More Brands Are Diving into Live Streaming

When Periscope, the live streaming video app, came out in early 2015 with the hefty support of its newly connected parent company, Twitter, everyone in the marketing world had to pause to take notice.

In some cases, many businesses stopped there, labeling it yet another flash-in-the-pan flavor of the month social app. But others dipped their toes in the live streaming waters and still others jumped in feet first.

Now, more than a year later, live streaming has come a long way. Periscope boasts more than 10 million users. Then, in April of 2016, Facebook announced that it was quickly accelerating into the world of live streaming, too, making it possible for all of the site’s users to broadcast videos of almost anything to a huge audience (and users more certainly did). As a result, live video is growing at a rate much faster than pre-recorded video—42 percent versus 34 percent. Live video is also keeping viewers’ attention—the average viewing time for live video is 20 minutes as opposted to just two minutes for pre-recorded content.

In other words, if brands are still debating whether to sue tools like Periscope and Facebook Live, they’re already well behind the curve—live streaming video is definitely a thing, and it’s most likely here to stay.

“This is a product that has full-scale reach,” said Jill Sherman, the vice president of social strategy at DigitasLBi. “And the beauty of the medium is that it doesn’t need to be perfect — and audiences don’t expect it to be perfect either. Brands can and will capitalize on the cultural zeitgeist and trending moments.”

Brands are already starting to take notice of the great advantages that come with live streaming. Benefit Cosmetics was among one of the first to dive in. Benefit has been running a weekly live stream every Thursday called “Tipsy Tricks with Benefit!” where a guest and a host choose a beauty topic and dish-out advice while sipping on wine and fielding viewer questions live. The first two streams had 42,000 and 59,000 live viewers respectively, with an average of 2,000 people watching them at any given time.

Dunkin’ Donuts followed suit. The brand used Facebook Live to take users inside “Dunkin’ Brands University,” where the donut chain makes its products. The session was a tour of the facility that ended with a tutorial on how to make a wedding cake out of Donuts, and was hosted by Dunkin’ chefs. The post got 4,000 likes and drove 31,680 views.

For thousands more brands, live streaming is becoming the top marketing trend to engage in. Some are utilizing the platform to showcase new product releases—doing a live unboxing or provide a firsthand look at beta testing and prototypes. This could aid major brands in gauging interest and enhancing buzz around new releases. Other may take the behind-the-scenes route, showing customers more about the companies they support—such as factory tours, interviews, teasers and in-office events. And some brands may choose to broadcast Q&A sessions to help humanize the company, address pertinent issues and solve problems. The options, experts, believe, will be limitless.

“When you get down to brass tacks, the answer is simple: try it out. Make sure you’re not doing it just to do it. But at the same time, don’t assume live streaming isn’t right for your brand,” Sherman said. “Take a deep dive into your content strategy and consider opportunities for humanizing the brand through fun, interesting, and entertaining glimpses into your world. Experiment and have fun!”