Why Live Streaming is Essential for Business Marketing

Many are saying that we are now facing the new normal. A lot of transformations have happened within the past two to three years. And one of these is the rise of Live Streaming, making it at the forefront of Business Marketing.

If you have a business and you haven’t tried including live streaming as part of your marketing strategy, then you are missing a huge percentage of customer reach. Take a look at these statistics and realize how much are your potential losses:

• Live streaming started in 2016 and started to penetrate the internet in 2017. Since then, the growth is 15-fold. And according to forecast, 17% of internet video traffic will come from live streaming by 2022.
• Each year, a 114% growth in live video streaming views (hours) is being recorded.
• Almost 50% of live streaming viewers watch more videos compared to their previous year watching the trend.
• Each year, people who are doing live streaming are growing by 93%.
• 63% of those who watch live streaming are millennials. And Millenials is considered as the most influential these days.

With these mentioned statistics, perhaps the criticality of doing live streaming to promote your business is now sinking in. That if you act late, 93% of your competitors are getting ahead of you.

Excited to go on the live streaming? But before that, let us first define it.

Live streaming, according to Wikipedia is a type of online streaming media. This uses a video platform where recordings are done in real-time while it is being shown to the intended viewers. Unlike streamed videos that are pre-recorded, live streaming is like a “what you see is what you get” set-up. There are no rewinds, no downloads, and no editing.

According to Filmora, here are the top 10 Live Streaming platforms that you can use:

• Twitch
• Youtube Live
• Facebook Live
• Periscope
• You know
• IRIS
• UStream
• Dacast
• Livestream
• Brightcove

All these have their strengths but are serving one purpose only; to guide you in publishing your live streaming.

Going back to your business, how does live streaming help you? Here are the ways:

Millennials are Watching

No one can deny how influential millennials are these days. Their preferences on things are considered to the majority of the contents we can see online. They are also vocal if they like or dislike the content. They can compare products and distinguish which is better. That’s how visible they are on the internet. And at the same time, that’s how powerful they are.

So imagine showing your live streaming to the millennials, it’s as if you’ve reached 90% of your potential customers. What they see they also share. They share via social media and even via word of mouth.

So if you are live streaming and your content can tickle the fancy of the Millenials, then be ready for a boost in your business.

Cost-Effective

Of course, when talking about business, money is always at the top consideration. All businesses would want to save on cost if not, they want to get the best ROI on top of their expenses.

But with live streaming, it is considered effective because there is almost nothing to invest in terms of cost. To do a live stream, all you just need is a stable internet connection, a high definition camera, and some accessories such as backdrop. These essentials are a one-time investment only. They are not part of your monthly expenditures (except for the internet connection) yet, but can give you monthly profit.

There is just a need to stress on investing in a good camera. Since investment is one time only, then go for the best one in the market. Do your research before you buy so you will only get the best.

Another possible expense is you might need to build a multimedia team. They will help you conceptualize your content. But before hiring for new ones, check from your current pool. There may be millennials or those who are good in videography. You can pull them out from their current task whenever you need to do live streaming.

The Advantage of Behind the Scene Footage

There is also a rise in Indie films for the past two to three years. Why? Because these films are raw. Viewers know that there is little editing done. The art of enhancing and beautifying the film is eliminated. And this is why people are getting hooked on these films. There is transparency and they could sense the sincerity.

The same goes for live streaming. Say, you are doing a demo of your product. You need not like to do what the tv shopping shows are doing. You can just simply show your product, use it as it is. Detail each of the parts, and present the benefits in real-time. In this way, your customers are seeing your product barefooted.

The only downside of this is when your product is not good. They could see right away if it’s worth buying or not. So if your product is non-standard, live streaming is not a good idea.

Multiple Options to Reach Customers

Unboxing, showcasing, and detailing a product are the most common ways of presenting your product online. But with live streaming, there are other effective ways. And one of which is the opportunity to educate your customers.

If you have a service or a product to promote, you can organize your content in such a way that you are also educating your viewers. In this way, your viewers will not think that you are after them only. In this way, you are giving them the benefit of education. You are giving them new knowledge.

So, this is a win-win situation. They benefiting from your offered educational content, and you capture their attention and favor.

Live Interactions

Through live streaming, you can already gauge the verdict to your offered product or service. How? First is through the number of viewers. The more viewers mean more are hooked into your offer. Live streaming platforms show who many are currently viewing, how many have left, and how many stayed.

Second is through the interactions. Live streaming allows real-time comments and interactions among viewers. You can instantly know if they like your offer or not. Sometimes, it causes debate among the viewers and that is a good indication. Why? When there is a debate, you know that your viewers are real and not paid viewers who will just always say something positive (which is suspicious). When there is a debate, it means your viewers are paying attention to your live streaming because they have something to say about your offer.

The Buck Doesn’t Stop in the Live Streaming

While the hot topic is to live to stream, your audience reach doesn’t stop there. Platforms like Facebook allow Watch Party Hosting which can be done during and after the live stream. So let’s say a viewer liked your offer, that viewer is most likely to host a watch party. A watch party is inviting people to watch live streaming using their accounts on the same platform. Facebook has this and is also effective.

In this way, your reach is far more than you can imagine. It could be limitless. And you need not spend many paying endorsers. Your online advocates are doing the work for you for free.

So now that you’ve known the perks of live streaming, here are some tips to consider before doing one.

• You must know how to broadcast your upcoming live streaming. Announcements and broadcast that you are live streaming are crucial. No matter how good your content is if nobody knows that you are live streaming, it’s just a waste. So always allow a considerable window-time to broadcast your upcoming live streaming. And during the live streaming, announce to your viewers to also broadcast for you.
• You must avoid too many advertisements before the live stream. Once you start, start with the main content. Some live streaming starts their content by showing advertisements as part of the show. It’s a big turn off. Avoid that. When you start, go directly to your purpose.
• Take time to read comments and answer questions. Don’t be too consumed by promoting your business. Make sure you also read the comments and acknowledge praises. Make sure that you also capture the questions and have a ready answer for each.
• Acknowledge the early viewers. Mention names especially the early viewers. Doing this will make your viewers feel they are special.
• Ask questions. Don’t forget to make your live stream interactive. Do not just allow the interactions to happen among your viewers. Be one of them. You can do this by asking questions. Then you wait for their answers in the comment box and then you read them.
• Basic live streaming equipment to consider: usb microphone, condenser microphone, USB audio interface, desktop mic stand, and a pop filter.

Now it’s time to grab your camera and join the rest of the 93%. Doing live streaming is one of the wisest decisions you can ever do to your business. But then again, you make sure that your offer is worth the live stream and not just a silly crappy product.