“Be where your clients are.”
UPDATE: Facebook LIVE is now available for Facebook business pages as of April 5, 2016. Yay!
With the influx of LIVE streaming platforms and apps, I have been getting several questions on this topic and while LIVE streaming and broadcasting is nothing new, with the launch of Periscope, it seems to have been gaining momentum in some business categories.
So here are my thoughts….
As with any social platform, I always recommend starting with a clear objective of why you are engaging, how you are engaging, who are you engaging with, a content plan and a commitment to consistency. If you can only commit to one platform, then do that, and do it awesomely.
And with all of that, comes the last, and maybe most important thing, be mindful of how and when you choose to broadcast. Too much noise? You lose people. Too much TMI? You lose people. Too much sharing of events where people paid to attend, well, you know the answer to that one. #notcool
Periscope
App based (Periscope)
Links to Twitter
Lots of trolls
Save video option (but be mindful, context is key, so saving them and posting to YouTube may simply be out of context for the viewer)
Potentially high engagement
User can set notifications of broadcasts
Disappears from page in 24 hours
Sometimes poor quality
Comments feed for engagement
Hearts as likes
Light analytics in app
Facebook LIVE
App based (Facebook)
Available to verified pages and personal pages only, not business pages (yet)
More qualified audience (if you have been using your personal page for business as well)
Save and share video option (can share to biz page, if relevant, as well as embed on your website, but again, be mindful of the context when sharing to other platforms)
Stays on your timeline as long as you want it to
Can be edited post broadcast (Go to videos, select video, select edit)
Users can “subscribe” to get notifications of future broadcasts
Potential high engagement, depending on your personal page following and sharing plan
High quality
Comments feed for engagement
Likes as likes and comments as comments
No analytics per se (since its done via your personal page) but as with any Facebook native video, you can measure views and of course, measure likes, comments and shares.
At the end of the day, I will go back to be where your clients are. Are they on Periscope? Go there. Are they on Facebook? Go there. But always be mindful of your intention for broadcasting and the value you are bringing to the conversation.
My take? Facebook LIVE could be a game-changer, as there are a billion more people on Facebook than Periscope. I love the “no trolls” aspect, as well as the quality of experience for the broadcaster and the viewer. And at the end of the day, quality is what our audience wants, quality of content and experience.
Time will tell. And with all that is happening on the social web, it will change in a blink. Again.
Love + Awesomeness-
Nina
PS: Do you want to catch my Facebook LIVE chats? You can follow me by searching Nina L. Kovner or click here to follow. Thank you!