8 Reasons to Add Live Video Streaming to Your Marketing Strategy

Let’s take a look at eight solid reasons why adding live streaming to your marketing mix is a great idea.

Chiara Hoogervorst

Creative

We dug up some pretty cool insights during our research for the 2023 State of Video Report. Turns out that businesses are really getting into webinars and live events — and they’re actually seeing sky-high engagement rates from their audiences! In fact, 80% of marketers hosted live events last year.

It looks like live video streaming is more than just a pandemic trend. It’s becoming a regular part of how businesses connect with their audiences.

Now is the perfect time to hop on the live streaming bandwagon if you haven’t already. We’re not just saying that because it’s the cool thing to do (although, let’s be real, it totally is). Live streaming is a legit, super effective way to promote your brand and engage with your audience.

Alert
Wistia Live is here! With Wistia Live, creating webinars and live events is a whole lot easier. You can create an event landing page, collect registrants, and host an engaging presentation that your audience will love. Learn more about how you can set up your webinar, go live, and redistribute your content all in one place.

Need more convincing? Let’s go over eight great reasons why you should consider adding live streaming to your marketing mix.

1. You’ll reach a much wider audience

By live streaming your event, you can transcend location and size limitations and attract a much wider group of folks who can tune in from anywhere in the world. It doesn’t matter if they are on a mobile device or a desktop as long as they have access to the live streaming service you’re using. Live streams are also more accessible to people with disabilities, compromised immune systems, and restricted mobility.

Tip
Want to make your live streaming event more inclusive to all? We’ve got just the guide for you!

This means that almost anyone who’s interested in your brand can attend your virtual event to learn about your product, ask questions, and network with others. Just make sure that your streaming service can accommodate all your online guests without sacrificing quality.

2. You’ll build a sense of community with your audience

One great thing about live events is that they’re super interactive. Question and answer (Q&A) sessions and polls can help you spark conversations with your audience. Plus, viewers can ask questions directly through a chat box and you can respond to them immediately — even by name!

By responding to comments, answering questions, and addressing concerns in real time, you’re showing your viewers that you care about their opinions and are interested in what they have to say–just a few of the many ways a great live event can help boost brand awareness and customer loyalty.

Get Inspired
Explore our best practices for engaging your audience and humanizing your brand during a live event!

Plus, the valuable feedback from your viewers will give you great insights into what they like, what they don’t like, and what they want to see more of. This can help you create content that better meets their needs and keeps them coming back for more.

3. You can use live streaming analytics to grow your business

Many live streaming platforms come with analytics that can help you track important user metrics. You can find out how many people participated in your stream, how long they stayed online, when they started dropping off, and at what point the most people were engaged.

These metrics can help you learn more about your audience, better allocate your marketing resources, and create more effective content that resonates with them. This can lead to increased brand awareness, more engaged customers, and ultimately, more sales.

“These metrics can help you learn more about your audience, better allocate your marketing resources, and create more effective content that resonates with them.”

4. Live streaming helps establish credibility and authenticity for your brand

When you host live interviews, discussions, and Q&A sessions with subject matter experts, you’re showcasing your brand’s unique perspectives and expertise in the field.

Plus, live streaming gives your viewers a chance to see the real people behind your brand. You’re not just a faceless company, but rather a team of passionate individuals who are dedicated to delivering the best possible experience for your customers.

By presenting yourself authentically and transparently (without any editing or post-production work), you’re building trust and allowing your viewers to get to know your brand on a more personal level. This is what creates meaningful connections with your audience and can turn them into loyal customers.

5. Social media algorithms love it when you go live

Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn have adjusted their algorithms to encourage more live streaming. They’ll expand the audience reach of your streams to get more eyes on your content. For example, Facebook sends out notifications when a person or page you follow starts a Facebook Live video.

So if you want to reach a larger audience, going live on social media is a great way to do it.

Get Inspired
Want to start live streaming on social media? Head on over to this guide and get an overview of each platform’s live streaming tool and the types of live events you can consider for your social video strategy.

6. You’ll save tons of time and money

Live streaming can be a lot cheaper and faster than producing a pre-recorded video. The only upfront costs you’ll have are the ones associated with buying the gear you need. The price will vary depending on the quality level you’re aiming for, but once you make that investment, you’ll be able to use that gear over and over again for future live streaming events.

If you’ve ever organized an in-person event, you know how expensive and time-consuming it can be. Between travel expenses, venue costs, and catering, it can really add up. But with live streaming, you can bypass a lot of those costs and headaches. Sure, you’ll still need to put in some pre-production work (and maybe a little post-production if you want to repurpose your recording), but the time and cost savings are totally worth it.

7. You can get a lot of mileage out of your live video recordings

Many live streaming solutions let you record your event from start to finish. That means you can transform the recording into new pieces of content that you can use long after the event is over.

“You can transform the recording into new pieces of content that you can use long after the event is over.”

Just throw the recording into an editor and clean up the start and end, cut out any awkward silences, and extract notable quotes or moments. And now you have a polished video of your event and digestible clips to share on your site and social media.

You can also take that video and turn it into other types of content like podcasts, high-quality GIFs, and blog posts, to name a few. Need some ideas? We’ve got 11 of ‘em!

8. It’s easy to start live streaming videos for your business

Compared to many other marketing mediums, live streaming is a breeze to start with.

You don’t have to stress over making your live streams look like polished high-budget productions. Viewers are more understanding and tolerant of imperfections like poor sound or images during live streams.

This leniency gives you the freedom to keep things basic when you first start, leaving space for you to develop serious live streaming chops over time. Plus, you can easily get started without being a video expert or spending a fortune on equipment. You just need a webcam or smartphone camera, a mic, and a stable internet connection to kick-start your live streaming journey.

“You just need a webcam or smartphone camera, a mic, and a stable internet connection to kick-start your live streaming journey.”

However, if you’re feeling ambitious and want to ramp up your production quality, you can do that too! We’ve got some tips on how to create a multi-camera live streaming setup.

Set yourself up for live streaming success

With the right strategy and platform, you can start live streaming in no time. Lucky for you, we’ve put together a guide that outlines seven simple steps to help you set yourself up for live streaming success. Check it out!

Chiara Hoogervorst

Creative

Mailing list sign-up form

Sign up for Wistia’s best & freshest content.

More of a social being? We’re also on Instagram and Twitter.