15 reasons why you need to live stream on the web

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Because your audience cares. Live streaming already plays a big part in social media, and this article discusses how brands can use it in their marketing strategy in South Africa.

2. Video can show off your personality

There's been a rising trend in businesses creating personal messages to persuade their potential customers to buy. Long gone are the days of boring and monotone content, which used to be found in every leaflet and on every website. Now, the focus is on being open, honest, friendly and enticing. If your business has a bubbly personality, then let that shine through in the video. If your CEO has a penchant for cracking jokes, then that needs to show in the video as well. Potential customers and clients will feel as though they are being treated like a good friend, as opposed to just another number.

3. A live streamed Internet video gives your content urgency

If you are streaming content live for a one time only event your stream becomes a rare and urgent entity. Online users take passive action towards content they can access on a regular basis, but if your stream is only available at one moment in time its urgency can create quite a stir on the web.

4. Live streaming Internet video could make you stand out from the crowd

Streaming live events and content could give your brand or business a fantastic point of differentiation. Live streamed events whether it's a Webinar, conference or just an informal tutorial chat are not something that is being used by many organisations.

If you could take this innovative use of Internet video and steer it towards your organisations marketing aims then you could really start to set yourself apart from the rest of the competition.

5. Streaming content creation is the same as your own television show

If you think about it, live streaming is no different than hosting your own TV show but at much less cost. It does require a content strategy, relevant branding, a choice of technology platform, and a format that both helps you meet your business objective and attracts a relevant audience. Your own "television show" could become one of the following:

• Answers to commonly asked questions
  
• Industry updates
  
• Inside-look at your company by interviewing different employees
  
• Customer interviews and testimonials

6. Content marketing strategy

With streaming live, viewers can throw themselves into a personal, engaging, and interactive experience. They have the chance to watch content as it happens. Brands will be able to use Live to show behind the scenes clips. For example, fun office antics can be great to air for recruitment. Powerful content extension for your company-way more interesting to fans than reading a press release, right?

7. Announce new product releases

Live streaming can also be used to reveal new product releases, and once rolled out, will be a great way to boost conversion. The fact that your audience can comment and interact in real time means that brands can step in to straighten any misunderstood communication by using Twitter comments live on the same page as your stream.

8. Improve customer service

You can run Live Q&A sessions to help you show that your brand is authentic, transparent, and therefore, trustworthy; all of which are vital ingredients of a successful marketing strategy. Q&A sessions pave the way for great customer service through problem solving, especially as on demand features allow viewers to go back to the video later for reference. Live Q&A sessions can also help cut costs by freeing up manpower and allowing you to address FAQ to a crowd of viewers rather than individuals.

9. Share breaking news

The real time nature of streaming will allow brands to adapt their marketing strategy accordingly. Traditionally a platform for evergreen content and storytelling. Live streaming will become a place for real time news sharing rather than a place for your audience to solely discuss their reactions to the news.

10. Improve message clarity

If a picture says a thousand words, a video must say a million. Written messages can easily become lost in translation, causing damage to your brand. Video messaging offers brands the chance to better articulate their messages and build context through emotion, so your audience can connect with you more directly.

Coming up with creative ways to implement live-stream content into your marketing strategy might be difficult, but it is certainly not impossible, and you might just be surprised with the results. Keep in mind that the scope of your broadcast can start out small (just like any other content strategy), and the content of your feed could be just about anything that can be translated into a video format.

11. What live streaming means for content marketing

Marketers don't have it easy. They are tasked with staying abreast of a steady influx of technology advancements, media changes and evolving user preferences. Lately, you've been hearing more and more about live streaming-the process of delivering content live to an end-user over the internet. You may have wondered: "Does this affect me and my company's marketing strategy?"

Innovative retail brands like Pick N Pay and Checkers have already embraced live streaming. But as always, quality and context matter. You still have to find that "sweet spot" - videos that are entertaining or interesting but also tie back to your marketing objectives.

12. Using social media with your live stream

Whether your hosting an event or attending one, live streaming can be a great way to let your viewers in on the action. If you're heading to a conference or large event, live streaming might be a great way to show your audience exactly what you're experiencing. With a built-in Twitter Chat commenting feature, viewers can write in requesting you to explain certain booths or zoom in on presentations. This creates a dialogue between video and viewer that isn't available unless you are live streaming.

13. Amazing concept for retailers

Retailers can produce a live stream and announce it before hand by posting emails to their newsletter groups or on their social media platforms. In your build-up you can create exciting messages which can be developed days prior to the day you go live with your stream. You say something like, "for one day only you can get these specials". People can order products live off the page. Live streaming makes companies stand out from the pack. When it comes to beating your competitors, it can be all that's needed to create that vital sale.

14. Improve staff moral by staying in touch

Even if you just want to stream to your staff with important company announcements they will be able to view your videos from anywhere in the country or branches around the world. Stay in contact with your people by regularly streaming messages to show them you care.

15. Live streaming helps you reduce costs

Representatives from government departments, national associations, corporations and large organisations spend a lot of time and expense travelling in order to hold information sessions for employees, prospective customers, and even the general public. Think of all the costs associated with travelling, lodging, venues, meals, and the event itself. Most of these costs can be eliminated through the power of live streaming. It is excellent in improving communication, increasing participation and lowering overall costs.

When you go live, everything happens in real time: there's no post-production or editing required. That's not to say that there isn't a lot of pre-production planning and setup required, but because the event is live, once the live stream is over you're left with a fully produced video that, ideally, can and should be made available as an archived, on-demand file for future use.