Facebook’s Live Video is Winning Over Brands

 

“Anyone with a phone now has the power to broadcast to anyone in the world. When you interact live, you feel connected in a more personal way. This is a big shift in how we communicate, and it’s going to create new opportunities for people to come together.” — Mark Zuckerberg

The war over live streaming video supremacy is on fire and Facebook Live just struck another blow to its competitors. The new broadcasting component, which initially launched late last year, is already receiving a revamp as Facebook announced a new set of features that went into effect on April 6.
The live element will now have a dedicated shortcut at the bottom of Facebook apps across both iOS and Android apps along with a new section that will allow people to search for currently streaming and previously recorded live videos. Additionally, a dedicated tab will be featured specifically for live videos from popular broadcasters and those that users have subscribed to. Desktop users have not been left out of the equation either; those individuals will be provided with a world map displaying live broadcasts as they are happening.

But wait, there’s more. Users will also gain the ability to stream directly to groups or events while viewers can post animated reactions in the comments section; all comments will also be included in replays of the stream.

Currently, Facebook is going “all-in” on live video with its CEO spouting, “We’re entering this new golden age of videos online.” Reports suggest that he hopes to one day make Facebook’s foundation more video-based than text-based. But even without all the new bells and whistles, Facebook Live has been crushing engagement numbers, claiming that live videos score 10 times more comments than regular videos. Facebook’s regular videos are no slouch either — viewers are consuming more than 100 million hours every day.

The momentum Facebook Live has built is capturing the attention of businesses, media outlets, and celebrities everywhere for multiple reasons. The social steamroller is winning over massive brands like MTV, iHeartRadio, and loads of others when it comes to broadcasting in real-time. Periscope, Blab, and related competitors had better watch their backs as Facebook is poised to take center stage in the world of live streaming video. Don’t believe me? Here’s proof:


A Single Streamlined Platform
One of the most beautiful aspects of Facebook Live is its seamless integration with the company’s already existing mobile application. By simply incorporating this feature into its current product and not requiring a second app (I’m looking at you, Facebook Messenger) the social channel provides more brands, celebrities and average users incentive to use the feature. When it comes to Twitter’s Periscope and other live streaming applications, a separate app needs to be downloaded which takes up more precious device storage than many are comfortable with.

Additionally, when new users adopt platforms like Periscope, there is a big adjustment period where one must learn the basics, get used to the features, and draw as much attention as possible to let people know you are now streaming through that channel. This often results in low viewership for at least a handful of broadcasts.

Since Facebook Live is merely an extension of the main application, much of the audience a brand aims to target will already be following it. This makes reaching the masses incredibly easy. And when it comes to reaching hordes of people, there is no platform in existence more powerful than Facebook and its 1.6 billion users.


The Replay Factor
It can be argued that Periscope is Facebook Live’s biggest competitor. With these two going head-to-head, Facebook has (at the minimum) one major advantage over its rival; the ability to replay videos. Futurist Robert Scoble called out Twitter for this massive fail in a recent Facebook post where he said, “Twitter sure f***ed up with Periscope. It could have owned the live video space. Facebook is crushing it. Why? One reason: Periscope decided not to record. Sorry, Twitter isn’t SnapChat. SnapChat can get away with that. Twitter can’t. Almost all the content developers I love are moving to Facebook Live.”

Videos that disappear is a useless feature that has only held Periscope back; now it’s paying the price, as Facebook is stealing its market share.


Views and Engagement
People are already consuming videos on Facebook by the metric ton. When looking at Tubular Labs rankings for most watched video creators of February 2016, BuzzFeed’s Tasty came in No. 1 with 1.9 billion views. 1.7 billion of those views, or 94 percent, came from Facebook.

While many brands have already chosen to adopt Live for various reasons, Facebook isn’t stopping there — it is outright paying media companies such as The New York Times and BuzzFeed, according to Re/code. Debra Aho Williamson, pincipal analyst for eMarketer, commented on the massive views that Facebook Live is drawing by stating, “It’s impressive to see the amount of traction that Facebook is getting from live video. Thousands, or even tens of thousands of people are watching a video live when it’s happening and then Facebook is getting replays after the video streaming has stopped”.

Business Cards

15% Off All Orders!

French Linen Business Card Template (White)

Pearl Finish Business Cards

White Linen Business Cards

Photo Business Cards (Platinum Finish)

Gold Finish Business Card

Iridescent Pearl Finish Business Card (Style

The simple fact is that Facebook’s live streaming feature makes it remarkably easy for brands to reach their audiences without the need to cross-promote on various platforms, adopt yet another social channel to use, and bring followers over from other platforms. Facebook cuts out much of this virtual legwork and provides brands, and anyone else who wants to broadcast, a simple, easy, and intuitive way to do so. And since videos will reside on the platform indefinitely, those who generate videos can rack up views and gain much more awareness than on many other outlets. With the resources that Facebook has to focus on Live, it will be no surprise if this service is the one that remains standing once the smoke has cleared.

How to Build an Audience with Each Online Broadcast

Six Ways to Build an Audience with Each Online Broadcast

 

The number of people exposed to your online broadcast can skyrocket exponentially within a single session. The key is to know exactly what you need to do to make that happen. If you believe you can achieve that goal without an effective strategy working behind the scenes, you are sadly mistaken. Here are several effective methods to consider when developing your action plan:


Send Detailed Log-in Info
When sending invitations and announcements to promote your broadcast session, do not forget to send a detailed explanation of how to log into the session when the time comes. Think about how many audience members you are losing simply because they were not able to log into the session for one reason or another. Perhaps a technical issue arose that they could not resolve in time.

On the other hand, they may not have any idea how to access your online broadcasting session. One in five people in the United States make video calls, according to Mashable. However, that means there is still quite a few people that will need to be walked through the process step-by-step.

Scheduling your online video broadcasting session with companies like BlueJeans allows you to send this detailed information automatically with each invitation.


Offer a Valuable Incentive
More people will attend your broadcasting sessions if they have already received something of value from you. By offering a valuable incentive in exchange for reserving a seat in your online session, you will attract a considerable amount of attention and generate buzz for your business. The incentive does not need to be an expensive prize or gift. Focus on providing valuable information that is related to your brand and target market, according to Social Media Examiner.

For instance, offering informative eBooks, free consultations and/or a popular how-to article should do the trick. Focus on moderation when it comes to giving away information free, especially if you have a collection of lengthy, informational products on sale. Otherwise, you could be giving up quite a few sales opportunities along the way.


Offer a Referral Incentive
In addition to offering incentives for registering for the session, consider offering another incentive for referrals and recommendations. For instance, offering an impressive discount on your products and/or services for a specific number of referrals could pay off in a big way for your company over time.

You can also establish a customer loyalty program that rewards your attendees for continuously referring people to your broadcasting sessions – opening many different doors of opportunities. Think about it. If you get 10 attendees to refer your session to three people each, that is a total of 40 people (including the original group of 10). This type of growth will play a key role in the exponential growth of your broadcast audience.


Promote Each Session Weeks in Advance
Do not wait until the last minute to start promoting your online broadcast session. Planning and promoting your session weeks in advance will increase the chances of your attendees placing your event on their calendars.

Keep in mind that there is a big difference between a last-minute reminder and a last-minute announcement. Companies like BlueJeans allow you to schedule and send reminders to your prospective attendees leading up to the big day of your online video broadcasting session. You can also use other means of communication to keep in contact with your prospective attendees before and after the session – including social media and e-mail correspondence.


Engage New Viewers Immediately
Get your new viewers engaged in the discussion immediately. It may seem insignificant, but acknowledging their presence within the broadcast can do wonders for your session attendance rate and overall engagement. Keep an eye on your viewer list throughout the duration of the session, because you never know who may join at unexpected moments. Allowing them to introduce themselves can also help you in another big way when it comes to marketing your sessions.

Another suggestion is to offer a survey for each attendee to complete after signing into the session. This type of feedback can provide you with their contact information – including their name, address and e-mail address. They may not feel like talking a lot during the session, but you will still have the pertinent information necessary to contact them long after the session ends.


Analyze Your Marketing Methods
You might be wasting time and money on ineffective marketing methods for your online broadcast. The best way to determine what works and what does not is to pay attention to the results. One of the quickest ways to gather information is to find out how your viewers discovered your session in the first place – especially your newest attendees.

You can even turn this into an icebreaking conversation at the start of the session to engage your viewers right away, according to MakeUseOf.com. Pay attention to any emerging trends and target those marketing methods specifically. For instance, if a substantial number of people heard about your session via social media, perhaps you should take a closer look at investing more in those channels.

Custom Business Cards

15% Off!

How YouTube Cards will Transform Marketing

 

Since the very first video upload in 2005, YouTube has become one of the single largest marketing channels and online communities on the internet. With over 300 hours of video uploaded to the website every single minute, the widespread use of the video platform is known and loved by all and has even launched personalities such as PewDiePie to internet celebrity with over 12 million subscribers.

For any marketer or business professional, YouTube annotations have been a well-known and highly regarded YouTube tool. For those that don’t know, annotations are clickable lines of text that overlay a YouTube video. These are used to drive traffic to various other videos or websites for further marketing and conversion opportunities. YouTube is now getting ready to abolish the text and replace it with “YouTube Cards”. If you missed out on the annotation train, however, not to worry. These new cards will be far more capable and appealing than the previous model, and annotations will still be hanging around for a short while.

Here is why YouTube is swapping out annotations for YouTube cards and how this switch spells great news for business owners everywhere:

The Problem with Annotations
The internet is a wildly interactive place, and YouTube is the pinnacle when it comes to live-action video. The addition of annotations on YouTube allowed the once-passive platform to become more interactive by allowing users to click through from video to video, playlist, or to the author’s pre-approved website. This ultimately proved to be a great tactic to drive interaction, traffic, and ultimately conversions.

The issue that marketers face is that annotations cannot be seen on mobile devices. This becomes a huge problem considering that 50% of content uploaded to YouTube is mobile specific. This means that not only can 50% of the material on YouTube not be branded with this marketing text overlay, but mobile viewers across the world are therefore impossible to convert or funnel. With one quarter of the 1.9 billion mobile internet users accessing the internet strictly from a mobile device, annotations are not looking so sweet to marketers anymore. Luckily, YouTube is now taking the bull by the horns to get this situation sorted out.

YouTube Cards: The Solution to the Annotation Problem
Meet the new YouTube card. YouTube cards are essentially nothing more than annotations that have evolved to become more effective, stylish, and versatile for the marketers who use them; not to mention intriguing to the viewers who see them. As of now, cards will not be wholly replacing annotations until “[cards] can do everything annotations can do today, and more. Until then, we’re looking forward to your feedback on cards, including what you want them to do for you in the future” stated YouTube.

What makes the new YouTube cards so exciting to marketers is the various new features and abilities of the amped up annotations. First, cards will now be visible on mobile devices. This fact alone doubles the number of leads and sales that can possibly be generated from seeing any given video. Additionally, YouTube has added 6 different types of cards for various marketing techniques to be employed. The cards that are currently available for utilization are:

• Merchandise: Images can be added and the creator’s merchandise can be promoted directly from the video.
• Fundraising: Allows video viewers to be linked directly to programs on approved fundraising platforms.
• Fan Funding: This card allows those who employ it to harness the power of the community by allowing appreciative viewers to make monetary donations to keep the page up and going.
• Video / Playlist: Serves as a direct link for viewers to find related videos or playlists associated with the current video.
• Associated Website: Link directly to the creator’s personal or business website. This is truly where mobile visibility plays an enormous role in increasing a business’s bottom line.

YouTube cards will now also display an information tab throughout the duration of the video making the card available at all times instead of appearing at a certain point in the video. These tabs are only able to be placed in the top-right corner as of now, but with the innovations YouTube aims to generate with cards, these will undoubtedly become movable.

YouTube cards are poised to become something much more than annotations could ever be. The previous version of the text was to be used sparingly to avoid becoming a nuisance. Cards, on the other hand, provide a stylish and retractable portal for anything from fundraising, to selling merchandise, to gaining more subscribers. This new form of annotation will take marketing on YouTube to a new level. Optimize your YouTube channel and outfit your uploads with these cards for a sleek new look that will no doubt boost leads and ultimately boost your sales.

Custom Business Cards

15% Off!