Live video is fast becoming an indispensable tool for marketers. Video used to be the exclusive domain of big companies when it comes to marketing, but times have changed, and small businesses are now embracing it to engage their audience. It has evolved from a trendy phenomenon into a regular fixture on most social media platforms.
It is probably one of the most powerful marketing tools available today as it can easily capture attention and retain it longer. It can draw in the target audience, spark interest, and increase traffic to social media accounts, websites, or landing pages.
With the short attention spans of people, video taps into the audience’s need for the visual, interesting and intriguing. Busy people don’t have to stay home or near their television sets to tune in to their favorite news or shows. They can be on a commute to the office or a vacation and not miss out on their favorite artist’s live interview.
Live streams also started the revolution of virtual concerts, favorite artists can perform in one location and stream the concert worldwide. This is not only viewed on tablets, and phones but can also be better viewed on larger LED and LCD screens.
Social Media, one of the components of digital marketing also work well by including lives videos to get more engagement as close to 80% prefer a live view to social posts
Science behind a live stream
A few years ago, it’s common for people to sit patiently and wait for a few minutes of download time just to see a cat video over dial-up or simple cable internet.
Today’s amount of stimulation that people receive from the technology and the internet has resulted in much shorter attention spans. Marketers only have a 10-second window to capture an audience’s attention before they start to scroll to parts of the page or return to the main search and start looking for the next interesting content.
Why you should consider live video for your marketing?
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Interactive
People are 10 times more likely to engage with live videos than video-on-demand. According to a report, a Facebook live video generates six times more interactions than other forms of video.
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It has dominated blog content
Studies show that around 80% of users prefer watching a live video rather than read a blog content.
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Improved conversion rate
Google favors videos to come up first in searches rather than a blog article. Studies also show that 67% would be willing to buy a ticket to a similar event sometime in the future.
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Reach a bigger audience
Compared to email marketing, and Facebook ads, live streams can reach a more diverse segment of the population. It could reach people who may not know your brand or had no prior interest in your subject or offer but would probably benefit from your product.
Which social platforms offer live video?
This very popular social network has a 63% daily open rate for most of its subscribers which makes it ideal for marketers as they will have a more active audience. It has close to 1 billion users each month which makes its number of monthly active users just behind Facebook.
Facebook live was first launched back in 2016. It allows every account owner to stream live videos. As of 2020, Facebook has over 2.6 billion active subscribers per month. This makes it the social platform with the largest number of active users. This also makes it the marketer’s primary choice when targeting a large audience.
Snapchat
This platform owes its quick rise to fame mostly to the millennial generation. Compared to other social platforms, its interactions are temporary, not stored. Posts only last for a day. This comes in useful when users just want to be entertained and maybe post a random picture or video that they haven’t given much thought. Users can feel better that they don’t have to come back to their posts and delete it if it may cause them embarrassment sometime in the future.
When it comes to numbers, Snapchat boasts a daily total views of 14 billion.
TikTok
Though anyone with a TikTik account can post a video, not everyone is allowed to post a live video. There is required minimum of 1000 subscribers before TikTok allows an account owner to post a live stream.
Youtube
For several years, Youtube has been the leader among the video platforms. It currently has 2 billion monthly active users and ranks 2nd as the favorite platforms for watching videos on TV screens among 18 to 34 year olds.
It has several advantages over other social media platforms as the replays are easier to find and lets the user organize their favorite videos by creating playlists.
Few people know that LinkedIn offers its users the option to post videos. As most of the posts are articles and value posts, videos get shared by users up to 20x more than any other kind of content. Even though it’s also a social platform, its primary use is for gaining and nurturing professional connections.
Tips for a successful live stream
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Get their attention in the first few minutes
It must be interesting enough for the audience to stop and watch the whole thing. Finishing the whole video increases the possibility that they will be converted to subscribers or customers.
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Present the audience a high-value live video
A high-value video creates more active engagement compared to uploaded videos. It gets 3x longer views than a recorded video.
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Tell viewers their next steps
Getting them to watch the live video is just the beginning. After offering then a high-value live and if they liked the video, you can interest them another live video of a similar topic on another date or to subscribe to be notified of future content.
Despite the popularity of video, many marketers still aren’t capitalizing on it as a part of their digital marketing strategy. Digital marketing strategies complemented with live video of quality content is one of the most effective ways to engage a larger audience.
Part of the reason why live video is preferred by online viewers is that they may feel a sense of closeness to their favorites. They love to tune in to live streams once they get a notification as it gives them a sense of connection to their favorite brands, artists, and influencers.
Live video is a wise spend of marketing budget even for small companies as it not only Increases engagement but also increases brand awareness. Audiences have higher trust for live streams since the video is unedited. It also offers the viewers a more authentic look into what the brand‘s score and values are.
About Author: Mia Clarke is part of the tech-content team at The Long Reach. When Mia is not spreading the word about how technology has changed the marketing industry, she is often found discovering the great outdoors, walking or cycling.
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