If content is king, then it would be safe to assume that video content is the emperor. It is one of the most effective content mediums in today’s digital market, and if a business wants to stay ahead of competitors, it needs to embrace video to gain a prominent spot in the consumers’ mind and life.
The country today is heading towards a video streaming market that is expected to touch $5 billion by 2023. This has been made possible by rising affluence, affordable digital devices, deeper data penetration in rural markets and even digital adoption by newer demographics.
With the increasing competition, it is also critical to reach the right customer, at the right time, with the right message. And live video streaming on social media networks like Facebook and Instagram is the fastest, cheapest and most effective way of doing so.
Here are 6 amazing opportunities for including live video in your content marketing plan.
#1 A Q&A session
Let’s start with a simple Q&A session. This is an effective way for you to strengthen your relationship with your customers, current as well as potential. You could answer questions on how to use the product, or give tips to improve user experience, and even deal with grievances.
The session needn’t be restricted to your product alone, you could even organise a Q&A session to answer doubts and queries related to the industry. For instance, a company in the business of manufacturing beauty products can conduct a live session on skin care. This creates stickiness and takes your product from a cold and lifeless entity to something warm and more approachable.
#2 Share live events
There was a time live events meant actual music concerts or fashion shows with a live, physically present, captive audience. That is still the case, no doubt. However, with the seamless integration of digital in our lives, today an event can be conducted in one location and streamed ‘live’ to captive online audiences across the world.
Instead of waiting for a telecast later, people can participate in the event as it is happening. And the participation isn’t passive. Broadcasting the event live on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter gives your customers, current and potential, a chance to interact, ask questions, and become part of the brand story.
This helps build trust, showcase what your brand stands for beyond the product or service, allows you to express opinions, and works towards creating a stronger, expert brand.
#3 Test or review your product live
Another tried and tested way to build trust among your community is by testing or reviewing your product online. Time it with the launch of your new product and you are guaranteed more eyeballs than you could have imagined with just a launch.
Land Rover adopted this brilliant strategy while launching its latest vehicle. For an entire month the car brand did a live test drive video on Facebook. The vehicle was driven over all kinds of terrain and customers as well as car aficionados were treated to the vehicle’s performance. Any surprises the video got 9.7K views, and was shared across the platform by customers?
#4 Broadcast the launch of a new product
Similar to the product demo or test, you can also launch your product online and broadcast the event live. This is turning out to be quite a popular way for brands to generate a buzz around their new product and of course, eventually lead to sales.
For example, Dell used Facebook Live to launch its first Inspiron gaming laptop in India. The live event reached out to more than 55k fans through the launch alone.
#5 Live testimonials
Testimonials are great to get your customers to talk about your products. Have you given any thought to live testimonials? A new take on traditional customer endorsement, live testimonials, if done right, can provide you great returns no matter what your industry.
Goes without saying that you should choose your most satisfied customers, and get them to speak from the heart while directing them gently. Keep the videos no more than 2-3 minutes; else your audience will drop off.
#6 Invite influencers
Everyone is talking about influencers these days. Perhaps your business can benefit from the opinion of one. Invite an influencer from the same industry to give your audience a whole new take on the subject, making the session interesting for them. Additionally, your influencer will certainly invite his or her audience to participate, giving your product more mileage.
But how do you find an influencer? Rely on tools like Buzzstream or Grin to locate an expert who can help your business. If your influencer turns out to be in a different geography, you can use Instagram’s new feature – collab-live stream – to overcome that challenge.
Conclusion
Thanks to social media live video options you can connect with your audience at a deeper level and engage with them like never before, wherever they are, whenever you want.