube video, multiple short-form videos and graphics for social media, and lots of social media posts too.

Plus, we take care of all the publishing…so all TechSmith have to do is send us that week’s The Visual Lounge downloaded livestream video, and we take it from there.

Now, their audience doesn’t have to tune in at a set time each week to catch The Visual Lounge. Instead, they can listen to the podcast episode at their own convenience, read the blog post, or catch the highlights shared on social media.

Matt notes that through repurposing, they’ve seen just how their audience consumes content in different ways. Sometimes people will tune in to the live show because they have a question or check out the podcast episode because they’re really interested in that topic. Meanwhile, their social media audience is exposed to every show’s best bits. This way, they can decide whether or not they want to do a deep dive into the topic – in whichever format suits them.

What repurposing livestream videos did for TechSmith as a business

Because livestream videos are at the very tip of the content pyramid (aka the absolute BEST content type for repurposing), it’s easy to see just how much content we can produce. In fact, Matt described it as an “exponential waterfall of content that just keeps filling the pool.”

As you would expect, TechSmith already has an internal content team – so why did they reach out to us?

Matt said that outsourcing The Visual Lounge’s content repurposing gave their internal team more time to focus on other pieces of content. Their internal team can now create original content, knowing that the repurposing is fully taken care of. By using both their internal content team and our services, TechSmith has fully optimized their content creation process – and know they have experts working on their content every step of the way!

For TechSmith, outsourcing their livestream repurposing to us gives them the peace of mind that they’re getting expert repurposed content. It is a brilliant business decision as it also buys their internal team that most coveted thing of all – more time.

The #1 thing you need to invest in to create great video

TechSmith’s ethos is all about getting people to embrace creating things using technology. Matt actively encourages all listeners/watchers of The Visual Lounge to start creating. He believes that you don’t have to be an incredible creator or already skilled to start making things. He just wants you to get started!

So, I asked him what he recommends investing in if you want to create videos...you might be surprised at his answer!

First, Matt highlighted how important it is to recognize that you’re starting where you are. If you want to run a marathon, for example, you wouldn’t just burst out of your front door and run a marathon straight away…you’d spend time building up your skills and training towards it. This is the same for any skill. You need to work at it and train the muscles before you can achieve the result you desire.

Matt pointed out that you don’t need to invest in lots of fancy gear right off the bat. In fact, you could use your webcam or smartphone to record your video, or even use screen recording software like TechSmith’s Camtasia.

With that said, Matt did note that there’s one thing that’s a must for anyone who wants to make videos that people actually enjoy watching…

Invest in a microphone

Matt’s number one piece of advice when it comes to equipment, for any video creator, is to invest in a decent microphone. It might seem counter-intuitive when people watch videos…so you might think a camera would be a better investment…but think about it…what you have to say is often far more important than the visuals.

TechSmith’s research into viewer preferences also shows that people will stop watching videos if the audio quality is bad. It doesn’t matter how good your content is ­– if your audience can’t hear you clearly, there’s a good chance they’ll stop trying to listen altogether.

According to Matt, spending between $100-$150 USD on an external microphone really can make all the difference.

Next, invest in a camera – right? Wrong again…

Sort out your lighting

Matt says that good lighting can transform how you appear on screen. It’s a lot cheaper and easier to add lighting panels to your setup than investing in an expensive and difficult-to-use camera, so make lighting a priority.

If you’re using a webcam, for example, having more control over your lighting can make a huge difference to your overall video quality. It can instantly make the picture look brighter and less grainy. So instead of splurging thousands on a camera, try spending $100-$200 USD on some lighting panels first and see what difference it makes.

Then, if you still want to invest further, you can look at getting a camera.

A camera is the biggest investment a video creator can make, both in terms of money and time. It can take a lot of energy to understand how your camera works so that you can really get the most out of it. If you want to record using a DSLR, for example, this can introduce a new level of complexity to your recording process. You might even have to learn some new skills to really use the camera effectively.

Matt’s final words of advice

While putting your money where your mouth is can help you create better videos, Matt’s main piece of advice for any beginner creator is this: keep it simple.

He suggests not getting overwhelmed by trying to do everything at once. Instead, you should hone your capabilities by working on one thing at a time. The more familiar you become with the technology and your own video presenting skills, the more refined your videos will be. Then you can start trying new things and adding new elements.

So, before you dive into creating a weekly livestream show with all the bells and whistles, think about what’s valuable to you and your audience first. Then take Matt’s advice, and grow from there.

To learn more about TechSmith and The Visual Lounge, check out their website, podcast, or head to the TechSmith Academy for lots of free resources to level-up your visual content game.