When you are scrolling through social media, which do you prefer — reading a blog post or social media post or watching a video? Most people prefer watching live videos, and smart brands are using them to get noticed. In fact, a whopping 80% of people prefer live video to reading, and there have never been more options for live streaming than there are right now. Facebook was a pioneer in the live streaming space, but now even LinkedIn is joining rank in beta with its own live streaming function, LinkedIn Live. YouTube, Periscope, and Twitter all have live streaming functions, but Facebook’s is still the most widely used. If you have a business and you aren’t using live streaming to grow your brand, you are missing out.
The most watched live stream categories are breaking news, conferences & concerts, and sporting events. YouTube made history at Coachella 2019 when its live streams of the music festival garnered 82 million live views. People are clamoring for live content so they can feel they are part of the event, and live video draws six times the engagement of video on demand. What’s more, people are willing and ready to share live videos on social media to get more of their friends in on the action, giving live video greater reach and power.
How can your business start to use live video to enhance your social media outreach efforts? Even something small like live streaming an unboxing of a new product can get customers interested, but there’s so much more you can do. By 2022, live video will comprise 22% of all traffic online, so the time to start building your live streaming skills is now.
Q&A sessions are a great way to get started with live video. Having a live video of your company’s founder and taking questions from those watching at home can start a dialogue with new and potential customers. You can also have a Q&A with suppliers or contractors to talk about what’s new and how your partnership benefits your customers and take questions from the audience about any new products that might be coming out.
Webinars are another similar way to use live streaming video. This presents an opportunity to educate people about new products and services or even help people learn something new that is within your area of expertise.
Behind the scenes videos make potential customers feel like insiders, and streaming live events like conferences or pop up sales can make the viewers at home feel like part of the action.
Even though live streaming is easy and anyone can do it, it’s still important to produce a quality product. No one wants to watch five minutes of you asking whether anyone can hear you followed by another five minutes of small talk before you get into the important part of the video. Have a plan in place before you get started of what you want to talk about in your live video. Make an outline of topics and try to stick to the plan. Don’t get derailed by comments coming in from the audience — learn to ignore inappropriate or off-topic comments during the live stream, and you can always go back later to address something that was off-topic for the live stream but still relevant to your business or expertise.
Plan to release live videos at regular intervals - don’t do it once every six months haphazardly. Plan to make it a regular part of your outreach on social media. Finally, be aware of your surroundings and ensure the video and audio quality are good.
Learn more about how to use live video for your business from the infographic below!
Read next: Recent Marketing Trends Are Changing Consumers Expectations from Brands (infographic)
The most watched live stream categories are breaking news, conferences & concerts, and sporting events. YouTube made history at Coachella 2019 when its live streams of the music festival garnered 82 million live views. People are clamoring for live content so they can feel they are part of the event, and live video draws six times the engagement of video on demand. What’s more, people are willing and ready to share live videos on social media to get more of their friends in on the action, giving live video greater reach and power.
How can your business start to use live video to enhance your social media outreach efforts? Even something small like live streaming an unboxing of a new product can get customers interested, but there’s so much more you can do. By 2022, live video will comprise 22% of all traffic online, so the time to start building your live streaming skills is now.
Q&A sessions are a great way to get started with live video. Having a live video of your company’s founder and taking questions from those watching at home can start a dialogue with new and potential customers. You can also have a Q&A with suppliers or contractors to talk about what’s new and how your partnership benefits your customers and take questions from the audience about any new products that might be coming out.
Webinars are another similar way to use live streaming video. This presents an opportunity to educate people about new products and services or even help people learn something new that is within your area of expertise.
Behind the scenes videos make potential customers feel like insiders, and streaming live events like conferences or pop up sales can make the viewers at home feel like part of the action.
Even though live streaming is easy and anyone can do it, it’s still important to produce a quality product. No one wants to watch five minutes of you asking whether anyone can hear you followed by another five minutes of small talk before you get into the important part of the video. Have a plan in place before you get started of what you want to talk about in your live video. Make an outline of topics and try to stick to the plan. Don’t get derailed by comments coming in from the audience — learn to ignore inappropriate or off-topic comments during the live stream, and you can always go back later to address something that was off-topic for the live stream but still relevant to your business or expertise.
Plan to release live videos at regular intervals - don’t do it once every six months haphazardly. Plan to make it a regular part of your outreach on social media. Finally, be aware of your surroundings and ensure the video and audio quality are good.
Learn more about how to use live video for your business from the infographic below!
Read next: Recent Marketing Trends Are Changing Consumers Expectations from Brands (infographic)