It’s a truth universally acknowledged that visuals like photos and video are by far the best tools for acquiring and engaging audiences on social media. From suppliers to customers to general onlookers, social media metrics tell us that audiences like to see what’s going on, not just read about it. So it’s not a surprise that the ways in which we share visuals are evolving and one such evolution is the rise of Live.
Live is simply a video – often a lot longer than normal social media videos – that’s filmed and streamed live to your audience in a way that they can easily interact with. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube all have Live features, so whatever platforms you are active on, you will have options to harness it.
Where videos are good for getting information across, the comments feed on Live videos allow for real-time interface between viewers and the organisation, presenting a new way to communicate with audiences and promote discussion.
Twitter is launching a new feature for its Live service that lets content creators invite up to three guests to the video as audio contributors. So for organisations that might want to do live interviews with suppliers or partners (or even another branch of the same company) this feature removes the need to arrange for everyone to be in the same place for that to happen.
Another possible application is for organisations to get their users or customers to join the live video to talk about their experiences in real time. In a time where real customers’ opinions can directly influence the decisions of prospective clients, this is another potential way to celebrate the excellence of your services – just make sure they’re definitely a ‘happy customer’ before inviting them to address the world!
Erith McKean
Social Media Executive
