Live streaming has exploded in popularity in recent years. Platforms like Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Live, and Instagram Live allow creators to broadcast live video content to audiences around the world. As a streamer, you may be curious about who exactly is tuning in to watch your streams. Here are some tips on how to get insights into your live stream viewership.
Check your stream’s view count
The most basic metric you can check is how many current viewers you have. All the major streaming platforms will display a live view count on your stream. This gives you a snapshot of how many people are watching at any given moment. However, keep in mind that this count may fluctuate as viewers come and go. It doesn’t represent total unique viewers for the full stream. You’ll need to rely on other analytics for those kinds of long-term stats.
Look at chat activity
The live chat that accompanies most streams gives helpful clues about who is tuned in. You can start to recognize regular viewers based on their chat usernames. Chat participation can indicate if you have a very engaged audience watching, versus lots of passive viewers. The languages used in chat also help identify which countries your viewers are coming from. If you see lots of different languages used, you likely have an international audience. The types of chat comments can also reveal who is watching and how they feel about your content.
Check audience retention metrics
Platforms like Twitch provide detailed analytics on your VoDs (videos on demand) after you finish a live stream. One useful metric is audience retention, which shows when viewers joined your stream and when they left. This can help identify how long you tend to hold people’s attention. If you see a gradual decline in viewers throughout the stream, it may signal parts of your content that need improvement to keep viewers hooked. Audience retention over multiple streams can show whether you have a base of loyal regular viewers who watch for long periods.
See follower locations on social media
Many people discover live streams through social media. Viewers will often follow a streamer on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or other platforms to get notified when new streams begin. Checking your social media follower locations will give clues about your audience reach in different countries. Some analytics tools like Facebook Page Insights offer country-level data on your followers. This can identify which countries have the biggest concentrations of your followers.
Run polls & surveys during your stream
Actively polling your live audience is a direct way to learn more about who is watching. You can occasionally run polls asking questions like viewer age, location, gender, interests, how they found your stream, etc. Platforms like Twitch have built-in polling features. For basic surveys, just verbally ask questions and have viewers respond in chat. The answers will help you better understand your viewer demographics and preferences.
Check your traffic sources
Your streaming platform’s analytics should provide data on where your stream traffic is coming from. This includes external sites, social media platforms, search engines, etc. The traffic sources report shows which promotional channels and discovery methods are driving the most viewers to your stream. If a social media site stands out, you can tailor and boost your promotions there. Traffic sources identify how to best attract your target audience.
Compare stream stats and growth
Looking at viewer metrics over time can show trends and highlight growing/declining audiences. For example, comparing live viewer counts month-over-month or stream-over-stream will indicate rising or falling popularity. Seeing increasing viewer diversity in languages, chat comments, or survey responses may signal that your audience is expanding. Steady followers growth on social media alongside stream traffic gains also points to a broadening viewer base.
Use third-party analytics tools
Dedicated stream analytics tools like StreamHatchet give even more ways to dig into your audience. These tools connect to streaming platforms to provide expanded metrics, demographics, chat analysis, and comparison reports. For example, StreamHatchet can show the ratio of male to female viewers, top viewer age groups, plus the sentiment of chat comments. Advanced analytics provide a more complete picture of who tunes in and how they engage.
Conclusion
Determining the details of your live stream audience takes some detective work, but pays dividends in optimizing your content. The various metrics platforms provide form a starting point to learn about viewer locations, ages, interests and behaviors. Combining this with social media follower analytics, polls, surveys and third-party tools paints a detailed picture of your audience. With these insights, you can better understand your stream viewers and make data-driven decisions about engaging and growing that loyal fanbase.