If you ask most marketers when livestreaming began, or how to livestream for business they’ll probably say YouTube Live or Instagram. That’s true for popularity, but it actually started long before it went mainstream.
However, what’s true is that it’s one of the most powerful (yet somehow) under‑leveraged tools in digital marketing today. Especially if you want real engagement, trust, and sales.
Where the livestreaming movement actually began
The first real experiment with broadcasting your life in real time was a personal project called Justin.tv. In 2007, Justin Kan strapped a webcam to his head and broadcast his life 24/7. People watched him eat, walk, and even sleep. That sounds weird (and it was during that time) but it attracted massive attention and set a cultural precedent: people will watch you just being real if you let them. That experiment helped turn Justin.tv into one of the largest live video platforms, with tens of millions of users before Twitch spun off from it.
Today’s business livestreaming isn’t a million miles from that. It’s still real-time. It’s still unscripted (even if you plan a script). And it’s still fundamentally about showing up where your audience already spends attention.
Right now, live stream events are being used by serious brands and businesses of all sizes, and the data backs it up.
Here’s what the numbers say:
- The livestream market size is projected to reach $45.13 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 23.0% (2024 to 2030) globally.
- 37% of social media users find live streaming the most engaging type of content on their feeds.
- As of 2024, 55% of enterprises use live video for company broadcasts, and more than half do it at least weekly.
- In the second quarter of 2025, live streams were one of the most consumed online video content types worldwide.
- China is one of the world’s biggest hubs for live streaming
- Live streaming reaches 27.7% of users each week- making it the third most popular type of video content.
- Online video seems to appeal more to younger internet users, since 47% of adults aged 55+ claim to have never watched any live-stream or live event videos.
- Twitch and YouTube are the biggest destinations for live streaming content. Twitchaveraged 7.3 million monthly active streamers in Q1 in 2025.
- YouTube was the second-most-usedsocial media platform in Q2 2023, with an average of 27 hours and 26 minutes per month per user (TikTok was first, with 33 hours and 38 minutes).
- On average, viewers spend 25 minutes watching live video per viewing session as they hook them for a longer time than other videos.
- Even LinkedIn Live posts get 24x more comments than standard videos.
That means how to livestream for business isn’t just an optional strategy anymore – it’s a major shift in how brands communicate and build relationships with customers, employees, and communities.
Entrepreneurs live streaming for business
Pieter Levels
He stands as one of the pioneers of business livestreaming known for its “building in public”. He’s a serial entrepreneur who’s built startups from just his laptop. For example, he live‑streamed the process of building projects like Hoodmaps where viewers could watch him code, debug, and iterate in real time. That kind of openness helped drive thousands of visitors and brought attention to the project when it hit Reddit and other communities.
He also did a 4‑plus‑hour live AMA (ask me anything) session on Twitch years back where he talked about startups, life, and his philosophy around building products. He described it as intense but fun – and part of connecting directly with his audience.
But, how did livestreams fit into his success? Of course, livestreams aren’t the main reason Pieter is successful. His success comes from shipping real, profitable products like Nomad List, Remote OK, Photo AI, and more, which collectively generate significant revenue and a large audience.
But livestreaming and live Q&A sessions have helped him:
- deepen connection with his audience,
- give real‑time insight into his work process, and
- create trust and community loyalty.
Louis Rossmann
Louis Rossmann runs Rossmann Repair Group, a board‑level MacBook and electronics repair shop that he’s built since 2008. His business isn’t just about fixing devices; it’s about teaching real repair skills and advocating for consumer rights.
He uses his YouTube channel (2.49 million subscribers and hundreds of millions of views at the moment this article was written) to stream both repair work and commentary, giving viewers a front‑row seat into the mechanical and technical side of his shop and the broader right‑to‑repair movement.
His live broadcasts and uploads often show detailed diagnostics and fixes that most repair shops wouldn’t publicly share, which has helped him cultivate a massive audience that sees him as both an expert technician and principled advocate.
Obviously, Rossmann’s streaming content creates a direct educational feedback loop: viewers watch the repair process in real time or near‑live, ask questions, and then engage deeply with his content and brand.
This has made his livestreams a cornerstone of his public persona (AKA brand) AND business strategy.
Ben Mallah
Ben Mallah is a real estate investor and entrepreneur with over a million YouTube subscribers who shares his day‑to‑day in property investing, renovation, and deal analysis on video. While he doesn’t strictly “livestream” every moment, much of his content and live streams are raw, documentary‑style talks.
He talks about actual deals, how he evaluates properties, how he adds value, where he sees opportunity, and why he does or doesn’t pull the trigger on a purchase.
These videos attract both investors and everyday viewers curious about real estate, turning his YouTube presence into a lead magnet where engaged audience members become clients, partners, or participants in his real estate seminars, consultations, or paid services.
- That’s what people love about his approach: people tune in because it feels real. When he’s live, you’re witnessing a business owner think through problems, answer tough questions in real time, and broadcast how a real deal actually goes down from his POV. That’s part of why his YouTube and live content isn’t just entertainment, it drives business awareness, leads, and a brand that’s real‑world tied to actual projects and investments.
How entrepreneurs start streaming successfully
1. They pick the right platform (not just the biggest one)
You can broadcast on YouTube live, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, or even your own website (if you want to own the audience rather than rent it.)
Each of these and other platforms has its role:
YouTube live – great for evergreen reach and search discovery,
- When to choose YouTube for live streaming:
- You care about monetization via ads, channel memberships, and merch over time.
- You want replays to rank in search and keep bringing leads for months or years.
- You plan long-form or technical content (repairs, coding, SaaS walkthroughs, analysis).
TikTok & Instagram – huge for impulse engagement and younger audiences,
- When to choose either one of these platforms for live streaming:
- Your customers already interact with you via Stories, Reels/TikToks
- You want spontaneous, low-friction lives started from your phone.
- You care more about relationship and brand warmth than long-form teaching.
- You want to sell consumer products that look good on camera (beauty, fashion, gadgets, home, snacks).
LinkedIn – prime for B2B and professional streams, while the views might be lower, the impact is not since the audience can be business owners as well
- Whent to choose LinkedIn to start live streaming to boost engagement
- Your ideal customers are companies/businesses/entrepreneurs, not consumers.
- You want to generate leads, demos, or partnership conversations rather than impulse purchases.
- You’re okay with no built‑in tipping; ROI comes from deals, contracts, and hires instead.
Twitch – works best for very engaged communities, skewing younger and tech/gaming friendly, used to watching hours at a time.
- When to choose Twitch?
- You stream several times per week and want a tight community that chats a lot.
- You’re showing ongoing processes (coding, refurbishing, farming, fabrication) rather than short events.
- You like recurring income from subs, Bits, and sponsorships driven by community loyalty.
Pro tip: Match your livestream to your audience’s habits, not where you wish they are/find you.
2. They make livestreams interactive (so…not one-way broadcasts)
Live polls, Q&A, viewer shout-outs, and spontaneous demos make viewers feel in charge of the content.
Interaction in real time is one of the biggest advantages of live video, and it’s exactly what transforms viewers into community members, not passive watchers. If you don’t want to do that.. then what’s the point of live streaming or live interviews?
3. They use livestreams to build trust (then starts the selling)
Live broadcasting isn’t just a tool to sell stuff and if you use it as that first, you will not succeed. It’s a tool to build trust. And trust is the underlying currency of modern branding…which then leads to selling
According to academic research on livestreaming commerce, live streams can actually reduce uncertainty and build consumer trust, especially when streamers engage authentically in real time.
That’s a big part of what makes how to livestream for business not just an add-on, but a core strategy.
4. They use chunks of live broadcasts as multi-purpose assets
Smart brands don’t treat a livestream as a one-off event. They:
✔ Record it
✔ Archive it in their video library
✔ Clip it into short form content
✔ Repurpose it for social platforms and email (short videos, short reels, etc)
Because it’s a content factory.
Capping off
The pioneers of how to livestream for business show us that live video isn’t just a marketing thingy you use just because. It’s part of the product, part of the process, and part of your community. And that audiences don’t just watch finished products – they watch decisions, mistakes, and breakthroughs in real time.
That’s what builds trust, loyalty, and engagement that actually converts.
If you want to learn how to livestream for business, the first step is building live in public. The second is turning your raw streams into shareable content. Vidpros can do that for you.
Raw video → polished product content → engaged audience → real results.
