Youtube has had live streaming features on its desktop platform for years, but it was only recently that they finally introduced mobile live streaming.

Live streaming can be for fun conversations and interactions, but there is more to it than that. According to a Brandlive survey, 71% of businesses are already using live streaming to build a more authentic relationship with their market.

From a business perspective, YouTube Live can be a very valuable platform, one that’s ever more useful in the evolving digital marketing sphere. Below are some of the most effective ways you can leverage YouTube Live into your business activities.

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How to Use YouTube Live to Grow Your Business

Live Events

These days, live streaming has become a staple at conferences, events, and gatherings. If your business will host an event, there is no better way to increase your audience than by live streaming it.

It’s an easy way to add instant value to your business. It helps you reach anyone who wished they could attend but couldn’t make it. Live streaming gives them a look at what is happening by being their eyes and ears, and, with VR applications becoming more prevalent, the capability to make people feel like they’re actually there will increase.

Be sure to interact with your viewing audience before, during, and after your live stream.

Product Demonstrations

Brands have been doing product demonstrations on YouTube for years. This is a great way to give a glimpse of how your products or services are used or created. Viewers and customers love these up-close and personal looks at products.

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Prospective customers use product review videos to figure out whether or not they should buy – they’re very powerful today. If you can conduct some live product demonstrations, preferably along with well-known YouTubers, you’ll be engaging your viewers and no doubt turning some of them into customers. You can even gather real-time feedback as you go.

Hosting Interviews

There are different tactics you can take when it comes to interviews. An interesting one would be interviewing different members of your company so your viewers get to see a different side of your brand (just make sure they have good things to say!).

This can be like a behind-the-scenes look at what happens in your company. Remember to acknowledge the people watching your interview and reply to their comments. If you find any viewers who are very engaged and into your brand you can interview them too, further strengthening your bond with your audience.

Q&A Sessions

Have you ever done an interactive Q&A session with your customers? This can be about a new product launch, a way to get to know your company better, or a way to collaborate with an influencer related to your brand.

This can increase engagement because it shows that you value the thoughts and questions of your customers. Remember to acknowledge questions that are interesting and provide the most value to the other viewers. For an added bonus, mention their names to show that you are grateful that they took the time to participate.

Customer Service

A somewhat surprising way that businesses can take advantage of live streaming is for customer service. You can start by live streaming with answers for the most typical questions and concerns of your customers.

Streaming can showcase information that an over-the-phone customer service representative cannot. If you can show how to do something rather than describe it verbally, live streaming will let you take advantage of that. For example, you can stream tutorials on painting walls, installing car parts, showing off sewing hacks, or anything related to your product or service.

Breaking News

What’s might be one of the best advantages of live streaming is the ability to deliver information as it happens in real time. When breaking news happens, you won’t need to spend time composing a news article or video and publishing on different platforms – instead, you can just cover it as it happens.

Here’s a good example from Dave Rubin, an online talk show host:

You can cover a planned event that’s related to your industry, or any random events that might be relevant. Be one of the first to share a story by simply doing a live-video announcement. It’s a way to deliver information in real time, so you can actually compete in some way with a TV news show.

Tips on Using YouTube Live

Send Invitations

Share the streaming link early: Do not make the mistake of waiting until the day of your event to share your streaming link. Make sure you make big noise from 1-3 days in advance so you can get the idea firmly in the minds of your audience. Learning how to use YouTube Live to grow your business will especially benefit from this tip.

Some ways you can do this are by sending out email blasts, adding reminders to your videos leading up to the event, and mentioning it frequently on your blog.

Customize your announcement: Be creative and create an announcement on different social media platforms. Use social media scheduling tools so you can easily automate and continually get the word out.

Send email newsletters: Reach out to different bloggers and influencers in your field. Invite them to participate or promote the link, and offer something in return for their help.

Ask help from friends: Ask you friends and family to help you spread the word about your live streaming on their own social media accounts. You can make it easier for them by preparing prewritten teasers and links.

Engage Your Subscribers

Offer an incentive: Encourage more people to watch by giving them something valuable when they tune in your live streaming. You can offer them a free downloadable e-book or an online discount coupon that can entice them to stick around for the whole show.

Create a special subscribers list: Invite people to subscribe to your channel before, during, and after the show. You can opt to create a special list of people who are interested in live streaming videos so you can be sure to send them a notification of your next stream.

Create highlight clips: Create a summary video of what happened on your last live stream and publish it as a promotional clip for those who missed the stream, inviting them to go back and watch it, and also as a teaser for your future YouTube Live events.

Be a Memorable Host

Collaborate with others: Partner with other individuals and businesses that have an established audience. This will help you build your viewership and will help people recognize and remember your brand. Make sure that the people you partner with share some of your brand values and business practices.

Consider time zones: Think of your audience. Are they from the west coast? East coast? Europe? Asia? Whenever you promote your event, make sure you include a time zone so your audience knows when to watch.

Create and deliver a big surprise: Create a buzz by letting your audience know that you will reveal a special secret, like some useful information or a gift that is exclusive to those who are actually watching the live event.

Follow Up with Guests

Make it a live series: Instead of making it a one-time live event, you can make your YouTube Live videos into a series. Each episode will expand the series and continue the conversation of the previous one.

Purchase followers and other forms of engagement: As your channel becomes more popular, a great way to catalyze your growth even more is to buy YouTube Views and Subscribers for your channel. These will improve your social proof online, making you look more like someone worth watching and following.

Be consistent: Consistency is the key for your channel and brand to grow. Live stream on a specific day and time of the week. This will create anticipation from your audience, connecting them to you in yet another way – you can become part of their routine. They’ll start looking forward to your regular posts in no time.

Ready, Set, Live

Live streaming is growing and holds plenty of potential for the future of marketing and customer engagement. The largest internet companies, like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon, are investing in this growing platform.

Think outside of the box when it comes to your marketing strategies and definitely consider YouTube Live streaming when planning for the future. As this streaming platform continues to evolve, there’s no telling what value you might be able to find in it. One thing’s for certain: live streaming is just getting started, and it’s not going out of style anytime soon.

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Date: May 26, 2017 / Categories: Tips, YouTube, / Author: Pamela