Live Streaming and the Ways it Can Improve Your Business on Different Verticals
Think of live streaming as a giant snowball – it’s been growing bigger ever since it started rolling down a hill. And it isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. By 2021, live streaming is going to be a $70.5 billion industry. In fact, it is estimated there are millions of people watching a live video as you are reading this.
Having noticed this, businesses were quick to acknowledge the value of video content – in fact, 96% of B2B businesses made videos a part of their online marketing strategy, and 73% of B2B organizations reported that video marketing brings positive ROI.
Are you one of them? If not, you’re a beat behind and should pick up the pace right away.
Improve reach
One of the biggest advantages of live streaming is the possibility (and quite a strong one, might we add) to reach several thousands of potential customers across the globe and drive your website traffic with just one click of a button. Quite amazing, right?
Millennials and Gen Z (who are about to become the largest consumer group) spend the majority of their time on mobile devices and almost completely ignore traditional sources of information like television and newspapers. They are also well-known for their love of social media and anything new and trendy going on in that department.
The influence of top-tier streamers among the young audiences is enormous. Video game streamer Ninja reportedly made $1 million last month to stream video game Apex Legends at launch.
Let’s take a quick look at the figures – due to the growing popularity of Facebook Live, video content generates 135% greater organic reach than visuals.
These younger consumers have been heard by many businesses, loud and clear – brands have made it their top priority to use live streaming as a means of acquiring new customers and expanding their reach, while at the same time promoting their products and services.
Why not do the same? Once you have quality video content to post, you’ll quickly notice how your lead pool is getting bigger by the minute. Don’t forget – the wider reach means higher revenues!
Encourage engagement
Every marketer will tell you that high-quality content aimed to get your target audience engaged is essential for a successful marketing campaign. With that in mind, the type of content that’s currently seen a massive upsurge in popularity is, without a doubt, live streaming.
Although written content and social platforms are still an integral part of any marketing strategy, it’s evident that people find live streaming increasingly appealing.
Why is that so?
Besides the fact that live-streamed content enables them to stay up-to-date with the latest news and events, it helps them get actively engaged, excited, entertained, and more likely to stay connected to brands and companies. Real-time videos are exciting to watch – your brand audience usually doesn’t know what to expect and all that unpredictability, drama, and growing anticipation are certain to make them glued to the screen until the very end.
Here’s how you do it:
Once you post a video, make it interactive. Enable comments, encourage your customers to engage by asking them questions, organizing Q&A session, setting up flash sales and giveaways, promoting the launch of a new product or service and discussing the details, or asking for feedback on any of the products or services. The possibilities are endless!
Just remember – interact with the viewers and reply to their questions immediately. Such interaction will create a sense of intimacy and connection between the customers and your brand, which will lead to even higher engagement rates.
Boost word-of-mouth marketing
WOM marketing can help you generate more leads and grow your target audience, increase sales and profits, as well as brand awareness and trustworthiness. If you’re now wondering what live streaming has to do with WOM marketing, the answer is – a lot.
According to Insivia, a staggering number of mobile video consumers (92% to be precise) will share the videos they watch with others. This means that your brand audience is likely to share your live-streamed content with their friends and family as well. Before you know it – their followers are your followers. And potential customers.
And did you know that 92% of people (a magic number, it seems) are influenced by recommendations their friends and family make about a certain product or service? It’s easier to decide to make a purchase when the recommendation comes from such a trustworthy source.
There’s a perfect example which illustrates exactly how this works – a company held an event that had not-so-great turnout (in fact, there were less than 20 attendees). However, those people attending the event live streamed it and posted it online, asking their followers to share it. The result? More than 800 views and a total reach of over 3,000 people. Quite a figure if we take into account that the original audience was comprised of no more than 20 people.
With live-streamed content, you are engaging with your customers, getting your content further shared, your brand exposed, and your products and services promoted – it truly is a win-win situation.
Cultivate trust & build brand loyalty
One of the biggest perks of real-time content is that enables your business to create a more intimate and personal relationship with the viewership. The reason for this lies in the fact that your audience feels like they are taking part in a very real and authentic interaction. Since they are watching a real-time, unedited, and unscripted video, the viewers are much more likely to deem your content (and, thus, your brand) transparent and trustworthy.
Transparency is of the utmost importance when it comes to building brand loyalty and trust. Whenever you live stream an event, a promotion, or a “how-to” video, you are sending a “we-are-a-real-deal” message to your viewers.
But if you want to take things up a notch, give your audience something called a “behind-the-scenes” experience.
Provide a once in a lifetime opportunity to take a sneak peek at what’s going on behind the curtains. This exclusivity and the off-limits view is sure to send your viewers a message that they are witnessing something real. In return, you are bound to retain existing and acquire new customers, as numbers show that 87% of people are drawn to behind-the-scenes content and prefer watching online videos compared to traditional TV (if that would give them access to more behind-the-scenes material).
Live streaming has a huge impact on the way your company is going to be perceived. If it proves to be trustworthy, it will automatically become more influential. Greater influence leads to greater customer retention and brand loyalty. And people are far more likely to remain loyal and purchase from brands they feel they can trust.
Increase conversion and generate revenue
Did you know that 70% of marketers consider video as a type of content responsible for producing the most conversions? Not to mention the fact that featuring a live video on your landing page can increase conversion rates by 80% or more, or that the viewers are 144% more likely to purchase a product after watching a video about it.
Can you even imagine what a live video can do for your business?
The reason why live streaming is such a powerful marketing tool is the fact that it triggers a phenomenon called The Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO), especially if you combine it with an action they have to take right away in order to get your product, claim a discount or
There’s just one more piece of data we’d like you to consider – companies and businesses that use video marketing increase their revenue 49% faster each year than those who don’t use this type of content. This comes as no surprise if we take into account that live streaming makes it super easy for your audience to take action.
Takeaways?
Live-streamed content is definitely the new “IT” marketing tool in town. Its benefits are numerous – it’s the most effective way to increase reach, generate new leads and prospects, retain the existing customers, encourage engagement and boost recommendations, build brand loyalty and trust, and last but certainly not the least – increase sales and revenue.
Moral of the story? If you want to stay ahead of the curve, we have only three words for you – lights, camera, action!
