Live video streaming provides marketers with a potent new tool for not just driving engagement but also measuring audiences’ reactions and behaviors in real time.
Branded live video streaming has taken off in ways that few marketers could have anticipated. Since Meerkat first generated extreme amounts of hype at the 2015 SXSW, competitors like Facebook Live and Periscope have joined the scene. By leveraging their existing follower base and tools of platforms like Facebook and Twitter, marketers can potentially tap into wider audiences than they ever attracted with pre-recorded video.
Research shows that users engage with live video at surprising levels and will spend three times longer watching live video compared to pre-recorded content. On top of these advantages, live video streaming offers new possibilities for measuring engagement data in real time and provides more direct ROI attribution.
So start memorizing those lines because the dress rehearsal is about to end.
Create Immediacy and Authenticity in Spades
Live video possesses an appeal and mystique that few other formats can match. Few people would want to watch a recording of a huge event like the Super Bowl or Oscars compared to seeing them unfold at the same time the rest of the world does.
Catching wind of live video’s appeal, companies like PepsiCo have learned how to position the kind of content that gets online audiences tuning in live. To promote their limited-edition Roulette chips, Doritos’ media team held contests that awarded prizes to random viewers based on where a spinning wheel landed.
Another event promoted its “Collisions” chip flavors and featured the launching of laptops at watermelons and other bombastic stunts. PepsiCo considered the increased brand exposure a huge success.
Such events allow media companies to pull viewers who were once drawn to broadcast TV, giving advertisers easy access to digital data that would otherwise be hard to trace from broadcast viewings.
Real-Time Data Watches the Watchers
Perhaps more important to brands than engagement levels is the fact that live video streaming has the added benefit of providing engagement data in real time. With viewers all tuning in to a video at the same time, fewer variables stand in the way of accurately measuring engagement by segment.
“Streaming video platforms can provide the compelling data you need to measure ROI and ensure that live video fits into your overall marketing strategy,” writes Jesse Hertzberg.
Measuring audience data all at once in short bursts can help marketers see engagement actions like drop-off or ad conversions in quick bursts and with fewer unknowns clouding the equation. In this way, live video streaming gives marketers a strong weapon in measuring not just campaign engagement but also what sort of in-the-moment events drive audiences toward the desired actions and outcomes.
As live video streaming becomes even more popular, the tool will help brands of all sizes to not just capture the audience’s attention but to learn more about how that attention is affected in real time and what sort of positives result.