#TechIsTheNewAwesome – Utilizing Live Video for Online Marketing
If you’ve been watching the trends in digital marketing, then you won’t be surprised to hear that video currently makes up 74% of all web traffic. Just look at your own social media feeds and you’ll see lots of videos as you scroll through. And if you look closely, you’ll notice that they’re not just ads. There are videos of news stories, self-help information, humor and a variety of other content.
There’s a good reason for all that video: it works! It’s engaging, has been proven to make the message easier to remember, and those who see it tend to stick with the content longer. Forbes reports that by 2019 video will claim more than 80% of all web traffic. Video traffic is high across all platforms – video views on phones and tablets now account for about half of all traffic. As video has become more popular, more platforms are making it available to their users.
Facebook Live, Twitter’s Periscope, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat all provide easy ways to share video. And you don’t have to spend a fortune to produce it. Smartphones have made it easy for anyone to produce high quality live streaming experiences for their social media feeds.
If you haven’t been using video as part of your marketing strategy yet, you might be wondering how to make it work for your company. Let’s say your tech support or customer service lines have a question that is frequently asked. A live how-to session that explains the problem can give your customers the chance to learn more about the product and interact with your experts. Other ways to engage your audience include live streaming events that you sponsor, a “behind the scenes” look at your business, and inspirational testimonies by customers.
Of course, nothing is quite as simple as it sounds. If you grab the camera and just start broadcasting without a plan, chances are you won’t get the results you’re looking for. You need to treat video like your other marketing initiatives: you need to choose the right platform for your business, craft the message you want to convey, learn about the tools and determine how you will measure success.
Take a look at how others in your industry are using video. If video isn’t widely used in your industry yet, check out leaders in other industries. Buzzfeed is considered one of the best at streaming, and brands like Starbucks and Mashable incorporate live video as part of their marketing strategy.
With a little homework and lots of practice, you can successfully weave live streaming video into your overall marketing strategy. Once you hit on the right formula for your business you’ll find that your customers are more engaged, your message is hitting the right points, and you may even have some fun.
Live video is one my passions. If you have an event coming up and would like to get some live coverage for your social platforms, give us a shout at The Social Media Advisor! Let’s show the world how AWESOME you are.
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Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.
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#TechIsTheNewAwesome, live video, tech, technology, video, Video Marketing
