This year may very well go down as the year that live streaming video became a marketable asset. It began with the launch of Meerkat in February of 2015, then the launch of Periscope in March and BLAB in April. Unlike Meerkat and Periscope, a BLAB can feature up to 4 people live streaming at one time, and allow followers to comment and give “digital love” to the participants.
Just by its name, BLAB sounds like it could be an ongoing live-chat discussion that goes on and on without any end in sight. That could work if you’re wanting to kill some time on a Friday night or over the weekend, but that application wouldn’t work well for marketing most products or services. There has to be some kind of structure or outline in order to achieve success with this platform.
Like any form of marketing, a good plan has to be laid out ahead of time to get the most benefit from the effort that’s invested. This is especially true when laying out a live streaming strategy. So where to begin? The first thing to remember is that not only can BLAB help you connect with customers or potential customers that watch the video stream “live”, but it can also be turned into a video or be edited into several videos, in which case it then becomes a reusable piece of content for your business.
5 Ways to Use BLAB to Market Your Business
#1 – Provide Live Customer Service
One option is to host a session where a company representative answers answer some of the most common questions asked by your customers. After the live BLAB, the video can be edited and repurposed as content for social media posts or on FAQ pages.
You can also host a Q&A session where you company spokesperson answers questions that prospects and customers submit either via messaging while the BLAB is going on, or as participants in the video-feed on the BLAB.
#2 – Feature New Products & Services
Video provides an excellent way to showcase a new product or service. Because BLAB has the capability to combine up to 4 video feeds at 1 time, one feed could be the narrator, another can be showing the product or service, and another could be a brand influencer or customer sharing their comments while the presentation is That way you are providing valuable product information while showing practical use or best practices to your audience.
#3 – Incorporate Customers in the Process
It’s very rare that organizations make customers a part of the process when determining how to streamline their products/services or add new ones to the mix. A BLAB can be used as a tool to get real-time feedback about what your customers would like to see more or less of as well as things they’d like to see made available in the future.
There is a risk involved with collecting this feedback in real-time, but think of the impact that this type of content could have for your business.
#4 – Share Company Insights
A BLAB can be used to create a series that updates prospects and customers on the latest wins within your organization as well as the top business trends within their industry to keep an eye
You can also conduct interviews of company employees or loyal customers or provide value and usable content to promote your business.
#5 – Test Replacing Other Forms of Digital Marketing
You can also test replacing some of your more traditional digital marketing methods with a BLAB. Examples include:
- Use BLAB as your platform for the next webinar that you plan to conduct.
- Run your BLAB as you would one of your podcasts, and then use the unique embedded code to upload the file to a podcasting host service
- Convert your blog post ideas into a BLAB. Then you can just embed the file onto your blog post, which can be a big help if you’re a better visual presenter, rather than typing out your thoughts for a blog post.
- In addition to embedding your file onto a blog post, it can also be edited and repurposed as an Instagram video, or it can be left untouched and uploaded directly to your YouTube channel.
Questions to Ask Before Adding Live Streaming to Your Marketing
Once you’ve determined how you want to use BLAB, the next thing to do is to put together your strategy for how you will approach live streaming to augment your existing marketing strategy. Answer the following questions to help your approaching to using BLAB be successful:
Style
- Should there be a more serious tone, like a professional broadcaster or a serious infomercial, or instead go with a lighter more casual tone that’s less structured?
- Since its video, what should you or the company spokesperson wear while presenting on BLAB? The clothes can affect the presentation.
- Lighting, should there be primarily natural light, is there enough light in the space to be used or does additional light need to be installed or temporarily brought into the space?
Length of BLAB
- Does a set time need to be set firmly, or is a rough idea of 30 minutes or an hour good enough?
- How much time should you or the company spokesperson speak, and how much time should be set aside for other contributors, and for comments and input from other followers of the BLAB?
- Will questions be answered throughout the BLAB, or will they be addressed at the end of the discussion/presentation?
Script / Outline
- What should the title be? In the form of a question or a tease as to what is going to be considered?
- Are bullet points as to what needs to be considered enough, or should it be more scripted so that key points are covered in a specific way?
BLAB is another form of social media in the marketing toolbox full of options, but it also can be a form of usable content that can highlight various aspects about you and your company. Video can break through a lot of messaging and present the most authentic view of you and your business to your audience, while engaging your prospects and customers in the process.
If you’ve participated on a BLAB or other sort of live streaming platform, what did you find to be the most interesting about this new form of interactive marketing?
Header image via Shutterstock
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December 08, 2015 at 06:30AM
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