Video Marketing Minute: Why Live Video Matters for Marketers

If you're a marketer, you've probably tested out using live video, or at the very least, thought about trying it to engage your audience. In a constantly evolving digital world, and with recent changes to social media algorithms, it's more important than ever for marketers to find new and effective ways to engage and connect with their audience. Live video receives six times more engagement than pre-recorded video, making it a highly effective tool for marketers to connect with their audience and measure interactions. Yet, only 58% of marketers say they've rarely broadcasted live content. That's why we're outlining why live video matters for marketers. Live video increases engagement and encourages interaction. According to Facebook, live videos can drive 10 times more comments due to the real-time connection between users. And with social media algorithms increasingly unfavouring organic content, live video is a great tool that creates an opportunity to reach the followers that matter to you. In addition, hosting a live video with a topic such as a product launch, contest, or revealing behind-the-scenes content can entice viewers to stream in. Live video increases exposure for your event. By broadcasting a local event to a global audience, brands can maximize event benefits by allowing for remote attendees and tapping into new audiences. And in fact, 30% of people who watch a live stream of an event will attend the same event in person the following year. Social Media Examiner does a great job of using live video to start discussions and promote their events in advance. Live video can boost lead generation. Requiring registration for a natively hosted live event is a great way to capture contacts and gauge the number of attendees. Live video humanizes your brand. In today's digital world, followers expect immediate responses from brands on social media. But on average, only 1 in 10 messages get a response. Hosting a live video in the form of a Q&A or AMA is a great opportunity to show your customers who the humans are behind your brand and that you're ready to answer their questions as soon as they ask. Benefit Cosmetics does a great job of humanizing their brand through a Facebook live series featuring employee makeup tutorials. Live video generates meaningful data. Measuring the impact of live video appears to be a problem for businesses, with 29% uncertain of how effective it is. 23's video marketing platform not only lets marketers stream live video natively, allowing for more control over the user experience, but also gathers detailed analytics such as who is watching the live stream and for how long. This data can be used to then track and score viewers. Live video is time and cost effective. Today technology has made live streaming accessible for marketers around the world, for teams of all sizes and budgets. And with this, there's really no reason why your marketing team shouldn't get started with live video today. Has your marketing team experimented with live video? Tweet us at 23 and let us know what you've live streamed.