Strengthening Your Social Media Marketing with Live Streaming Video

With more than 3 billion users worldwide, social media has transformed marketing; it offers individuals and organizations alike the ability to effectively and affordably attract, convert, and transform consumers. Mirroring the growth of social media (and in many ways fueling it) are mobile devices: there are more than 5 million unique mobile users worldwide with nearly 2.8 million people accessing social media with mobile devices and 80% of worldwide internet users owning at least one smartphone. Mobile video is a particularly promising platform to communicate to consumers; 80% of Internet traffic will be video by 2019 and 74% of consumers are more likely to buy a product or service after watching a branded video. However, recorded video is costly and cumbersome to produce; live streaming video decreases costs while increasing customer engagement and enhancing influence. Recognizing that live streaming video can strengthen social media marketing strategies, this paper reviews the rise of social media, explains the role of live streaming video, previews live streaming video platforms, proposes live streaming video strategies, shares live streaming video survey results, and evaluates the impact of live streaming video.