Take These 5 Steps to Create a Live Video Marketing Strategy

You’ve all heard how live video is the new standard in video marketing. But have you done anything to apply it in your business?

As live video continues to grow, you have to get on board as soon as you can. If you don’t, your competitors may be able to harness it before you do, and they’ll end up getting more of the market share than your business.

Nearly all social media platforms are now capable of streaming live videos. You can choose from Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and even Linkedin. Whichever channel you choose, you can take advantage of the medium to forge authentic connections with your audience.

Unlike other video formats, live video is raw and unedited. It’s a great way to strengthen your interactions with your audience. You can also use it to show your customers the kind of voice that you want to give your brand.

As with other video formats, there’s a proper way to do live videos. Read on to find out some ways you can develop your own live video marketing strategy.

Choose the right platform

To start, you have to identify where you’re going to host your live videos. You need to know where your audience is so you can easily reach them through your video content.

If you’ve already been posting your videos on different social media platforms, find out which one your customers are present in. Which channel are they more likely to engage with you when you go live?

Businesses have a few options. Are your customers giving you solid engagement on Facebook? You can choose to go live on there. It will be easier for them to tune in, they will be notified when you go live, and you can take advantage of the metrics that you get as well.

You can also choose to go live on Instagram. Did you know that this platform has the most user engagement online? If your audience is on Instagram, you can definitely go on it. However, your live video will disappear after 24 hours, so it won’t do well as a resource for your audience’s future use.

Lastly, YouTube’s live video platform offers SEO-friendly features. Since YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, you can definitely take advantage of it to drive traffic to your company’s website. You can also enhance your live videos through creating an event, adding thumbnails, and designing a pre-roll for your content.

Promote your live video

Even if the platform you choose to stream on notifies your audience that you will go live, it will help if you raise awareness about your live video prior to streaming.

This means two things. First, you need to let them know that you’ll be going live. Second, you need to make them want to tune in to your live video.

In the case of Facebook, you can schedule your live videos, so you can easily inform your audience. You can cover all bases and use your other platforms, as well as your email lists, to promote your live videos.

To entice them to watch, share sneak peeks or drop hints about the things you will be discussing on your live video. When you pique their interest, they will be likely to tune in on the day you go live.

Plan ahead

Of course, you have to know what you want out of your live video. Even though you’ll allow spontaneity to reign on your live video, you still need to stay focused on what you plan to achieve with it.

How can you go about it? You can ask yourself a few questions before you start your live video marketing campaign. Is the live video going to be informative, or will it be used to sell your product or service? Will it increase awareness of your brand? Will you get to know more about your audience through the video?

By planning your live video, you’ll feel more confident. You’re less likely to veer off course since you know what you need to accomplish with it. It can even help reduce stage fright that you can end up feeling before you kick things off.

Live video is a great medium to humanize your brand, but there are other things you can achieve through it. Just remember your objective for a certain live video and stick to it, and focus on something else next time.

Include your audience

Doing a live video will put you in a position that allows you to really engage your audience. You could prompt them to send topics they want you to discuss prior to your live stream, or you can encourage them to provide feedback in the comments while it’s ongoing.

When your audience watches your live video, they are more likely to patronize you and your product or service. Use this opportunity to show them your expertise and how you can provide the right solutions to their unique problems.

Be careful about hard selling – your audience already knows what you’re all about, so they will be put off by this. Instead, showcase your insider knowledge by offering the information they need and giving actionable advice.

Live videos can also be a form of customer service. You can check back in the comments and find out if your audience needs additional information, and send it to them. You can also try to ask them what kind of products they want you to demo, so you can help them make the most out of their current or future purchase.

Be consistent

As with any campaign, it pays to be consistent with your live video marketing. How does this fit into your social media strategy? Make sure it will allow you do keep it up rather than just attempt to do it once.

Your audience will appreciate your consistency. If they know that they can rely on you to deliver engaging content, they’re more likely to regard your company as credible and reliable.

More importantly, when you remain consistent, it will be easier for you to grow your audience as well. For instance, if you maintain a schedule of going live at a certain day and time every week, your audience will know when to tune in.

By combining all these steps, you can go ahead and develop your own live video marketing strategy that will align your goals and objectives. Keep putting your content out there and let your audience know that you have their best interests in mind all the time.

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