Live streaming is not a new concept, and the conception and production of these videos have evolved dramatically. This has a lot to do with social media platforms’ innovative features.
Live video alters the way brands communicate with their customers and attracts viewers in a way that other social media forms cannot because it’s instant and natural. Marketers are aware of this, with 28% increasing their investment in live streaming.
Let’s dive into what you need to know to build live stream engagement for your brand.
What Are The Benefits Of Live Stream Engagement?
Creates FOMO
In marketing, FOMO and curiosity go hand in hand. Creating an unmissable attraction will bring many people to your brand. This strategy is ideal for product premiere videos, in which viewers can witness the big reveal while being guided toward a purchase by the creators. After all, curiosity is an intense psychological motivator. It gives life to mundane ideas, transforming them into exciting concepts that can be pursued. And there’s nothing more seductive to the human imagination than a curious scenario.
Immersive experience
Livestream video is a powerful tool that gives viewers a better view of your business. Creators can give their audience an inside or behind the scenes look at how their business operates with a tool as simple as their mobile phone.
2-way interaction
A widespread use of live streaming is hosting a webinar, where the audience may engage with a presenter, ask questions, and go deep into a given topic. All of this is impossible with pre-recorded videos where viewers are only able to consume rather than interact.
Authentic engagement
Creators aren’t shooting “perfect” videos with numerous takes during a live stream. The audience is privy to any bloopers that may happen. But that is what lends live streams their raw charm because mistakes can be turned into hilarious moments with a little spontaneous creativity. This means that your customers can connect with your brand on a deeper level.
Platform-Wise Streaming
When it comes to “going live,” Instagram is the platform of choice for a majority of content creators, with more than 62% preferring it to any other channel. Four people can “go live” for up to an hour at a time on a single broadcast on Instagram. In 2021, the platform also launched in-store adverts to “make it simpler for individuals to find and purchase from companies while they’re already in the mood to shop,” according to the company.
YouTube
YouTube continues to grow in popularity, with viewers of all ages preferring to watch live videos on YouTube over other forms of media. Creators may use a camera, a smartphone, and an encoder streaming to live broadcast on YouTube. YouTube also recommends using a camera or a mobile device for amateurs, whereas encoder streaming is recommended for more sophisticated users who want to broadcast games.
For a live broadcast, Facebook allows users to invite multiple accounts. The streams may be added to a page, group, profile, or event using the Facebook or Creator Studio apps. You may also host paid virtual events using online events.
Facebook provides a variety of tools to assist creators to boost interaction and improve the live broadcast experience, including: live polls, featured links, “a front row” feature that creates a special section for top fans, and Badges to showcase how often each fan interacts on the stream.
Twitch
Twitch has established itself as the undisputed king of longer live stream sessions. The site now includes broadcasts from non-gaming sectors as well as the gaming industry. It’s very creator-friendly, and it gives prospective influencers advice on how to run advertisements, seek sponsorships, and learn the basics of streaming. Twitch also promotes community-building and has tools to incentivize these efforts.
How Can I boost Live Stream Engagement?
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Plan ahead
Begin promoting your live stream well in advance to build excitement for the event. Involve creators or collaborators to use their social media profiles to tease followers about what they might miss out on. You can even share your stream schedule with your fans, so they know when to expect you and be available when you go live.
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Collaborate with trustworthy creators
The spontaneous and authentic nature of live streams requires that you be extra cautious with the influencers who represent you. Offensive content might lead to a controversy, and could severely harm your reputation. If your brand is linked to a dubious creator, it may be challenging to repair this reputation.
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Give the creators the control
Your influencer should feel empowered to bring charm and intimacy to the audience. As a brand, provide a good brief but leave the strings loose. Starting with affiliate marketing for takeovers is an excellent alternative for brands new to influencer marketing. You will only pay the influencers when a transaction is made through an affiliate link.
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Ask closed questions
While going with the flow on a live stream is a good idea, your speaker must anticipate the audience’s questions and be ready to answer them. Your questions, on the other hand, must be closed. They must be intended to elicit simple “yes” or “no” responses from your audience and one-word or seamless responses. When you’re watching a live broadcast, it’s easy to get distracted by your thoughts. So if you ask a question that needs a lot of thought, you risk losing viewers.
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Share a schedule
It is crucial that your audience feels valued if they take the time to attend your live stream. Do this by acknowledging their presence, even for those who join mid-stream. At the beginning of the video, share what the stream is all about. Later, keep retouching your initial points, so everyone is up to speed on what you are saying. Consider that people may need to drop and rejoin streams, and this way, you can keep them engaged despite interruptions.
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Offer a prize
Live streams that are exciting and interactive tend to have more viewers longer than one where participants only have to be passive listeners. Give away something your audience will want to grab and announce the winner during the live stream. This strategy engages visitors by allowing them to communicate via chat.
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Stick to schedule
To get the most out of your live streams, you need to expand your audience regularly and communicate with them. To do this, you must continue to grow your following and promote videos among them. Hence, be sure you hold live-streaming sessions regularly. Creating a live streaming schedule is an excellent way to go about this. It will increase audience participation, and encourages your high-value audiences to return for more. Come up with live sessions to develop a live streaming schedule, then look at audience engagement and other data to see when they’re the most interested. This will help decide the optimal time to broadcast your live feeds.
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Analyze and optimize
Reviewing your streams will reveal what worked and what you can do better in the future. These metrics give you valuable information on how your content is doing, what sorts of live broadcasts are working, what devices your audience is using, and more. Use this information to pivot or tweak your live stream for more engagement.
It’s Time To Go LIVE!
Customers nowadays want a more personal relationship with the brands and influencers they follow. They are looking for more than a buyer-seller relationship – they want an experience. Live streaming, like other branding and marketing initiatives, has the power to create an emotional connection with potential customers. Using real-time video to deliver relevant, helpful, and engaging content to consumers’ social media feeds is a terrific method to accomplish just that.
Influencer-led live streams are in huge demand because of their high engagement with their community. The right influencer can lead your branded live streams organically, impacting your prospective customers the way you want them to.
Atisfyreach is your one-stop solution to finding and connecting with influencers that are matched to your brand according to campaign needs. Atisfyreach’s AI-driven platform accelerates the entire influencer marketing journey beyond your expectations, optimizing your time, resources, and budgets efficiently. Register now.
