If you own a business and do not own any apps that live stream you are hurting your own pockets. Live streaming is the new TV, and that means you’re likely to see an influx of viewers and even new customers. If you think that your business is doing well enough to not live stream or engage with customers on social media sites Facebook live, Periscope or Blab, than let me give you three reasons why you need these video platforms to boost your numbers.
Video Content is the Next Big Thing!
The biggest reason to get on the bandwagon is that in 2014 video content made up about 64% of the world’s traffic on the internet and it is estimated to rise to 85% by 2019. Also mobile devices and other devices with data are also expected to rise to about 66% in the next four years the more phones the more videos. What this means is that advertising by mean of billboards and TV will be available, but will not offer the large base that live-streaming will. This also means if you are scrolling down any social media you will find that 6 out of 10 of the things posts are videos and by 2019 about 8 out of 10 will be video content. So as a business owner, wouldn’t you want your live stream to be one of those videos?
Suspense Equals More Views
The second big reason you should integrate live streaming is because it builds suspense for the customers that use a social media like Snapchat by posting snippets. For example if you are a Hairstylists you can go to Snapchat and post a snap of a client getting their hair washed and then dyed. Share video snippets to get people to watch and want to see the final product and at the end when the hairstyle is complete put your information up so you can get calls or book appointments. Just teasing the person makes them want to see more and show their friends which will build a bigger customer base.
Here’s an example of Nikki CEO of Better Than Success using Facebook Live so you can see it for yourself!
Create a Bond Between You and Your Customers
Lastly the third reason you should you live-streaming in you business is because it gives a personal feel, to put the viewer in a world they wouldn’t otherwise get to be in. For example Mark Zuckerberg used Facebook live for an interview asking the questions that the people wanted to hear. This created a personal effect making it feel like they are there and heard and important and heard and as a customer that is important so that you know who it is they are getting their product from or information.This also helped to build a bigger fanbase for Facebook live and did good in promoting it.
The Three Do’s Of Live streaming
If I have convinced you to start live-streaming for your business, you may be wondering ‘what are some helpful tips to be able to get started?’ To answer your question I’m going to share with you three tips for live-streaming successfully.
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Make the Time
This is the thing that most people will say keeps them from going on live-stream, but you can deal with it. If you are finally ready to get started on live-stream, make sure that you have the staff or the time to keep up with the live-stream. Because live-stream is just that: live, if you’re not going to go live for a few days or weeks your audience can and will fizzle out. A good way to keep up with it is to incorporate the live streaming networks into the networks that you are already using. Promote the live-stream on your twitter or Facebook, by putting it into your normal networks that you use makes you remember and keep up with it.
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Prepare But Don’t Rehearse
Prepare what you’re going to say but don’t not rehearse your content. The point of live-streaming is to give your viewers a look at the real you, sort of a behind the scenes into your real life. So don’t try to make every broadcast perfect. Remember even though its similar to a TV show, its not a billion dollar production.
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Interact with Your Viewers
The last tip for using your live-stream for business is to interact with your viewers. Ask them questions and let the viewers ask questions as well. Take your cues from them about what you’ll discuss based on what they want to hear and see. Make it an experience and make sure it’s for them and like I said before make it as raw as possible without being embarrassing. This is the magic in live-streaming.
As social media continues to move more toward video, if you haven’t done so already, figure out if live streaming is right for your business. It can be an amazing way to engage with your audience and add value to their lives.
