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How to Leverage Live Streaming to Grow Your Business

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IIH Global

live streaming for business

We live in an increasingly connected digital world. People are watching more videos every day, making videos the most significant format for boosting conversions. And, live videos are more powerful. Currently, more businesses are experimenting with live broadcasts due to the benefits it provides not only for businesses but for customers as well. Live streaming is an engaging medium that engages viewers instantly and allows businesses to execute their brand-building efforts. In this blog, let’s look into how live streaming helps brands grow their business.

Why live streaming?

One of the major reasons why you must care about live streaming is simply because of its growing popularity and ability to win a huge audience base. Live streaming is inherently about community building. Live videos make your audience feel and inclusive and exclusive at the same time. This allows people from all around the world to tune in to the live events to engage in the broadcast that they cannot physically participate in.

When tactics like content marketing and SEO are taking up too much effort, time, and money, live streaming can be a new outlet to drive traffic and tons of revenue for your business. What about the future of live streaming video? In 2016, live streaming was already a $30 billion industry and it is projected to grow in size to become a $70 billion industry in 2021. Do you want to be the business people remember, want to connect with or purchase something from? Live streaming when used the right way is a great tool to make that happen. In a nutshell, learning how to live stream benefits businesses in several ways.

How to leverage live streaming to grow your business

To encourage user interaction during your live videos, being approachable and humane is key. There are several ways to increase engagement for businesses, and you don’t have to be a professional videographer to make it happen. Here are some of the effective ways to foster engagement in your live broadcasts.

Keep it real

When you are going live, make sure you are presenting your most authentic self. By its very natural live video is real and less scripted than pre-recorded videos and showcases the authentic side of your business. If your live videos look promotional, the audience will disregard it. Hence, live streams of your business must look and feel real. Provide real and actionable tips in sharing your business values during your live broadcasts. In addition to enhanced interactivity and customer engagement, live streaming can also move your target audience through the sales funnel to convert them into loyal customers.

Create a live streaming schedule

All the live content you create for your business is part of a bigger business strategy. So begin by creating a live streaming schedule that you can stick on to. Planning ahead will help to let your audience know when to expect you online. It also means that you can promote your live videos across different channels to ensure maximum attendance.

Studies also indicate that a loss of engagement is directly associated with the length of your live videos, so make sure you keep your live videos brief and to the point. It’s a great idea to craft a loose script for your live videos as well.

Increase engagement levels during live broadcasts

To maximize the engagement levels during your live stream, begin your live streaming with a welcome message. The first few minutes of your live sessions hold the opportunity to make your audience comfortable and join the conversation. Make your viewers feel appreciated by talking directly to them addressing their names and responding to their comments. Some of the live streaming pros also suggest holding a small question-answer session at the end of your live to get your key points across. But before doing that, make sure you let your viewers know the same. As live streaming is a more informal style real-time conversation, end your live broadcasts by thanking your audience for tuning in. End your videos by highlighting your call-to-action if any.

Repurpose video content

The most powerful piece of advice related to live streaming is to repurpose every piece of video content you create across different social platforms. This way you will reach a much broader audience even long after the end of your live broadcasts. Live videos are no different than any other video content. You can easily repurpose your popular live videos and make your message go much further and reach your target audience. By using a professional live streaming software, you can manage your live streams and share it via secure video streaming portals or social media.

Go live regularly

The more you broadest live, the better you will get at doing it, and the more your audience will expect from you. This will help to build a consistent audience base who will look forward to seeing you live often. Live streaming is a pillar of building a strong brand connection between your business and audience. Live streaming will work as a cost-effective method that helps you stand out in a crowded business space.

Different ways your business can successfully use live streaming?

Regardless of the platform, you are using for live streaming, you can create a plan that is both useful and engaging for your audience. Here are some of the best live streaming ideas to implement.

Broadcast live events

Making your audience a part of your events make them feel more connected to your business. The key here is not just showing the event, but also allowing your audience to be a part of it. If you just show your audience what’s happening in one location, they are more likely to get bored. Instead, walk around to show them the whole event. Also, pay attention to comments and reply to them when possible.

Host interviews

Conduct short live interviews to tap into the human side of your business. Speaking with employees and clients will offer an inside look at your business and provide an outlet for case studies respectively.

You can also bring in popular influencers from the same industry to impress your audience. The key to success during these sessions is not to promote your business too much. Offer fresh content to your audience while keeping the intrinsic aspect of business as a part of your live streams. If you are broadcasting an open discussion, make sure to ask your audience for their opinions. If it’s an interview styled live stream, engage your audience by asking questions and interacting with them.

Show how products are created

Your customers typically won’t see how the products are created. They just see the final product. So live streaming is a great way to show them what it takes from conceptualization to product completion. This way you can give your viewers a glimpse of what is involved in building your business. Live stream from beginning to end, and if you if your product is a process, have your team take viewers through the entire process. Dunkin’ Donuts, for example, live broadcasted how to create easy Valentine’s Day treats to connect with their fans.

Product launches and special announcements

You can use live streaming to make special announcements and product introductions on special events. For example, General motors live-streamed when it rolled out the Chevy Volt EV and became the first auto brand to broadcast a product launch live.

Host training courses

Offer training courses or seminars to your audience on topics they are interested to learn to showcase the expertise of your business and boost engagement. You can increase viewers’ interest even more by offering these courses on a pre-set schedule.

Besides the educational aspects, you can ask your audience what product they like to see in the live broadcasts. By doing so, you can not only keep your viewers engaged, but can also learn about the product preferences and pain points of viewers.

Show behind-the-scenes

People are curious when it comes to seeing bloopers and behind the scene shots of events which makes it a great way to use it for your live broadcasts to boost engagement. It need not be anything that is in your business limit. Choose anything that is off-limits to make it further interesting. This gives you an opportunity to interact with your audience in real-time and bring out the human side of your brand.

Make sure you choose to answer the questions that are interesting and offer value to your audience. Also, make it a practice to mention the name of viewers asking the question to personalize the conversation further.

Have a Q&A session

Both potential buyers and customers will have a lot of questions regarding your products and services, Hence, it is a great idea to conduct a live Q&A session. To answer the questions of your viewers, you can start by focusing on one segment of your business. Selecting a specific topic for the session allows you to answer to the point instead of answering random questions from different segments. For example, Vogue broadcasted a live session on the making of Met Gala with Anna Wintour to answer the questions of their audience.

Offer customer service on live broadcasts

Handling customer care challenges is crucial to the success of any business. Consider offering customer service on your live sessions or walking the audience through the solution for the problems they face. Live streaming customer service sessions will help your viewers know that you have heard their concerns. Your business will also get a chance to talk and engage with your audience which helps to make your brand more transparent.

Conclusion

The growth of live streaming is unprecedented and as a business, you don’t want to be left behind the competition risking huge potential to take your business to new heights. Live streaming is accessible and beneficial to everyone and it’s time to get started with it. The future of live streaming video is quite bright and it holds immense potential to grow your business.

Find a live streaming platform that works for you and start integrating live broadcasts into your marketing strategy. Live streaming is the future of video content and it’s only going to continue growing through 2020. How have you found success growing your brand through live streaming? Share your tips with us in the comment section below.

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