Social media live streaming is a visually appealing marketing strategy and an effective approach to boosting brand visibility and customer loyalty. A livestream is a great way for brands to give an inside look at their culture. It gives an exclusive feature preview and behind-the-scenes peak at how your favorite products come alive.
Livestreams have the potential to hook people instantly through real-time interactions. A Statista report suggests about 22.7% of global users use social media to watch live content. Livestreaming is a massive untapped opportunity that brands can use to build authentic conversations, generate buzz around product launches and boost social media conversions.
This article will equip you with the best strategies, platform insights and practical tips to for effective social media live streaming.
Popular Platforms for Social Media Live streaming
Thanks to the huge potential of livestreams, numerous social media platforms now offer that feature to their users. However, every platform has unique strengths and weaknesses that you must understand to determine the right fit for your brand and audience. Here are the most popular social media platforms for live streaming:
Instagram is home to millions of young people from all over the globe. The platform’s more than 2 billion monthly active users makes it one of the best for grabbing the attention of the youth. Instagram is ideal for sharing behind-the-scenes looks, product launches and leveraging influencer partnerships.
Instagram live is an in-built feature of the platform that will automatically notify your followers whenever you go live. It also allows audience participation through comments and questions and, the option of sharing the live videos as reels after the stream. You can also add multiple guests, use filters and effects and, share images during the livestream.
Key features
- Real-time interaction: Instagram Live facilitates instant communication between creators, marketers and their followers. Viewers can comment and ask questions in real-time, and creators can also respond promptly.
- Audience engagement: Features such as live polls and quizzes and the ability to invite guests to join the broadcast boost audience engagement.
- Live broadcast: Creators can broadcast live videos, ensuing a unique way to share content and connect with their audience in real-time.
- Sharing and replay: Instagram Live videos can be saved to Stories, shared as Reels, or accessed through the user’s Live Archive. That ensures content is accessible even after the livestream.
Other unique features for social media live streaming on Instagram include multiple guest participation, visual enhancements, image and video integration, promotion and reminder. Live fundraisers and badges.
YouTube
YouTube is the world’s second largest social media platform after Facebook. That makes it one of the most impactful platforms for social media live streaming. It is mainly ideal for long-form content such as live events, webinars, tutorials and podcasts. While Instagram Live is great for sharing quick teasers, it is a ‘big picture’’ platform for product launches and brand stories.
Unlike Instagram live, YouTube Live offers opportunities for monetization. The revenue streams accessible on the platform include ads, Super Chat and channel memberships. Besides, you also get real-time analytics that provides data on viewer demographics, health of the stream, live interaction and like-to-view ratio.
Key features
- Monetization features: YouTube Live offers multiple monetization avenues. Creators who are part of the YouTube partner program can set up Super Chats to make money off their livestreams. The feature allows users to highlight their messages in the chat, enhancing engagement and earnings. Other monetization options include Ads, Super Stickers and channel memberships.
- Go live together: this feature allows those livestreaming from mobile devices to invite guests to join in their broadcasts via links. This boost engagement.
- Cross-channel live re-directs: this feature allows you to direct viewers from your livestream to livestreams on other channels outside of your own. That can open up new ways to collaborate with other creators and drive traffic to your other platforms. However, you need at least 1,000 subscribers to leverage this feature.
- Create clips: YouTube also allows you to take short snippets from your livestreams and turn them into highlights to publish as standalone videos on your YouTube channel. That makes it easy to repurpose livestream content, creating multiple highlights focusing on specific topics or questions.
- Livestream analytics: You can also track the real-time performance of livestream on all three devices including mobile, desktop and tablet. That enables you to promptly detect and fix any issues and, analyze your engagement. The main types of analytics that you can track include stream health, total viewer count, total likes, stream’s total duration, total playbacks, average watch time, peak times and the number of gained subscribers through the stream.
Facebook is also a top contender when it comes to the best platforms for social media live streaming. With its more than 3 billion monthly active users, it is no doubt one of the most popular social platforms today. Facebook live is ideal for a wide range of conversations, performances, Q&A sessions and virtual events. It supports content from artists, gamers, influencers, businesses, entrepreneurs among others.
Apart from the huge reach potential, Facebook Live’s chat feature allows for real-time engagement. The split-screen feature allows you to invite others broadcasters to your livestream.
Key features
Real-time interaction
- Live reactions: Viewers can instantly express their feelings with emojis while watching the livestream.
- Comments and reactions: Viewers can comment and react to the video in real-time, creating and dynamic and interactive experience.
- Live polls and questions: Creators can create polls and ask questions during the live broadcast, ensuring real-time audience engagement.
- Live comment moderation: Creators can moderate comments during the livestream to manage conversations and filter out inappropriate content.
Content and engagement enhancements
- Live filters and creative tools
- Live guests
- Messenger rooms broadcast
- Live shopping
- Branded links
Sharing and promotion
- Public and private broadcasts
- Live in Stories
- Cross-Promotion
- Video permalinks
Choosing the Right Social Media Livestreaming Platform
Besides the platforms describes above, there are other social channels that creators and businesses can still use to livestream events. But, how do you choose the most suitable platform for your brand and goals? Here’s a checklist to help you identify the right social media live streaming platform:
Target audience
Answering the following questions can help you to narrow down your target audience and find the most suited platform to reach them with your livestreams.
- Where is your target audience located?
- Which social media platforms are your audience most active?
Content theme
YouTube Live can be ideal for long-form educational content such as webinars. However, Instagram or tiktok are your best bet if your brand is all about quick, fun and interactive livestreams with quizzes and polls.
Viewer engagement
Choose a platform that allows you to chat with your viewers, tag branded viewers, conduct polls and generate data automatically. The platforms should also work seamlessly with your payment systems and synchronize your customer data.
Pricing
Social media live streaming is a cost effective marketing strategy. So, go for a platform that will keep your costs low. Assess technological requirements for software as well as the storage and hardware required for every platform.
Monetization options
Choose a social platform that supports multiple revenue streams including ads, sponsorships and premium content.
Content Ideas for Social Media Live streaming
Social media live streaming is the gateway to engaging the hearts and minds of your end users in real time. However, you should be clear on exactly how you want to get there. The following insights can help you to create livestream content that keeps your audience glued to their screens:
Live shopping
Social commerce options like live product showcases enable you to bring the brick-and-mortar experience to the living rooms of your customers. Beauty brands are leveraging this strategy to reach huge audiences and drive sales. Bobbi Brown Cosmetics is one of the brands killing it with live shopping streams on Facebook every Friday. It is a convenient tactic for customers since they can purchase products right on the platform.
Ask-Me-Anything sessions (AMAs)
Host AMAs or question and answer workshops about your business and showcase the social media persona of your brand. Give insights into your brand’s journey, with exciting updates and highlight recently launched products. Share previews of your company’s upcoming developments like the launch of a new storefront or facility.
For more interactive Q&A sessions, announce a time slot and let viewers submit questions. The approach can also help you to understand the interests and expectations of your audience.
Behind-the-scenes tours
Show viewers the process of creating your live content. Take them into your streaming setup, allow them to see the camera you use, your lighting and even how you pick your music. You could also show them your favorite spot where you brainstorm future concepts. Such glimpses into real life routines help the audience to connect with you as a person, not just a brand.
The following YouTube video by Makarao Official is a classic example of behind-the-scenes tours. Makarao Official is a YouTube channel dedicated to content about Kenya Police humor, run by video animations company, Mfalme Productions. The video shows viewers the process of how the animators create their content and livestreams, including the software they use and the editing processes.
Product clinics
These can help you to flex your expertise muscle and position your brand as an industry leader. During these social media livestreams, you can discuss the pros and cons of every product and how it works. Share honest feedback and invite viewers to share their opinions. That establishes your credibility and can help you become the go-to source for informed product evaluations.
Feature walkthroughs
Livestream how to use your product and explain its capabilities in real time. Walkthroughs demonstrate how a product works in live settings and showcase its value proposition. For example, Adobe does that in the following video. The brand leverages livestreams to showcase new Photoshop features and shares tips and techniques on how to use them.
There are several other social media live streaming content ideas that you can still create for more captivating and engaging livestreams. They include;
- Challenges and contests
- Music performances and listening parties
- Polls and surveys
- Gaming with your audience
- Cooking sessions for foodies
- Covering live events and offering commentary
Tips to Engage your Audience in Real Time
Interactive elements can make or break your social media live streaming. The audience will hang around much longer when they feel they are a part of the show. Here are some interactive elements that you should consider including in your livestreams:
- Polls: They serve as engagement boosters by encouraging audience participation. Viewers get to vote on the hottest product feature or the topics they want to engage with next.
- Live chats: they create a feedback loop that enhances viewer retention by making brands see more responsive and connected. It allows viewers to ask questions, share their thoughts and engage in the conversations actively.
- Blind raiding: This refers to the act of directing your audience to another livestream at the end of your broadcast. It is a smart way for brands to reach each other’s fans without extra efforts and resources. In some cases, blind raiding has enabled streamers increase their viewership from just 23 to more than 1,800.
The Bottom Line
Mastering social media live streaming takes time and practice. However, you can unlock its full potential with the right strategy, platform and engagement insights. The tips outlined in this guide will enable you to create engaging, high quality live streams that resonate with your audience. If you are looking to boost your brand’s online presence and engagement, Superior Social Boost offers tailor made packages for effective and quick social media growth. We can help you to drive engagements on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Google Business.