4 Reasons Live-Streaming Video Will Improve Your Business' Brand Awareness Live streaming has gained massive popularity over the past few years. Its popularity on social media and other digital platforms has turned it into an important digital marketing tool that can be used by big and small companies to raise brand awareness.
By Prabalta Rijal Edited by Frances Dodds
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Nothing lures people in more than a good story. American story consultant, Robert McKee once said, "Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world." And in an age of technology, storytelling has become a cakewalk.
Gen Z, the youngest generation of consequence, comprises approximately 72 million Americans and 27% of the population. For Gen Z, storytelling and digital engagement is a daily priority as they connect on the Internet and social platforms for over 10 hours every day, according to a survey made by Adobe. They seek real-time communication with content creators, chat with trusted peers, engage in political discussion and answer live polls. They are, in effect, the primary active target audience sought after by video livestreaming services.
A survey by software company Livestream and New York Magazine shows that 80% of audiences prefer livestreamed videos to blog content. Moreover, with livestreaming becoming a popular feature on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, brands have accepted it as a vital component of social media marketing and invested 28% of their budgets on livestreaming shows.
Create authentic connections
Accelerating the importance of livestreaming is the fact that Gen Z is evolving into a critical consumer category. The "Next Generation Report" from Business Insider Intelligence says Gen Z will shortly become the largest consumer population in the U.S. According to Business Insider, they are already estimated to influence $143 billion in spending in the U.S. alone. With their ability to influence purchasing decisions, Gen Z is transforming livestreaming into an industry worth over $30 billion, which is expected to be worth over $70 billion by 2021. A new study by ABI Research further estimates there will be 91 million subscribers utilizing livestreaming by 2024.
What is more, Gen Z completely shuns traditional media, seeking instead platforms where they can directly connect with brands. Characteristically, this generation is partial to honesty and transparency, which livestreaming offers, with all the glitches of spontaneous reality. Savvy brands, therefore, are creating fresh digital marketing strategies incorporating livestreaming, especially during these challenging times, bringing events in real time to locked-down audiences.
Related: 5 Content Marketing Trends You Need to Know for 2020
Recycle content once and build new video assets
Brand marketers are discovering the value of livestreamed content beyond the event, incorporating livestreamed content in subsequent videos and building an arsenal of marketing collateral.
Vogue used the livestreamed Met Gala for a live video on behind-the-scenes activity in making it happen. The video received over 200,000 views. After National broadcaster KBS launched BMW's M2 on Periscope, it subsequently used the launch to return with the brand's first interactive live-action adventure, on the app.
Similarly, many brands are recycling livestreamed content as live video footage on regular brand videos, as an important part of subsequent marketing strategy, to draw new customers. Forbes quotes Brandlive as stating that nearly 95% of brand and agency executives said live video would be an important part of their marketing strategy.
Brand marketers, thus, see it as two for the price of one, and an opportunity to capture new customers.
Related: New To Instagram Live? Here's How To Show Up Like A Pro
Bridge the virtual and physical worlds
Not long ago, there were significant gaps in streaming media technology that made live streaming inaccessible to many organizations and limited their brand expansion within the boundaries of their business' country of origin. Today all this seems like prehistory, as the technology leapfrogged into its current user-friendly format, providing digital marketers the option of using livestreaming to get their brand in front of global audiences in real time.
Related: 5 Content Ideas for Making Money With Facebook Live
Generate Valuable Market Insight
At a live event, a brand cannot quantify how many in the audience are captivated or bored. But livestreaming allows brands to obtain information by asking questions like:
Were there more viewers at the beginning of livestreamed event that at the end? If so by how much?
When people return to re-watch the presentation, what do they watch?
What does the audience say about the presentation?
These features unique to livestreaming video provide critical feedback on real audience reactions that cannot be obtained in any other way.
Essential for improving brand awareness
Using livestreaming video has the potential of becoming a clear growth hack for almost any brand, as you will be better positioned to form those invaluable connections with your clients. If you know how to make use of the technology available, creating those connections could be easier than ever. Understanding why livestreaming matters could be crucial to improving your business' brand awareness.
