Livestreaming and how it can expand your social media reach

By Laura Nixon-White

On Friday 22nd November, Tesla’s chief designer, Elon Musk, unveiled his new vehicle the Tesla Cybertruck and did so livestreaming all over the social media platforms.

It was a wildly fascinating look at the future of automobiles, but also a demonstration on how livestreaming is, unquestionably, the future of how we look at advertising. It is a direct feed into the veins of our phones and, as a consumer we can feel like we are part of the product. The excitement in the live chats while Elon was talking about his product was completely contagious, being liked and shared whilst simultaneously becoming a trending subject.

During this blog I will be taking a look at livestreaming across the various platforms, how it’s changing commerce and what the future looks like for advertising and reaching our audience.

What is live-streaming?

I’m glad you asked. Livestreaming can be defined as real-time video that is broadcast through a social network or online platform where it can be viewed by the public. I have once heard it described as the “broadway show” of content and this is a very accurate description. Raw, unedited, in-person, real time content.

What could I livestream about?

Another great question. The simple answer is ANYTHING. In a world where ASMR videos are dominating YouTube, people want to and will watch absolutely anything. As an example, if you own a coffee shop you could live stream the creation of the perfect cup of coffee. If you run a metal works company you could livestream the welding of a structure. If you are a chef I can’t begin to tell you how many people would tune in to watch an incredible dish being put together.

The possibilities are simply endless!

I need some statistics thrown at me!

Well, you are in luck. Here are some facts and figures from Livestream.com that demonstrate a shift in the digital market place.

  • 80% of consumers would rather watch a livestream than read a blog…
  • 63% of people aged 18-34 watch live streaming content regularly
  • More than 1 in 5 videos on facebook are live and watched 3 times longer than prerecorded videos
  • 67% of audiences who watched a livestream purchased a ticket to a similar event the next time it occurred
  • 45% of live video audiences would pay for a live, exclusive, on-demand video from a favourite team, speaker or performer
  • By 2020, live streaming is expected to account for 82% of all internet traffic

Which are the top platforms to stream from?

At the moment there are 4 major players in this game, but that will likely change as we head into 2020. They are;

  • Facebook Live. With over 2 billion users the marketing potential on Facebook is huge. You can select your audience category and target that group specifically.
  • YouTube Live. Despite being one of the largest streaming platforms on the internet, YouTube Live streaming services have been a relatively recent addition to this social media site and it has to be said that the rapidly rising potential of YouTube live streaming services is not going unnoticed.
  • Instagram Live. Instagram is the fasted growing and expanding social media by far and has the public, influencers and brands using its full potential for both personal and professional purposes. Like Facebook, it is very easy to find and target your audience on Instagram Live streaming services and as the platform is a dominantly visual medium, livestreaming is a very good fit for it.
  • Periscope Live. While Twitter has acquired Periscope, the actual live video you will see and publish in Twitter are still done through Periscope live streaming services. Not only that, Periscope live streaming services are still available independent of Twitter. This way, you can target double the audience and get far more engagement.

To conclude

The facts figures for Livestreaming are overwhelmingly positive and I could discuss this subject all day , but as I mentioned before 80% of people would rather watch a livestream than read a blog, so I’ll wrap this up.

Livestreaming is growing at an explosive rate with more brands expected to use it to encourage active engagement and offer real-time experiences. It’s so important to take advantage of this latest social media offering and utilize it fully to connect with your community in a new and exciting way.

So get creative, incorporate livestreaming into your social media marketing strategy and show the world who you are.