Church Streaming: How to Increase Viewership by Improving Production Quality

As streaming becomes easier, production quality can suffer by way of low-cost, consumer-quality equipment and inexperienced operators. Don't fall into the trap. Production quality matters. Church audiences have learned that just because something is streaming live doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worth their time.

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Live streaming for ministry is not a new phenomenon. For the better part of two decades larger and medium-sized churches have developed their live streams into a vital part of their outreach strategies. With the introduction of cloud streaming services a few years ago, churches of nearly any size have been able to begin live streaming, regardless of their developmental season.

With the current explosion of social media platform streaming, however, anyone with a cell phone camera can now create a live stream with just a few taps of a screen. Thanks to the rise of destinations like YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, and Twitch, creating live streams and connecting them to new audiences has never been easier and more effective. Even better, these platforms are natively interactive, which further enhances the experience for viewers and first-time guests.

High-quality live streams with solid production values will cut through the noise every time. 

If you’re not sure what that next step is, begin by getting an outside perspective.

Unfortunately, this increased accessibly has some distinct downsides that pose serious challenges to churches working to utilizing live streaming as an effective outreach tool. The most serious downside is the way this accessibility has led to an over-saturation of live streams and a much wider range in the quality of end-user experiences.

Simply put, the cost and difficulty of live streaming used to ensure a generally higher production quality in live streams. Now that anyone can stream, the quality bar is far more inconsistent. Audiences have learned that just because something is streaming live doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worth their time.  

Killing Them with Quality

In the context of this unique challenge, savvy tech and broadcaster directors today are compelled to examine what can be done to create live streaming ministry experiences that effectively break through the clutter. Fortunately, the right answer is the same solution as in creating any kind of creative content: it’s all about the quality. High-quality live streams with solid production values will cut through the noise every time.

The good news is that no matter where a team is at in its streaming development cycle, from beginner to experienced pro, creating quality content is something everyone has room to grow and improve in. Let’s take a look at some of the most important areas where producers can improve quality to better compete in the arena of ideas.

The best place to start a journey is always at the beginning, and for producers, creating a great live stream starts with the content. As the old saying goes, “garbage in/garbage out.” When it comes to engaging live streaming viewers, the decision to engage, or disengage, a live stream can happen in just a matter of seconds.

Begin by looking at what’s happening in your current worship experience through the eyes and ears of a first-time viewer. Examine the music, the message, the hosting and the transitions, and really see if there’s anywhere that you’re consistently losing engagement. Try soliciting neutral outside feedback for a truly useful range of perspectives. A tech director may not have the sole authority to change things, but they’re usually in a great position to begin a conversation.

Next, take a hard look at the way you’re lighting the worship experience. Most dedicated broadcast cameras need a lot of light to create solid imagery, so make sure you’re lighting design is really doing its part to tell the story. If forced to choose between optimal lighting for the room or optimal lighting for the stream, consider giving the stream preference, at least for a season. Audience members in the auditorium will adapt to the look of a room far more easily than a camera can.

Once the lighting is set up correctly take a hard look at whether the stage and set design is visually engaging. Remember that the dynamic quality of the staging may well be the single factor that keeps a potential viewer on social media from scrolling right past your church’s live stream. In short, viewers will assume that content which appears visually uninspiring will likely be a waste of their time, and go on looking for something more engaging somewhere else.   

Reading You 5x5

After those foundational elements are in place tech and broadcast directors should turn their attention to the quality of the video capture and processing. While it’s tempting to deploy cheaper camcorders or webcams in order to save a little cash, professional-level cameras designed to produce high-quality results week in and week out are almost always a better long-term investment.

When it comes to engaging live streaming viewers, the decision to engage, or disengage, a live stream can happen in just a matter of seconds.

With that in mind, the more camera angles you can utilize the higher the perceived value of your live stream will be. For smaller broadcast teams not yet utilizing IMAG, “robotic” PTZ cameras that can produce a number of different shot framings and be controlled by a single user provide a great option for streaming ministries.

A final aspect of video quality that is too often overlooked is the area of signal processing. There are usually a number of steps a video signal goes through to get from the broadcast camera to the viewer’s smartphone, and the quality of that end-user video image will only ever be as strong as the weakest link in that chain. If things look good on the camera monitor and decidedly less so by the time it goes out to the net the problem may well be somewhere in the signal processing.

On the opposite side of the same coin, when it comes to live streaming, audio quality is an absolutely make-or-break aspect of the experience. When streaming to social media, while the visuals may be what compel the viewer to unmute your stream, the quality of the audio will ultimately matter more than the video quality in terms of retention.

Broadcast and tech directors aspiring to create compelling live streams will want to pay as much attention to the quality of the streaming audio as they do to the audio in the auditorium. Carefully consider using a separate audio console to create a unique mix designed specifically for streaming, and be sure to EQ and compress that mix for an optimal end-listener experience.

Next Level Considerations

Once the content, staging, lighting, audio and video systems are dialed in it will be time to consider some ways to take your live streaming up a notch. One obvious way to increase the quality and effectiveness of your live stream will be to incorporate pre-produced graphic and video content designed exclusively for online viewers. For example, custom pre-roll slideshows that play along with a countdown clock can be extremely useful for building a kind of pre-community with viewers.

If you want to  create compelling live streams, pay as much attention to the quality of the streaming audio as you do to the audio in the auditorium.

Consider creating dynamic welcome and closing videos that communicate directly to your live stream audience and invite them to take a next step into the church community. Weekly hosted videos for live streaming audiences can also help keep viewer engagement high, especially for churches that program a greeting time as a part of the worship experience.

Finally, effective broadcast and tech directors will carefully consider the destinations for their live stream, from the church’s website, to its app, to social media platforms, to video on demand (VOD), and take steps to optimize whichever platform has proven to be most effective. There are a number of fantastic online solutions on the market for streaming and distribution, as well as some great hardware solutions for simplifying streaming to social media platforms.

In Conclusion

Again, no matter what stage a broadcast ministry is in, there will always be room for improvement or refinement. Some of the largest and most influential live streaming ministries in the country are just beginning to explore the possibility of utilizing digital cinema cameras to forward the foundation of what could be possible visually. If you’re not sure what that next step is, begin by getting an outside perspective. If you ask new viewers some leading questions and really listen to the answers you’ll find out what you need to know.

Ultimately, live streaming is the new front door of your church. The live stream you create could well be the very first exposure some people have to the power of the Gospel. It’s crucial to do everything possible to remove every impediment to ensure the message comes through loud and clear.

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