Today there are more and more methods available to stream live online and the video phenomenon is only growing. Is your company taking advantage of two of the most talked-about live stream services today – Snapchat Discover and Facebook Live (via Facebook Mentions)? While these offerings aren’t available to everyone, it’s worth doing a little investigating to see if you or your brand will be afforded these opportunities. Find out why…
Snapchat Discover
Snapchat Discover is a special service from the Snapchat platform with an emphasis that it isn’t a social offering. Discover is a fascinating combination of television, magazines and other entertainment-focused media sources in conjunction with Snapchat’s technology. All live streams are professionally-produced and they’re brought to Snapchat courtesy of artists and other creative, inspiring content creators. What’s more, Snapchat Discover is a way for marketers to get paid. It’s monetized with income streams arriving via advertising.
Facebook Live
Facebook Live has a number of similarities to Snapchat Discover in that it still is not open to the public. Use of Facebook Live is reserved for celebrities and other prominent figures who are either invited to the service or who may be verified to use the service. Facebook Live is actually a part of Facebook Mentions, an app that anyone may download but only verified users may put to use. On any given day, Facebook users may catch live streams of their favorite DJs in action, prominent artists vacationing in exotic locales, supermodels prepping for red carpet events and more. Facebook Live is expected to be monetized once Facebook finalizes how it will be done.
Social Streaming: The New Sector
Some firms are so confident in the importance of Facebook Live that they’ve created entire teams or departments dedicated to the live video streaming service. Refinery29 is one such firm. The Millennial-focused company has found that engagement for their live videos on Facebook receive lower views than non-live stream videos but with 8x higher engagement! And lower views do not mean their numbers are low, their live stream content typically received 40k-60k views, the majority of which come from live viewership. “Developing content for Facebook Live should prioritize on-air audience integration at its core. The power of creating authentic, real-time, personalized interactions between on-air talent and viewers is invaluable. The immediate payoff for fans translates into loyalty and high engagement,” explained Fiona Hillery, Director of Video Content at Refinery29.
Remember that your firm can use live video whether you’re verified to use Snapchat Discover and Facebook Mentions or not. There are other live video capabilities to look into including Periscope, Meerkat and YouTube. What kind of live scenarios would work best for your audiences?
