Marketing strategies are ever-evolving. While some traditional marketing strategies are still lucrative, it is also important not to be behind when new technologies emerge and user behavior changes. Marketers are therefore constantly looking for new ways to reach and engage the target audience to build brand presence and grow business. Live streaming is one such powerful marketing tool to amplify your brand message, raise awareness of your brand, and build a great relationship with your potential customers.
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Reasons why you must live stream?
Live streaming offers a whole new level of connection between businesses and their followers as they interact in real-time. Not just businesses, content creators, influencers, individuals or merely anyone can broadcast live videos to interact with their fans in real-time. Live streaming has immense potential to reach a wide global audience, increase engagement, improve conversions and to maximize ROI. But why should you make it an integral part of your marketing strategy? Here are some reasons why you should be integrating live streaming into your business strategy.
It’s immediate and real-time
One of the main reasons you should care about live streaming is simply because of its growing popularity and user base. Live streaming holds the potential to reach thousands of new customers with a button click. Live streaming is projected to be a $70 billion industry by 2021. Live videos put your viewers right at the center of the actions and enable them to directly connect with your live videos through chat and comments.
Reach your followers where they are
In the past couple of years, social media platforms have been experiencing phenomenal growth and now boasts audiences in billions. Facebook already has 2.4 billion active users followed by YouTube which boasts 1.3 billion users. Businesses can reach out directly to where your fans are hanging out and that’s on social networks. Live broadcasts offer a business opportunity for real-time interaction with your target audience. While brand name and logos help to establish your presence, they fail to create a personal connection with your customers. Putting a human face behind them conveys a sense of relatability which allows viewers to get connected with your business easily.
It’s a cheap way to create amazing content
Live streaming platforms allow you to make interesting and engaging videos that will reach and perform better- in the most affordable way. Unless you are going for an ultra-professional live streaming setup, you just need to have a smartphone and WiFi, to produce the best quality business content. Beyond just the affordable way to grow user audience, it is a great way to drive revenue for your business, too.
Alternate revenue channel
The immediacy of live videos gets the audience excited and engaged. You can leverage that engagement by integrating online purchasing while they are watching. Running a live streaming business is a proven way to make a sustainable income through a variety of ways. When brainstorming about how to create a live video streaming website, think about different ways to monetize your content as well. You can sell videos online via pay per view streaming, offer users access to live streams via subscriptions, integrate crowdfunding, or earn money with advertising and sponsorships. Driving traffic to your existing affiliate offers, performing paid product reviews, promoting your own products and services, charging viewers to access exclusive live webinars, etc. are some of the other ways to monetize your live streams.
Get instant feedback
Newscasters and sports businesses were among the first to see the amazing benefits of live streaming, but the corporate world is catching up fast as well. Businesses can capture and stream anything, anywhere. If you are running a corporate event or talking about your products at an event, live stream it. Or take your customers on a virtual tour of your office space. What’s the best thing about this? You get instant feedback from your customers which is great as you get an immediate response which can be used to drive key business decisions.
Facilitates content amplification
Your live videos are watched as you broadcast them and depending on the size of your audience base, the number of viewers can vary. If it’s just a few people watching, don’t worry. Once your live broadcast ends, your video can be uploaded to social media or other platforms to remain there as a normal video. This doubles the reach of your videos even long after the live session is over. And, if your live streams were really successful in engagement, post-live viewers will feel like watching it again.
Great way to cultivate trust
Are you a business looking forward to creating a closer bond with your potential customers? There is no better way than live streaming. Because you will communicate with your audience in a real way, they feel like they are being a part of a more authentic interaction which is much more authentic than pre-recorded videos.
While pre-recorded videos serve many other purposes, it is not very effective in building trust as it is carefully scripted out. Whereas, customers love live videos as they know they are raw and for the same reason it helps to cultivate trust, driving better conversions when promoting a product. You can also expect to see a significant improvement in customer retention and loyalty as well.
More opportunities to directly interact with the audience
With live streaming, there is no shortage of possibilities to immediately interact with your potential customers. Business can encourage their viewers to ask questions and use live streams to reply to them immediately. This sense of immediate connection increases intimacy between the business and its audience. You can quickly build trust and engage with them in an authentic way. This stronger connection will allow businesses to have a great impact on the mind of customers.
Tips to create successful live streams
Live streaming can be an incredibly valuable and rewarding tool to grow brands. It is no secret that creating engaging live videos often involves many aspects. However, if you are able to pull everything together, the payoff is going to be really big. Here are some of the effective tips to create successful live videos.
Find your purpose
Just because every other business in your industry is live streaming, it doesn’t mean that you must also broadcast live videos. Don’t jump into live streaming because it’s a popular trend. Instead, decide on your purpose. List down a few reasons why your business should be embracing live streaming.
To find the purpose of your live streams, the first thing to do is to consider your target user group. How you want them to connect with your business or what do you want to accomplish with live streaming. Ask these questions to determine what type of live videos you need to create.
- Do you want your target audience to be a part of important business events and enjoy the experience as the people who physically participate in that event?
- Are your live videos intended to help people with industry knowledge?
- Do you want your viewers to be able to connect with your business and with each other?
- Is the primary goal of your live videos to introduce your business?
- Do you just want to entertain your audience in an informal way?
Answering the above questions can help you tailor the right experience to your target audience and find the purpose your live streams serve.
Create a live streaming strategy
Once you have found the right purpose of your live streams, the next step is to devise a live streaming strategy. Most businesses stress only on the technical aspects of live broadcasts. It is important to focus on how to create a live video streaming website and creating a solid connection with the audience but what is more significant than technical aspects is crafting the content strategy. Even the best live videos are ineffective if it isn’t targeted at the right audience group or didn’t craft the best experience for them. Ensure that you choose the right audience and deliver the experience they crave for. Planning to live stream shouldn’t be the last minute thought, it must be a well-devised strategy.
Get a live streaming set up
Back in the old days, barriers for businesses to enter the live streaming plot were many. However, today nearly anyone can experiment with live streaming on a budget. While you can start with a good smartphone and a stable Wi-Fi connection, if you are serious about it, it is great to invest in advanced setup. Essential equipment required for live streaming is a laptop, camera, microphone, audio mixer, live streaming software, and a stable internet connection.
Connect with your viewers
The live streaming setup is only a part of the equation. What really matters is how you connect with your audience. How you connect with your viewers will greatly depend on your live streaming strategy. Make sure you don’t make your remote viewers feel like they are left out. Include and engage them fully in the event and make it practice to occasionally check and reply to their comments as well.
When you broadcast live, ensure that you are presenting the authentic self of your brand. If your live videos look promotional, the audience will be least interested in it. Offer real tips and share your business values during your live videos. This helps in moving your viewers through the sales funnel to convert them to your loyal customers.
Conclusion
Live streaming is no longer for influencers and for video gamers. It is accessible and beneficial for everyone as it makes a great marketing tactic that’s worth being incorporated into business content strategy. Most businesses already have the right set of skills and set up to succeed with live streaming. This key is to get involved in this powerful marketing tool as soon as possible to build up a large audience of like-minded followers. Live streaming is the future of video content and you are missing out on huge opportunities if you have not started with it yet.
