Best Practices for Video Streaming Your Local Government Meetings

The average resident in your community is over-committed and over-scheduled, but that does not mean they do not care about the policies, initiatives, and developments in their hometown. Fortunately, the average resident in your community is also frequently tethered to one of several digital devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. At the intersection of civic responsibility, digital connectivity, and an overbooked calendar lies an opportunity for municipal clerks to leverage the latest technology to keep residents informed by making it easy to participate in public forums anytime, anywhere, from any device.

If you are not live streaming and sharing recordings of your public meetings with your residents, now is the time to invest in the necessary hardware, software, and training. According to the Pew Research Center, 28 percent of adults cite streaming services, such as Netflix and Hulu, as their primary means of watching television, and the trend is even higher among younger generations of voters, with 61 percent of adults ages 18 to 29 mostly using streaming services. This shift in entertainment consumption is creating a community that is comfortable with and expects access to on-demand video. In addition, live video allows communities to enable observation and participation in public forums, meetings, and discussions by a greater number of civic-minded residents and to do so affordably and in a way that makes it easy for residents to engage with their civic leaders, no matter where they are.

Before you commit to becoming a one-person video production studio, know that solutions are available to make live and recorded video integration easy, but you still need to follow these eight critical best practices.

1. Enable the Highest Quality Output

Any financial investment in video recording hardware will come back tenfold in voter engagement and civic participation. Live and recorded videos must be of a high quality for residents to watch in their entirety, or else they will be less likely to want to watch future broadcasts. All videos should be of a high enough quality that viewers can see speakers, any visual graphics, and other meeting participants in the room if applicable. Resist the urge to record videos on your smartphone and post them to your website. High-quality cameras will help the viewer feel part of the live moment — precisely the feeling you want to create.

2. Work With Your IT Department to Ensure Ample Broadcast Bandwidth

To produce quality live video engagement experiences, you may need to work with your IT department to increase your streaming bandwidth capabilities. Even if you shoot high-definition video without the bandwidth needed to broadcast it, viewers will suffer through choppy, fuzzy, or repeatedly stalling video, making them more likely to turn off the broadcast.

3. Consider All Production Factors

You may not have much control over the room in which your public meeting takes place, but do your best to ensure ample lighting, that the speaker is not backlit, that presenters are close to microphones, and that the camera is on a stable surface and not being held by someone who will inevitably suffer wrist fatigue. Also, ensure your audio feeds directly into your camera for the highest possible sound quality.

4. Keep Viewers Informed of Delays and Recesses

Sometimes, elected officials or leaders need to step aside for private discussion or a temporary recess. Do not forget your live viewers during these moments. Post a message to let them know the session is paused temporarily and will resume shortly. Otherwise, viewers may misinterpret the inaction and believe their device is malfunctioning, the broadcast inadvertently froze, or the meeting ended, in which case remote engagement levels will plummet.

5. Ensure You Optimize Your Videos for Viewing on Any Device

Today’s residents engage digital content on the widest variety of devices, form factors, platforms, and screen sizes we have ever known. Make sure you choose a media solution that is mobile optimized and allows residents to watch anytime from any Apple® or Android™ device.

6. Include Closed Captioning Services

Local governments are responsible for making all their digital content accessible to all residents, including those with auditory, vision, and physical disabilities. Residents with limited mobility or other disabilities and senior members of the community may face challenges attending in-person meetings, which emphasizes the need for video content to be consumable for all individuals. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) identifies closed captioning of video content as a best practice for ensuring equitable content. Make sure you choose a media solution that enables closed captioning services of recorded video to make it easier for individuals with hearing impairments to comprehend essential discussions.

7. Choose Software With Built-In Bookmarking Capabilities

One of the most significant benefits of recording meeting content is that residents unable to attend in person can watch only the discussion segment that addresses the topics that interest them most. Make it easy for viewers to expedite the review of meeting components of interest by choosing a media solution that allows you to bookmark specific meeting segments — without the need for technical video editing or post-production After Effects knowledge.

8. Share Live and Recorded Videos Via Multiple Channels

All videos should be shared via your local government website, but to amplify reach and optimize civic participation, leverage all possible digital channels, especially your local social media accounts, including Facebook, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter). For the greatest ease of use, choose a media service that easily integrates with social platforms.

Conclusion

Your digitally minded, time-constrained residents want easy ways to consume content and learn about important topics and initiatives in the place they call home. By leveraging the latest technologies, you give your tax-paying voters access to local leaders and the information they need. Remember, more informed residents mean more involved voters, happier residents, and a happier community.

Bonus: Also read these tips on what not to do when live streaming your next local government meeting.