You’re probably already using YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, Vine, and maybe even SnapChat to create and share video. Although these apps are great at creating easily sharable content, Periscope and Meerkat are true live-streaming, “broadcasting” platforms.
Periscope, which was unveiled in early 2015 and is owned by Twitter, gained more than 1 million users in its first 10 days. Today it has well over 10 million users.
A similar app, Meerkat, also enables broadcasters to start a live poll, see trending hashtags and display photos from their smartphone’s camera roll midstream. A feature called Cameo allows other Meerkat users to stream from their smartphone on someone else’s feed and then return it back to the original broadcaster.
Although Meerkat was introduced first (by a few days), Periscope has a larger following and significantly more active users, likely because of its association with Twitter. However, Meerkat claims to offer more innovative features and functionality such as publishing links directly to Facebook form the app, syncing contacts via phone number, and integrating with GoPro cameras.
How can marketers capitalize on live streaming to connect with audiences and build their brands?
Although the possibilities are almost endless, here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Give your brand a human face by shooting behind-the-scenes video of your business…but only if it’s truly interesting.
- Host a live Q&A session about a new product, service or issue…like Reddit’s Ask Me Anything.
- Conduct market research by asking your audience what they think of a product, service or issue.
- Demonstrate—a new product, your new app, your enhanced website, how you can save your audience time, money, effort, etc.
- Celebrate your customers by celebrating their birthday, promotion, company anniversary or other accomplishment.
- Broadcast a speaker at a conference or workshop you’re attending.
- Ask for advice to solve a problem or resolve an issue.
- Hold a contest with incentives a giveaways, ideally surrounding an event or a new product.
- Announce a new facility with a live video of the groundbreaking or ribbon-cutting ceremony.
- Illustrate a benefit in a dramatic way—like using a fire to demonstrate the light generated by a new bulb.
Trendy brands like Red Bull, Mountain Dew and Spotify have hopped on the live streaming bandwagon. Even General Electric has used Periscope to live stream a behind-the-scenes interview with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and scientist Bill Nye.
As with any social media platform, Periscope and Meerkat must make sense for your business. You must have interesting video content that’s relevant to your intended audience. If you do your job right, viewers will follow.
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Katrina Olson is an award-winning marketing and public relations consultant, marketing coach/trainer, writer, and principal of Katrina Olson Strategic Communications. She has been in marketing and writing professionally for 25+ years for national, regional and local clients. She can be reached at katrina@katrinaolson.com or via her website at katrinaolson.com.