StreamLive ProHow to live stream a community meeting or town hall
How to live stream a community meeting or town hall to a Facebook Page and YouTube at once: room sound, residents' questions from chat, remote speakers, and minutes.
A community meeting is streamed so that people who cannot come still have a voice: residents at work, parents at bedtime, older members at home. That changes what matters. Viewers need to hear every speaker, including the ones in the audience; they need a way to ask a question and see it answered; and the community needs the recording afterwards, for the minutes and for those who missed it. This guide covers the setup for a meeting in a hall or a community center, sent to a Facebook Page and YouTube at once.
What viewers need, and how to give it
| Need | What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Hear every speaker | Questions from the floor are inaudible | A roaming microphone for the audience, fed to the sound system |
| Follow the agenda | Late joiners do not know which item is on | The agenda item in a lower third, changed at each item |
| Ask a question | Comments go unread | A moderator who watches the chat and reads questions out |
| See the answer | Nobody knows which comment is answered | The question shown on screen while it is answered |
| Watch later | The recording was not kept | Press Record at the start |
Where to stream: the Page and the channel
A community often has a Facebook Page and a YouTube channel, and different members follow each. With StreamLive Pro one live goes to both at once, and to other networks if you want. Facebook live goes to a Page you manage, not to a personal profile or a group: How to go live on a Facebook Page from your computer. YouTube needs live streaming enabled on the channel; the first time can take up to 24 hours, so enable it well before the meeting: How to go live on YouTube from your computer. The full pair: How to stream to YouTube and Facebook at the same time.
Announce it ahead
Schedule the meeting from Schedule broadcast with its title, description and time. For YouTube and Facebook you can pre-announce it, so the event is listed before it starts and members can find it and be reminded: Schedule a live broadcast in advance. Put the agenda in the description.
Sound: the hall and the floor
Take the sound from the hall's mixer into the streaming computer, not from a camera at the back. The part most meetings miss is the floor: a resident asking a question from the third row is clear to the room through a roaming microphone, and inaudible to viewers without one. Make it a rule that every question from the floor goes through the microphone. Listen on headphones at the streaming computer throughout.
Cameras
One wide camera on the head table, and a phone as a second camera that can turn to the speaker from the floor, cover most meetings. A phone joins by a link or a QR code: Use your phone as an extra camera. Keep the wide shot as your default; switch to a close shot when one person speaks for a while: How to live stream with several cameras.
Questions from viewers
Comments from YouTube and Facebook arrive in one panel, and the moderator can reply to both: Live chat from YouTube and Facebook in one panel. When a question is taken, show it on screen as a card with the viewer's name while it is answered, so viewers on both networks see it: Show a viewer's comment on screen during a live. Agree on rules in advance: questions on the agenda item, one per person, and what happens to questions there is no time for.
Speakers who cannot come
A council member, an expert or a resident abroad can join from home by a link in the browser, with no installation. One link works for everyone and is valid for 4 hours. They join off air first, so you can check their sound before putting them on screen. Send their sound into the hall's system too, so the room hears them: How to do a live interview with a remote guest.
A run sheet
- A day before: a test in the hall: mixer feed, roaming microphone, the phone camera, the internet line, a short test broadcast.
- Thirty minutes before: the 10-second camera check, the agenda lower thirds ready: The 10-second camera check before you go live.
- Start: go live, press Record, the first agenda item on screen.
- Each item: change the lower third; take the floor questions through the microphone; take online questions from the chat.
- End: the date of the next meeting, thanks, stop the live.
After the meeting: recording, transcript, translation
- The recording is kept only if you pressed Record, or kept it from Past streams afterwards; otherwise it is removed about two hours after the end: Where is my live stream recording?.
- A transcript for the minutes. Transcribe the kept recording, then correct names and terms: Transcribe a live stream after the broadcast.
- Captions in other languages. For members who read another language better, translate the captions of the recording: into 143 languages on Pro and Studio, 25 on Creator and the trial: How to translate video subtitles into other languages. Captions and translation are made after the meeting, not during it.
Common mistakes
- Floor questions without a microphone. Viewers hear nothing.
- No one watching the chat. Online residents feel ignored.
- YouTube live not enabled a day before. The first time can take up to 24 hours.
- Streaming to a personal Facebook profile. Use the community's Page.
- No Record. The minutes and the people who missed it depend on it.
Where StreamLive Pro fits
StreamLive Pro sends one community meeting to a Facebook Page and YouTube at once from a browser studio, with a phone as a second camera, remote speakers by link, residents' questions on screen and both chats in one panel. Afterwards it transcribes the kept recording and translates its captions. It does not run votes or registration. Plans: /pricing?lang=en.
Frequently asked questions
Can I stream a community meeting to Facebook and YouTube at the same time?
Yes. One live goes to a Facebook Page you manage and to a YouTube channel at once, with comments from both in one panel.
How do online residents ask questions?
They comment on YouTube or Facebook. A moderator reads the questions in one panel and can show each one on screen while it is answered.
How do we make questions from the room audible?
Use a roaming microphone connected to the hall's sound system, and take the stream's sound from that system.
Can we get a transcript for the minutes?
Yes, if the recording is kept. Transcribe it after the meeting and correct names and terms before using it.
Can viewers see live captions?
No. Live captions are not available during the broadcast. Captions and translations are made for the recording afterwards.
Keep reading
Run a live Q&A: collect questions before, read YouTube and Facebook chat in one panel, show a question on screen, bring in an expert by link, and reuse the answers.
How many networks can I stream to at onceHow many networks one StreamLive Pro live can reach: set by your plan, two in the trial, what counts as one destination, and what the channel limit message means.
How to live stream a local or youth sports gameLive stream a youth or amateur sports game with one or two phones: where to stand, sound, the score on screen, the venue's internet, privacy and highlights afterwards.
Add a thumbnail to your live on YouTube and FacebookAdd a thumbnail to your live in StreamLive Pro: one image for every network or one per channel, JPEG, PNG or WebP up to 10 MB, and why one may not show.
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