8 Different Types of Live Videos You Can Leverage to Promote Your Business
Updated on June 1, 2022
In order to attract and engage your audience, you need to stand out—not only by using a variety of digital channels but also by taking advantage of an increasing number of content formats.
Live video has become one of the most popular ways to grab the attention of and engage with an audience. Like an affiliate marketing program, it’s a trend marketers have started to incorporate into their marketing strategies.
It’s no flash in the pan, either. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has increased live video consumption partially thanks to canceled in-person events, the medium is likely to stay around long after the effects of the pandemic dissipate.
What Is Live Video?
Live video is a real-time broadcast that aims to give viewers an exclusive online customer experience. By creating real-time content, there’s an opportunity to make the material authentic and enable live interactions with audience members (and get closer to your customers).
Streaming live events can be effective in many contexts, from sharing in-person events and making announcements to giving online classes and conducting interactive question-and-answer sessions. With the aid of a professional live-streaming platform, it’s easy to host a live-stream event, even if you have little technical expertise.
In this post, we’ll examine why you should be looking at live video as a key element of your marketing strategy and check out the best types of live video to get you closer to your audience.
What Are the Advantages of Live Video?
The benefits of live video include:
- Addressing the needs of your audience. A recent HubSpot report revealed that 55% of users want more video content from brands.
- Creating a sense of urgency. Live video makes the audience feel that they are ‘in the moment’ and grabs their attention.
- Allowing interactivity. Enabling users to interact with you during the video makes the audience far more interested in what you’re saying.
- Giving brands greater reach. Physical events are usually limited to the space available at a venue. With live streaming, you can ask as many people as you want to attend the event—regardless of where they live.
- Providing easy access to content. Live streaming is very simple, especially if you’re using VoIP technology. All you need is the right video and audio equipment, an internet connection, an encoder, and a reliable streaming platform.
- Being cost-effective. Many streaming services are equipped with easy-to-use features, so you don’t need to hire a developer to configure things.
- Integrating with other tools as part of a UCaaS error 404 solution. The best streaming services have video API access, so you can customize your videos by integrating third-party apps and programs.
Now that you know the advantages of using live video, let’s take a look at the different types you can use as part of your marketing efforts.
7 Types of Live Video to Consider Using in Your Marketing Strategy
1. Educational
Educational videos are high-value content consumers are likely to click on, making them an excellent addition to your marketing strategy.
Live videos are a natural way to connect with your audience while providing them with educational value. By providing useful educational content through thought leaders, you can help your users feel more engaged.
For example, if you’re marketing a restaurant, you could create a video showing users how to make certain recipes. As another example, fitness wear companies could stream workout videos. Educational content can be adapted to any niche, making it a top contender for any marketer looking to increase brand awareness and engagement.
2. Tutorials
Brands have been recording and publishing online product demos for quite some time, and this process translates well to live platforms. Live video offers your audience a close-to-reality experience when it comes to helping them understand particular products or services.
When shown live, tutorials can enhance the quality of your brand offering and demonstrate in real-time how your products will fit seamlessly into your customer’s life. Showing a product without edits and artificial lighting can provide users with an authentic and real-world view of how they work, which can help establish trust and create demand.
3. Q&As
Live Q&As can help boost a sense of interactivity and make your content appear more trustworthy. They’re a great way to engage with multiple users at once, allowing you to interact with fans and highlight your brand expertise.
In a live session, respondents won’t have time to prepare answers to questions beforehand, which gives them the opportunity to show that they have in-depth knowledge about your products and services. For other viewers watching, this will instill greater confidence in your brand and increase customer engagement.
Conducting live interviews is another great way to get consumers to follow you, especially if you interview people your audience already knows. Users can get to know your brand through the interviewees and grow to trust your products or services, especially if the interviewees have experience using them.
To shake things up and keep consumers interested, branch out to experts outside of your company. For example, you could book a thought leader from your niche to give a different perspective and provide the benefit of their differing experience.
4. Behind the Scenes
Going “behind the scenes” through live video is an excellent way to humanize your brand and allow people to get to know your brand personality in more detail.
By letting consumers know more about your processes and routines, you’re inviting them to relate to what goes on behind the scenes to build a level of trust. This type of authentic content works to end brand ‘artificiality’ and brings you closer to your customers.
For a real-world example, Highclere Castle uses live behind-the-scenes footage like the one shown below to help them attract new followers.
5. Product Reviews
In live broadcast product reviews, you’re allowing users greater access to your products and services.
In line with a tutorial, the goal here is to give consumers a more in-depth understanding of your items and create greater demand.
It can seem biased if you review your own products, so it makes more sense to invite someone impartial to talk about them. A digital influencer in your industry or sector would be ideal since this would instill a sense of authenticity and trust that the review is honest.
6. Announcements
Announcements pique people’s curiosity, and this is especially true if they hear about something live on a video. Make sure your audience knows you are about to reveal something exclusive in advance, such as the launch of a new product, a brand overhaul, a competition, or anything else you deem interest-worthy.
The main thing is that you make your customers feel as though they’re part of your company. As VIPs they’re invited to know about certain news before others. Take this example from Chevrolet, which really hit the mark.
7. Live Quizzes and Competitions
Quizzes can be an excellent way to promote your business because they’re captivating, exciting, and engaging. They offer a way to provide viewers with information about your brand and reward winners with prizes.
A great example of a truly interactive live video contest is this dance contest run by Buzzfeed:
It got viewers both to vote on and submit move suggestions for the Buzzfeed team to do on film. It’s an excellent example of a company humanizing itself while engaging users.
Since contests are inherently interactive, they also allow you to find out more about your customers. You can also choose to share scores and personalized feedback at the end of the quiz—maybe via email to preserve privacy.
Takeaways
Live video can boost your digital marketing effectiveness and get your audience to see your brand as a trustworthy authority in your industry. There are many live video options available to suit your budget, your goals, and the preferences of your buyer personas. When you’re creating content, make sure it’s of the highest quality possible so that you maintain professionalism and keep viewers engaged.
If this post has inspired you to try live video, there are a few things to remember before going live:
Choose the right platform. Twitch, Reddit, TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram, and many others are retail social media platforms that offer live video functionalities.
Research each platform’s audience to identify the right consumer profile for you. The other option is to host your live-streaming events with a professional streaming service that offers you extra features as well as high-quality streaming. These platforms usually include video analytics and offer you extra layers of security.
Plan and rehearse. Although authenticity is key, when you’re live, your audience will immediately notice all your mistakes, so rehearse before you stream. Make sure you’re using the best connection to live stream, such as cloud VoIP, to avoid interruptions.
Include interactive elements. Engage with your audience by asking them for feedback or inviting questions you can answer live.
We hope this post has given you some inspiration for ways to promote your brand using live video. Live streaming has not only become the norm for entertainment and events but also a way to extend brand awareness and reach far beyond what was previously considered possible.
