The Rise of Live Video
By: Matthew Pearce
Most marketers can agree that video is a great way to connect with your target audience. Every day more and more brands are embracing video content to provide a positive return on their marketing investment.
But is all video content equal? Not necessarily so. New research out from Livestream found that 80 percent of consumers would prefer watching a brand’s live video to reading a blog post or visiting their website. And when it comes to making purchasing decisions, the survey found that 67 percent of live stream viewers bought tickets to concerts after watching a Livestream.
Why is Live Stream Content Appealing?
One of the reasons people gravitate to live streaming is that the content is less likely to feel overly produced, like many other marketing materials sometimes do. Often the content centers around two or more people sharing their own opinions and perspectives, making the range so engaging.
Search Engine Journal reports that Facebook live videos see six times the number of engagements as non-live videos. Audiences want to comment on what they are watching, engage with the host or connect with other viewers.
Incorporating Live Video into your Marketing
Just like any content marketing strategy, the focus should be to provide value to your audience. How can you engage them? What questions or problems do they have that you can help solve? How can you connect as a brand to your audience and make a lasting impression?
Live video content should aim to educate or entertain while still being approachable. One suggestion is to produce new live content regularly to keep the audience engaged. Maybe you can have a Q&A with your audience, or you can demo products and talk about their application. Set a schedule and stick with it, planning on what you are going to talk about.
Where to Stream?
Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and Twitch offer great avenues for reaching a broad audience. Still, you might also want to consider more niche platforms that are closely targeted to your audience.
A well-executed Livestream will help consumers relate to your brand in a more authentic and accessible way, and today it can get you in front of more people than ever before.
