Social live streaming is a big deal right now because of the added value it delivers to brands and users alike. Made popular by Periscope and Meerkat in 2015, almost every social media platform currently has live streaming features.
The biggest among them is Facebook, of course, followed by Instagram–which are now one in the same.
When Facebook launched Facebook Live in 2015, it was only available to verified pages.
Presently, it’s available to all and it’s one of the most widely used features on the platform. You can watch anything from news to tutorials live in your Facebook feed.
There’s no denying that live streaming has led to an increased engagement on social media websites.
In this article, we take a look at how brands are using live videos and what it means to the creators of the platforms.
How Brands and Marketers are Using Live Video
For brands and marketers, live streaming is an additional tool in a well-equipped marketing arsenal.
Businesses and marketers have found creative ways of using live videos, and popular among them are:
- Live tutorials and workshops
- Behind the scenes of brand activities
- Influencers Interviews
- Event broadcasting
- Question & Answer sessions on issues/topics their audience need help with
It’s extremely important to note that Facebook algorithms give preference to live videos in the news feed. With this priority, businesses are able to drive more traffic, leads and ultimately more sales with live broadcasts.
Facebook algorithms give preference to live videos in the news feed. Click To TweetWhat it means for Facebook and Instagram
According to SocialMediaToday, users spend an average of 15 minutes on Facebook and 35 minutes on Instagram, respectively.
With live video, Facebook can push these numbers up. An increase in the average time on the platforms means more opportunities to show ads. This means that the revenue model for both Facebook and Instagram is advertising.
Live video has presented a new opportunity to run ads. Just like the seemingly antiquated days of TV, ad breaks can be inserted into live streams.
In a recent blog post, Facebook confirmed they’re currently testing this feature for selected publishers by explaining that the company:
“..want to support a diverse range of creators and publishers, which is why we’ve introduced a range of monetization options, including Branded Content and Instant Articles. More recently, we’ve been testing Ad Breaks with a group of publishers, and we’re working on opening it up more broadly.”
Similarly, Instagram is also testing a comparable feature with selected publishers and content creators.
With the ability to monetize content, we should see a huge improvement in the quality of content that publishers create on Facebook. Furthermore, these tools will also deliver added transparency and value to users by offering exclusive content.
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