In the last year or so, live video has become the talk of the town as it pertains to social media marketing. First, there was Meerkat and Periscope. Then there was Facebook Live. And now, Snapchat is taking over with over 200 million active monthly users.
This begs the question – should businesses be using live video in their marketing strategies? The answer is a resounding yes! In fact, if your market is focused on millennials then you need to come up with a live video strategy ASAP.
Millennials and Video
At this point, it’s no secret that the days of traditional advertising are gone. This is especially true for millennial consumers who have proven they don’t respond well to ads.
The bad news is this is throwing companies for a loop as they figure out how to market to this generation. The good news is live video can help solve that problem.
According to a survey done by Magisto, a video editing company, millennial marketers within small and medium-sized businesses know exactly how to reach their own generation. Here are some of the things they pay attention to:
-
84% of millennial marketers spend more time on social media than on traditional advertising.
-
Nine out of 10 millennial marketers lead with social media as a part of their marketing plan.
-
Millennial marketers understand that authenticity is what’s most important to their consumers.
-
Millennial marketers rely heavily on video to reach their target audience.
The reason live video works so well when marketing to millennials is because it combines all of the above. Here are a couple of ways you can use this information and boost your brand by using live video.
Share Instead of Sell
I recently attended a social media conference in the South Florida area where the millennial marketers in attendance were raving about live video while marketers from other generations didn’t quite get why.
One marketer asked, “Can someone explain to me why the Chewbacca mom videoworked so well? I just don’t understand it.”
A millennial in the audience immediately responded with, “Because she was so real! She was so joyful you couldn’t help but laugh along with her.”
The woman wasn’t trying to sell a mask, she was just having a good time and decided to share that exact moment with her friends. From there the video went viral and Kohl’s saw a major boost in sales.
This scenario makes perfect sense in 2016. In the age of social media, marketing is about sharing not selling, and live video allows you do that in real time.
Have Conversations
I believe one of the reasons millennials like live video is precisely because it’s so interactive. They like to have that direct connection with the brands and actually talk to them. I also believe this is something businesses can use to their advantage.
Through live video, your market can tell you exactly what they want. They’ll also ask you questions to get to know you (which points to the authenticity factor).
Quite frankly, live video is a pretty cost effective way to communicate your message to your target audience while simultaneously doing ongoing market research. From there you can let the conversations with your market drive some of your business decisions. After all, what better strategy is there than to listen to your consumers?
Final Thoughts
Live video plays perfectly into the current role of marketing to a new generation. It meets the needs of millennial consumers and it allows companies to genuinely connect with their audience in a way they may not be able to do otherwise.