Can you alienate Facebook Live, Periscope and Twitch from content marketing? No! Content marketing is evolving. Content marketing is all about identifying, understanding and satisfying the needs and wants of audiences.
What do audiences want? Audiences don’t want irrelevant messages and intrusive banners. They don’t want meaningless pop-ups and inapt ads. What they want is informative, engaging, super fine quality and relevant content. Brands, businesses and personalities are using live video streaming platforms to create and deliver compelling content to their audiences.
Let’s leave political correctness aside and set our sights on a recent example. In 2017, Elizabeth Warren, the famous United States senator from Massachusetts used Facebook Live to denigrate Trump’s choice for attorney general. Guess what, the video has more than 12.5 million views? She is very well aware of the fact that Facebook Live has more than 360 million users. She didn’t want to miss out on them. And yes, BuzzFeed’s livestream countdown to the 2020 presidential elections garnered more than 50 million views.
Are you aware of the fact that nearly 82% of internet audiences prefer live videos to social posts from brands? And here is yet another endearing fact – 80% of respondents said that they would happily watch a live video from their favorite brand and distance themselves from blogs!
Sure, a picture is worth a thousand words. But a video is worth 1.8 million words per minute! A case in point worth mentioning is the success of Chewbacca Mom video which registered more than 162 million views.
Why are audiences tuning into live streaming at an alarming rate? There are reasons galore.
Audiences love unscripted content. They love intimate stories. The fact that Snapchat’s growth slowed by 82% post the launch of Instagram stories speaks volumes about audiences’ penchant for stories. They are interested in behind-the-scene and spontaneous content. And they often experience the Fear of Missing out (FOMO). Live streaming provides instant gratification and immediate connection.
The infographics from StreamHash gives a quick insight on why you should consider live video for your business or brand, which platforms to use, and what formats to explore.
