The world of online marketing has evolved over the last ten years. Not only do digital marketing professionals have to seek their prospective customers where they are more likely to be, but they also have to use the best medium to connect with those customers.
Recent reports reveal that nearly a third of all professionals watch at least one business live stream weekly. As a marketer you can reach a huge audience streaming across social media channels, which makes the business growth benefits of live streaming an excellent opportunity.
What does 'Going Live' mean?
Streaming live video to social media is often referred to as 'Going Live'. The live features of most social media platforms like Instagram often include audience engagement tools with live chat, polls, comments and question prompts to make the event more engaging.
Like any other live event, when you live stream on social media networks, you get an opportunity to connect with prospective leads and communicate with them on a more personal level. You also boost your social media presence, which is crucial for selling more products. According to Zippia average conversion rates are 55% for product webinars and live streams, so once implemented, 'Going Live' can help generate a high volume of leads and paying customers.
What is the best platform to do a real-time live stream?
If you decide to live stream as part of your social media strategy, you may be overwhelmed by the multiple social networks or platforms. Even more overwhelming is the amount of advice on which platform is the best for selling your product or service. While many insist that X and Instagram are the best places to sell products, some choose Facebook Live or TikTok Live. Then there are other platforms, such as YouTube, LinkedIn Live, and Snapchat. Choosing a platform that best suits your marketing strategies requires a little research and planning, but is worth taking some time over.
In reality, choosing the best live-streaming platform that suits your content strategy is not a one-size-fits-all situation. Each platform is essential for specific businesses, so choosing one for your live streaming strategy will come down to what you're selling and where the likely customers of your product are. Here are some factors to consider before you start live streaming:
- Before you start live streaming to showcase your products or services, know your ideal customer and their preferred social media platform.
- Check out social media demographic information and compare it to the demographics of your customer persona.
- Know your product and compare it against the search trends of each social platform; this should give you an idea of what the users of each social media platform are actively seeking.
Having this information can help you decide on the best social media platform for incorporating live streaming into your social media marketing strategy.
How to successfully plan a live stream on social media platforms
If you want to carry out a successful live stream for your target audience, there are some factors that you want to consider to boost the impact it could make. Some of them include:
Figure out your audience needs before you start streaming
Live streaming platforms let you connect with your audience and address their pain points. This rule applies whether the event is a webinar or a social media livestream. You want to ensure that the audience believes attending is worthwhile and they will get something from it. One way to do that is to focus on the problems they are trying to solve and channel the event to address them.
Focus on one big idea when you want to host live streams
Your live broadcast should cover only a few topics in one event to avoid overwhelming and confusing your audience. Even if the audience has many pain points, it's best if you don't address them all in one event. Instead, break points into different sessions, enabling you to create a series of events, extending your reach further. Be specific with each topic; doing this will promote your thought leadership and expertise, and at the same time provide real value to your audience.
Choose your live stream option
Each livestream content should have a specific purpose, and you want to ensure that you stick to that so as not to confuse your audience. Some standard livestream options include product launches, product reviews, education on market trends, and brand updates. You can also focus on Q & A sessions to learn more about the audience and their needs or host a tutorial on some audience pain points. Remember that the goal of the live stream will determine the kind of information you share. For example, a tutorial and review will be more detail-oriented than a brand update.
Create a storyboard
Storyboards may seem like overkill, but they are an excellent way to plan and visualise the narrative of your live stream to ensure it is effective. You can create a simple storyboard by starting with bullet points, then mocking up images or using stock images to arrange your thoughts:
- Choose a format and a storyboard tool such as Powerpoint, Canva or Creatly. You can also use traditional pen and paper if you would rather not waste time mastering a new application.
- Write an outline script with talking points for each frame of the storyboard.
- Include engagement cues so you know when to allow and encourage audience participation.
- You may also want to list intended camera angles and slides so you know exactly the visual flow of your live stream broadcast.
- Review and rehearse, starting with a simple talk through of your script.
Basic equipment setup
You want your audience to have a seamless experience watching your live stream, so you need to ensure you are technically prepared and everything is tested thoroughly. Good internet connectivity is crucial of course, however spend some time researching equipment options. A high quality video camera as opposed to a webcam, professional grade microphones, and lighting will elevate production value and make your live streaming experience more enjoyable for your attendees.
IMPORTANT: Don't try and do too much yourself - bring in a freelancer or live streaming company to help with production if you can afford to, this then lets you focus on presenting and your live stream content, without having to think about the technical elements.
Choose the right social media live streaming software
Selecting the best social media platform will play a key role in the success of your livestream. The most popular social media platforms for live streaming are YouTube and Facebook, however as mentioned already it may be that your ideal customer profile is more likely to be on Linked In or Instagram. You may want to target multiple platforms, in which case using platforms like restream.io would be a great option, which enables you to broadcast to 30+ platforms simultaneously. Of course, I should also mention that by using Cloudpresenter for your live streaming you get the ability to do all of the above with one complete platform, that can live stream directly to your platform of choice.
Conclusion
Leveraging social media channels gives you an opportunity to access thousands of potential customers, all waiting to discover your product. Although there is some planning involved before your first live stream, once you're set-up then an effective live-streaming strategy can quickly become a powerful and cost efficient way to regularly pitch your products and services to a massive new audience.
Happy streaming!
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