How Live Video Can Drive Audience Engagement and Grow Your Brand

Creating video content can be time consuming and demanding. However, if you want to truly see a big return on your investment of resources, video is the king of content. 

Video is the single most engaging type of content in the digital space. There are several types of video including: short form, long form, and live video. While long form video still has its place, short form video has been taking the pre-recorded video world by storm. 

However, live video is what drives the biggest engagement numbers of any type of video content and has the opportunity to help you expand your brand reach.

Let’s take a look at some of the perks of going live and why it can be so important to your brand’s marketing strategy. 

The FOMO Effect

FOMO, or the fear of missing out, is a big driver of getting audiences engaged with your content. FOMO plays on human nature to drive engagement, and as we all know, higher engagement levels is what builds trust with your target audience, which in turn improves your overall ROI because your audience is more motivated to click or comment. 

Disappearing content is one of the most well-known forms of FOMO content. You probably already know that Instagram Stories popularized disappearing content, but you can also create FOMO with live videos that do not have a replay option. This means that your audience’s only option is to view your video live or they miss out on valuable content. 

The Engagement Incentive

Disappearing content isn’t the only way to create a sense of FOMO. When audiences watch your video live, they also have the opportunity to engage with you and fellow viewers in real time. If they watch on replay, they miss out on this valuable opportunity to be a part of the community as the video is happening live. In other words, the sheer ability to engage with the community is an incentive, playing off of our human need to belong. 

The Authenticity Aspect

Today’s consumers like to see a more personal side to brands. They don’t want to constantly see polished content that is just fed to them. Instead, they want to see the human side of your brand and have the opportunity to build a relationship with you. Pre-recorded videos don’t create the same feeling of a transparent, personal relationship with the brand because there is less room for viewers to identify with presenters. 

However, when you are in a more casual setting, and even allow yourself to flub and laugh at your mistakes, your audience can identify with that. Mistakes humanize your brand and are completely relatable. It allows you to show your personality and that type of authenticity leads to trust. 

The Reach Factor

Platforms prioritize live videos. If you go live, it will most likely show up higher in the feeds of your followers. This means that your audience is more likely to join in on the fun and as more and more people join, your video is pushed out to an even broader audience on the platform. Increased exposure means you can generate more leads or get new followers for your brand. To amplify your reach even further, ask your audience to share your live video with their friends so they can join in on the fun too, further building a sense of community. 

Key Takeaways

Live streaming is a great way to communicate with your target audience in a more personal way. While it might seem intimidating at first, remember that your audience finds flubs relatable and endearing. So have some fun and remember to be your authentic self. Be sure that you provide something of value to your audience in each live video and have a call to action, such as sharing the live video, clicking to buy a product, or whatever your marketing goal is for the live video campaign.