Why You Should Start Live Streaming? Live streaming. Chances are, you’ve heard of it. As more and more businesses move to digital marketing strategies to increase their revenue online, live video marketing has risen like never before, with viewership on live videos nearly doubling from 2019 to 2020. In response to the pandemic, this trend is likely to continue for years to come.
If you’re thinking about investing in live video marketing, there is no better time than now, thanks to the peak of live streaming in 2021.
Live Streaming in 2021
One of the biggest open live streaming platforms is Twitch, which is owned by Amazon. With over 5.5 million active content creators per month and 1.9 million viewers who average an astonishing 1.5 hours per day of viewing, it’s hard to ignore the overwhelming importance of the live video streaming trend in 2021.
While Twitch is primarily for gamers, another great example of a platform that is doing well for live video marketing for businesses is Facebook. In 2018, more than 80% of Facebook’s top 500 posts were videos. Just as notable is that video posts harbor as much as 59% more engagement on Facebook compared to other forms of posts.
It Increases Engagement
Gone are the days when a single, written message was enough to impact viewers and turn them into loyal-paying customers. Today, your competition is using video marketing to better engage with viewers, and viewers are more willing to engage with live video content. This makes it important for you to step up your game.
You can connect better to your audience through live video streaming because it bridges the gap between the internet, which can feel like an impersonal experience for buyers, and the real products and company behind the screen.
Depending on the platform, you might be able to use filters, stickers, voice filters, and more to make your live stream even more engaging. You can also use challenges, a Q&A, and other forms of engaging dialogue to encourage viewers to engage with your live video.
The Live Stream Market is Trending Upward in 2021
The video streaming market is estimated to increase by approximately 20% per year over the next six years until it reaches $184.3 billion. Two of the largest sectors responsible for this increase include the corporate training world and the education industry.
It’s Authentic
One of the biggest perks of using live video streaming for your business is the authenticity of live videos. Without the edits and set scripts, you are more likely to appear human and personable. This helps your audience connect with you and feel like they’re part of your experience. This can increase your loyal followers and encourage viewers to invest in your mission, products, or big events.
You’re also not expected to come off as professionally as you would in a commercial or pre-filmed video, which helps break down the barrier between you and your followers while easing the stress of having to make high-quality content.
It’s Easy to Get Started
Live streaming in 2021 is easily accessible to all businesses because of the ease in which it can be done. All you need is a smartphone, laptop, or computer to record your live video, a streaming platform, and an audience.
Just as easily as it is for you to get started, it is just as easy for your audience to tune in to your live streams, as chances are, they’re already tuned in to social media, scrolling through posts and perusing threads.
For smaller businesses, platforms like Facebook, Instagram or YouTube already have simple, user-friendly features to help you get started live streaming.
However, these social media platforms may not be enough to reach the potential that live streaming can give to them. This is because of the following factors:
- Loss of branding
- Businesses have to let go of their branding and make use of the existing user interface/experience present on the social media platform (e.g Facebook).
- Lack of features
- Businesses can only have a simple live stream with no special features such as live commerce or live trivia.
- High competition
- A live stream on Facebook will have to compete with many other live streams and content on the platform.
For large businesses who would like to implement custom live streaming features and experiences on their own platform, they can leverage on white label solutions such as BeLive Technology. These solutions are able to quickly develop or integrate live streaming technology into your platform.
