Live streaming apps such as Periscope and Meerkat have become increasingly popular and have situated live video and audio as a necessary component to business marketing strategy. With millions of users worldwide, and many more joining the trend daily to view and create their own streams, these services offer businesses ways to connect like never before. Live streams, much like a live video blog, will allow customers and potential customers to get to know you and trust in your business. In today’s high-tech, high-speed, ever automated world of on demand, streaming live allows you to provide a personal touch – you can offer your viewers a glimpse “behind the scenes” at what gives your brand its identity.
And the best part? As you are live, you can answer questions from the audience as they pop up on the screen of your smartphone.
What are the best ways for a business to utilize live streams?
Be sure to apply these tactics:
Consider using a live stream as the first place that you announce news or a big event. By building up an announcement on your other social networks, and leveraging the following that you already have, you’ll be able to not only reach a large population, but you’ll also have the audience feel as though they have the inside track to your newest product or service.
In our recent post on Instagram marketing (Storytelling on Instagram) we discussed how storytelling on social enabled people to see not only your people, process, and product, but on a deeper level let them on the inside to see what makes your business really tick. With apps like Periscope or Meerkat, the storytelling aspect of marketing has never been simpler. Share live streams of your office, your factory, a meeting, or even a lunch break. You can even host impromptu interviews with employees or even clients who are in at that particular time. Let your audience in your business “world” and they will be more apt to do business with you.
With other social avenues, like Twitter or Facebook, you can display your new product, or even showcase the steps taken to create the product. With live streams, you can take showing off to a whole new level with a live demonstration. You can come completely full circle in the life cycle of your product – how it’s made, what it looks like, and most important, how it works.
