Brands are using live streaming capabilities more and more. The expectation from consumers is an experience more heavily integrated with technology than ever before.
They’re looking for simultaneous interactions with technology and the real world.
This may involve reinventing yourself to embrace experimentation and improvisation. But it also means applying what you’ve already known to newer technology.
The skills involved are ones marketers already practice: lots of preparation, and then the ability to roll with the punches.
Before we get into the different ways you can use live streaming successfully, let’s go over some of the basics.
First, you have a purpose for broadcasting your message, so know what that is. What is it you hope to achieve? Are you trying to grow certain numbers? If so, which ones?
Next, think about who you want on screen. This doesn’t have even to be a specific person––personality traits will do.
Get the right training for whichever person in your brand will be doing the video so that they can bring across the kind of personality you want to represent your brand.
Now you’re ready to start thinking about the different ways you can use live streaming! Here are some methods that brands are using today:
Conversations with Your Audience
There are interactive livestream platforms that allow for viewers to send in their questions and get answered in the moment.
This could look like Q&A info sessions about your brand or new product, or a customer support type setting where customers get a chance to ask you questions about how to use your product.
Special Announcements and Product Introductions
You can also create some hype around specific products or announcements with your livestream. Generate interest by letting people know ahead of time that there will be a livestream.
Treat it like an in-person event–– maybe there’s even an in-person attendee group for the announcement–– and then broadcast the news in real time to let others feel like they’re still a part of things, even when they can’t be physically present.
Instructional Videos
Instructional videos or how-to’s are also popular these days. Think makeup tutorials or even just crowdsourcing everyday home help. Some brands are creating how-to videos about their products or services.
Behind-the-Scenes
Part of the appeal of live-streamed videos is that you can generate a feeling of being in the same place, if not physically then at least virtually.
Behind-the-scenes looks are a great example of this. Use live-streaming to allow customers to take a look into how things are being done, to meet the mind behind the products or services they see, or just to find out the quirks in how your office is run.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to incorporate live-streaming into your operations, either at a day-to-day level or just for special events.
As technology develops and more social media platforms experiment with social media, so can you! The more innovations come about, the more possibilities you’ll see for creative use of live-streaming for your brand.
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