What indicates success? The social video KPIs that count
Ok, so you’ve broadcasted another video to Facebook… Surely you gained some likes, comments and shares. But is that all you should expect? What really indicates success?
To help you measure outcomes, here are the indicators you should take into account. Let’s take a closer look.
Views
These are a very informative but basic indicator. Views are the most popular way to measure the success of video content and every social platform will provide this information. But views don’t tell the whole story. They’re more like the first chapter – a small glimpse at how your video is performing. So, [bctt tweet=”when choosing KPIs for your video strategy, don’t just stop at views.” username=”TellyoTV”]
Subscribers or Followers
The name of this indicator can vary from platform to platform. However, it’s one of the most vital ratios, with the number of people following your social channels hugely impacting other KPIs. When creating a video or broadcasting strategy, you should include fan, follower or subscriber growth, and ratios to other KPIs such as views.
Learn how to incorporate sponsorship into your real-time social videos
To increase subscribers, for example, remember to use call to actions (‘Subscribe to our channel!’), or subscribe buttons within a video and a link within its description.
Drop off rate
This indicates how many people watched your video and dropped off after 5, 10 or 30 seconds. It’s absolutely natural for this KPI to drop initially during some of your first attempts at video, but there are many practical things you can do to decrease drop off rates.
To do so, you might shorten video intros and cut the length in general to condense your message.
Watch your video one more time before publishing. Ask yourself: Does it need shortening? Does it get to the point quickly enough? Where’s the beef?
Conversion rate
This indicates how efficient your content is, but it’s rarely linked with video marketing or broadcasting in general. Whether you decide to include in your KPIs will depend on your goals. For example, if you wish to increase the number of subscriptions to your video service, and video is your main content, you may want to include this KPI in your quarterly or yearly marketing strategy.
You can convert viewers into subscribers, or even new customers, in many ways:
- Include call to action buttons in your videos. Play with the copy and design to test what works best for you.
- Remember to add call to actions and links with your video descriptions too.
- Use specially created email addresses and phone numbers to measure the direct impact of your videos on business enquiries.
It’s up to you!
No matter what set of KPIs you decide to measure, always give yourself time.
Collect the data over a reasonable period, which will enable you to see the whole picture and insightful patterns.
If you’re already using Tellyo – check out our Analytics section to see insights related to your content. Using our platform you also have access to other features, all of which are designed to make your content better and more attractive to viewers… so helping to boost your KPIs.
Going social with your broadcasts: the basics
Back in the day, when Facebook was on the rise, every business owner wanted to be there ‘because everyone’s there’. The social network was soon flooded with aesthetically poor and awkwardly positioned business profiles, most of which were instantly forgotten.
The lesson we can all take from back then, at the beginning of the Facebook hype, is that it’s not enough to just be in the right place. In order to gain social media results, you need to remember why it’s good to be there and how to do things right.
So, let’s start with some basics, so you can ensure your video presence on social media is professional, striking and memorable.
Social media broadcasting is dialogue
Many organisations deciding to make the leap to social media often forget one basic principle: social media is all about dialogue between brands and fans.
So, when you start posting your videos to social media, don’t be surprised by the amount of feedback you receive. It’s not enough to simply stream great content, you must be prepared to handle the reactions of your community – positive or negative.
Prepare your social media team to expect the unexpected, such as difficult questions, spammy comments and harsh language, much of which you’re likely to encounter.
Roll with it… it’s not a such a bad thing
A traditional broadcast is controlled by a TV station, while video on social media can develop a life of its own even after being broadcast to a social channel. Once transmitted to the web it could be re-shared thousands of times, rippling out to more and more fans in the process.
What this does raise are questions about how to ensure your branding remains while your content extends its reach. The good news is that there are many useful things you can do to protect and secure branding on your content, such watermarks and bumpers.
Protect your rights by branding your content with watermarks, overlays, wipes and bumpers. Tellyo can help you to do this.
Broadcast is dead, long live the broadcast!
In the world of social media, a broadcast is not a singular event. From broadcasted content, you can create multiple, independent video clips for different social channels, different time zones, and in different languages for different audiences. You can recycle content by creating clips, highlights and compilations.
Thanks to Tellyo, you can even create cool clips during a stream; while also being able to create longer video compilations by joining clips from your live stream with older content created from other sources.
Let your social media folks get creative and play with content. Bring it to life one more time!
Timing is everything (duh!)
In professional broadcasting, especially in sports, timing is crucial. Being able to clip and share a replay to Facebook and YouTube is everything. You can be sure that the first brand to replay a goal or a golden moment will build more reach and grab new viewers within seconds.
If you can automate content production to gain speed, don’t hesitate to do it. In Tellyo, for example, you can ensure branded bumpers are immediately added to all content as part of your workflow.
One more thing…
There’s no simple or perfect recipe for success. Just be prepared and open minded.
If you’re looking for a tool that will help you quickly move beyond the basics and reach new heights with social media, check out Tellyo’s features and our case studies.
Digital video publishing: big challenges, simple solutions
Digital video publishers have spoken about the challenges they face in an insightful report from Wibbitz: Winning strategies for digital video.
Through its findings, having surveyed the company’s American and European publishing partners, Wibbitz have been able to identify the challenges proving hardest to overcome.
But for every challenge faced, there’s always a solution. And here I want to look at the top four challenges, and how our Tellyo platform can help you overcome your pain by offering some simple fixes.
Human resources
The major challenge for many video publishers is simply having people in place to produce and distribute content. The reality of many people being involved in video production may sound familiar to you? It’s something we often hear from businesses here at Tellyo.
Potential customers often tell us how they have separate teams for production and for social media, all trying to manage a technically demanding process. Our response is always the same: it needn’t be this way.
Our Tellyo platform democratises video editing, negating the need for tons of specialist and expensive kit, while making the whole process easier and quicker for your people to manage. Tellyo will make video publishing easier and less resource consuming, but not less powerful. Ultimately, you will be able make more brilliant content with the same human resources.
Monetisation
You may be finding that it’s pretty easy to reach decent levels of video views, since platforms like Facebook clearly favour video over other content types. But what comes next? What to do with your hundreds, if not thousands, of video views? Well, you’re not alone in asking such questions. Monetisation was the second biggest challenge highlighted by Wibbitz survey respondents.
With Tellyo, you can monetise your video content very easily using our platform’s features. These include pre- and post-roll advertisements, and branded video players. All of which can be included when you share video content or stream it to different social platforms via Tellyo.
For businesses that are not yet utilising video content – if you move swiftly, you will boost your chances of capturing the attention of new and existing audiences through the video content they desire. This will help you to create monetisation opportunities further down the line. Which leads nicely to my next point…
Quantity and scale
Because there’s huge demand for video online, businesses want to be able to deliver the quantity and scale that’s required. To cut a long story short, Tellyo helps you to scale production in a very short space of time. For example, our easy to use workflow can be rapidly integrated into and adopted by a business.
Quantity is also extremely important. As an example, let’s take a look at an analysis of one of our customers, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
There’s strong correlation between number of videos shared by the ITTF and engagement rates:
Simply put: the more you share, the more likely you are to achieve greater engagement.
Maintaining quality and standards
It can be a challenge to pay attention to quality if there’s no time to waste and your main competition never sleeps. Tellyo addresses this by delivering tools that help maintain fast-paced video production, while empowering you to communicate a consistent and coherent brand story through well-packaged videos.
To do so, we make it easy for your team to work together. Using highly-reliable Amazon solutions, Tellyo is cloud-based platform which makes it easy to access for the people involved in a project. What’s more, our platform makes it possible to fit video production to the different software and hardware requirements you might be working with. This means you can provide high-quality content fitted to different standards and expectations.
For example, Tellyo can digest various sources, such as HLS, RTMP, satellite streams and TV Exchange Points. It will also work with the most popular social and video networks, like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, but also Brightcove or custom destinations.
When it comes to working with our customers, we’re pretty flexible here at Tellyo.
We’re always open to new challenges and more than ready to provide solutions fitted to the specific challenges you face. Our platform is also geared towards empowering you as a digital video publisher, so you can focus on the quality of your content, rather than on technical or organisational obstacles.
Please get in contact to discuss your challenges and how we can help.
Make that leap and get your live video content onto social media
One of humankind’s greatest ever achievements – landing on the moon – was widely televised. It was a giant leap for humankind. But how will we all tune in when someone first walks on Mars? Most likely live via social media and on different devices – from smartphones to tablets and VRs.
But before we go that far, let’s get back to Earth for a second, and let the numbers talk!
The rise of live video content online
By 2019 video will be responsible for 80% of global internet traffic. Live video alone will consume 13% of internet video traffic by 2021. At the same time, in the United States, TV audiences dropped by 11% between 2010 and 2016.
Most predictions suggest a continued decline in traditional TV viewing, just as new viewing habits appear to be unstoppable. Audiences increasingly look for live video content online.
But while live video on social media is already huge, it’s not even close to saturation. With millennials and generation Z at the helm, the future of live video content looks bright and promising. Here are some steps you can take to get your live video onto social media.
Create a multi-channel strategy
The very first step to jumping on the social video bandwagon is to create a multi-channel strategy for your brand, incorporating the right channels for you.
When it comes to live video, Facebook is number one among social networks. It holds 45% of the social media streaming market share. Without doubt, Facebook is going to be a major platform for social media broadcasters for a long time.
“People spend more than 3x more time watching a Facebook Live video on average compared to a video that’s no longer live”[1]
The second most popular platform for live video content is YouTube, with 44% of video market share. It is rightly a natural place for live content, so when planning your presence on social media, don’t forget to consider Google’s flagship video platform.
Other significant social media broadcasting players are Instagram and Snapchat with 28% and 19% market share respectively.
Go multi-channel for the win
The importance of social media doesn’t mean it’s time to simply ditch traditional broadcasting platforms. It’s not about moving your business to the internet entirely. Rather, it’s about implementing a multi-channel strategy as soon as possible. One that will enable you to capture and engage with the huge audiences that exist online.
What the stats tell us, is that demand is huge. This is partly due to people’s preference for watching videos over reading text online (nearly two thirds of people on the internet prefer it this way). Other sources also point out that if you consider all videos on Facebook, including live broadcasts, that these are being viewed around 64 billion times daily! That’s a staggering amount of views, right?
What these stats mean is that the internet is full of people eager to watch live video broadcasts, as far as it’s related to their passions and interests.
Keep an eye on this fast-evolving environment
Today the MVPs may well be Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat. But tomorrow – who knows?
One thing is for sure. If you can adapt the channels you use to get live video to your audiences as they want it, then you will succeed when it comes to social media.
As you can see, the above numbers speak for themselves. So why not make that leap and get your live video onto social media today!
[1] https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2016/03/news-feed-fyi-taking-into-account-live-video-when-ranking-feed/
Sports video content ideas to help you survive out of season
During a sports season, broadcasters always have plenty to offer, while for fans there’s plenty to watch. Both sides are happy. But during a season break, or between big tournaments, you might think there’s not much you can show as a sports broadcaster. But is that really the case?
See more examples of cool videos here: 5 of our favourite sports video commercials
Here I’ve pulled together some content ideas to get you through the leaner times. Follow these tips and you’ll survive the dog days with style, creating cool things and giving fans the content they crave.
Build a bank of video stories
The NBA has mastered the art of evergreen content. With NBA Rooks they’ve created a comprehensive bank of video stories showcasing the league’s rookie players. The videos provide a focus between games by introducing rookies to fans and widening each player’s appeal. Available on-demand, the videos also provide handy background to each rookie’s key stats and plays.
Remind fans about upcoming events
With many sports structured around world tours, it is important to remind fans about the next tournament shortly after the latest one has finished. The International Table Tennis Federation do this as part of its Seamaster 2017 World Tour (the below video promos its 2017 Australian Open). It’s fantastic to see Tellyo customer, the ITTF, using video so creatively.
Keep the excitement revived up
FIFA’s football tournaments are global spectacles. But they happen infrequently, as shown by this June’s FIFA Confederations Cup and the wait till next year’s FIFA World Cup. However, FIFA’s video review of its Confederations Cup, set to a soaring musical score, builds a bridge between the events and revs up excitement levels. It also feels like an ad promo for host nation, Russia, too.
Dust off legacy content for use today
The FA Cup is a tournament with a rich history, covered over the years by the BBC. With a wealth of historical footage, BBC Sports has been sharing some of this on You Tube. One example is its FA Cup: Five of the Best.
Show end-of-season bloopers
With so much footage left on the editing room floor, broadcasters are best placed to re-purpose as filler content in between seasons. And what better way than a traditional end-of-season bloopers showreel! ESPN set the bar high with its best NBA bloopers of 2016. Take a look at the funniest moments.
Go leftfield and get creative
If traditional blooper videos just aren’t for you, why not crossover into something like animation? For each Euro 2016 goal, Copa90 created stunning animations – a series of timeless classics that fans keep returning to. The animated version of Albania’s goal vs Romania has had over 1.5 million views, and counting.
#ALB have won their first ever game in a major tournament ? #ROUALB #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/dre8fPDRsH
— Copa90 (@Copa90) 19 czerwca 2016
I hope you find the above ideas useful.
If you have any others, tweet the Tellyo team @tellyotv
Get inspired: compelling examples of sports brands using video content
When it comes to online video, audiences have developed a highly sophisticated filter. They can easily differentiate sterile marketing products from content made with real passion.
Cutting through this filter can be a challenge. How can you ensure your well-produced, professional and inspiring stories stand out? How do you make them sincere and genuine for your audiences?
There are lessons to be learned from other sports brands. Here are some examples of videos made with true passion and dedication.
Urbex by Red Bull
Red Bull is all about giving you energy to increase performance. With its Urbex videos the brand lives its promise, showcasing urban explorers performing at the edge, sometimes literally! These explorers risk life and limb doing stunts on the most extreme of man-made structures. Strictly off-limits, these forbidden structures might be a massive skyscraper in Dubai, a cosmodrome in Kazakhstan or abandoned tunnels below a big city.
While Red Bull’s content is always avant-garde, the Urbex series is some of the most epic video content ever produced. Each 40-minute episode focuses on two or three urban explorers as they scout their structures, and plan and perform mind-blowing stunts. If you suffer from a fear of heights, you might want to stay away. If not – prepare to collect your jaw from the floor!
Lesson to take away: remember the DNA of your brand, live its promise and keep it real!
ParaTough by the Canadian Paralympic Committee
Paralympic sports have until recently existed on the periphery. That’s until organisations like the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) started tearing down some barriers and redrawing the boundaries.
With its ParaTough videos, the CPC challenged people to re-evaluate how they view people with disabilities taking part in sport. The videos were even able to go further, showing that not only are paralympic sports people working harder but their struggle is actually more heroic. Videos in the campaign show examples of the exercises that helped these heroes reach the Paralympic Games. Will you dare to try at least one of them?
Lesson to take away: engage users by showing them real struggle – the pain, the sweat, the sacrifice. Dare them to take part and better themselves in some way.
This Girl Can by Sport England
Sport England is a UK public body responsible for growing the number of people taking part in sports. It identified a need to empower more women to take up sporting activity and to counteract anxieties and assumptions that might make women feel they can’t get involved.
With its This Girl Can campaign, Sport England empowered women of all ages and ethnicities to do sports and take up general physical activity. Campaign video spots showed everyday women having fun in the gym, at running tracks, on football pitches, in boxing halls, or simply in their backyard! In the videos, the women all look natural, strong and inspiring, which has given the campaign immense credibility and made it a huge success.
Lesson to take away: empower your audience by showing that they can do cool and inspirational stuff.
‘Beauty and the Bull’ by Chicago Bulls
Just like combining apples and oranges – they’re pretty cool separately, but nobody thinks about mixing them together – so it was with the Chicago Bulls and musicals. There are Bulls’ fans and musical fans, but fans of these two things? Not so likely.
But when the six-time NBA title winners prepared a musical for their fans, it was a huge gesture and extremely well received. Produced using smartphones and Snapchat, ‘Beauty and the Bull’ was a three-minute story told through short-form videos – each clip lasting only a couple of seconds. It wasn’t the best, most cutting-edge production of all time, but fans were positive in their feedback. While we don’t expect to see Real Madrid making their own Snapchat version of Don Quixote, the idea was cool and executed nicely in an authentic way. You may not like it, but you can’t deny it’s a fresh and innovative idea to use.
Lesson to take away: sometimes it’s good to create something completely new, just from the bottom of your heart. Fans will appreciate it!
Feel inspired? So, what will be your next video production?
How to prep and promo live-streamed sports content
Sports fans are a highly-engaged bunch. They’ll have sports they love and an in-built passion for their teams. Of these devoted fans, 66% go online at least once a day for sports content. Nearly half prefer to follow their teams digitally, using up to five devices to consume sports.
How can you cement relationships with fans already emotionally engaged? How can you tap into fan hunger for sports content across devices? Live streaming could be the answer.
Here, I’ve created a ten-point plan to help you prep and promo live-streamed sports content
PREP
Facebook Live can be less polished and more raw and authentic, according to Hootsuite’s Amanda Wood. However, being raw and authentic is not the same as appearing unprepared. So…
Define your live stream
What do you want to achieve and how will going live help? You may want to show fans behind the scenes, or live stream entire matches. Be clear about what you want to do.
Think about presentation
If someone is going to present a live stream, think about their appearance and style of presentation. Practice beforehand. Go through your running order and agree camera angles, as well as other logistics.
Test your equipment
Test rigorously. One of the downfalls of many live streams is poor sound. Perhaps invest in some basic professional equipment to help your streams to shine.
Prepare extra live content
If you’re streaming games there will be breaks. Make sure you have content to fill these, such as glimpses from the locker room or interactions with a live audience.
Be ready to engage
Hootsuite always have an ‘engagement person’ ready to interact with and respond to comments during live streams. This is a great idea, as you can catch fans in the moment.
PROMOTE
Seventy-two percent of sports fans are most engaged by exciting pre-game content. They often second screen, frequently using laptops or smartphones to search for sports-related content during games. How you promote a live stream can tap into this…
Inform your audience
Use all marketing channels at your disposal – from email announcements to social media channels – to guide people to your broadcast. If you’re being really efficient, you might pre-schedule social updates before your event using a social media management platform.
Schedule a ‘Go Live’ notification
A Go Live notification is a great way to let people know when to tune in via Facebook Live. In your video settings, simply toggle the switch from off to on. Once done, followers can subscribe to your channel and receive a push notification when your broadcast begins.
Create sneak previews
Remember, sports fans are more engaged pre-event. Hype them and your event by releasing sneak previews. Short-form videos work well as they’re likely to be re-shared.
Keep promoting in real-time
As your event unfolds, create video highlight clips and share them through all social media channels. This will encourage people to watch the main livestream.
Re-purpose content post-live
Once you’ve gone live, repurpose and re-share the recorded event as short form videos. These can be used to promote your next live stream.
Creating and distrubuting short-form promo videos (mentioned in points 8-10) is easily achieved with our Tellyo platform.
If you’ve got any good pointers to include in the above plan, please post in the comments below.
Everything you’d like to know about video streaming, but were afraid to ask
If you are just about to start your adventure with professional live video streaming, you may well be a little bit confused. Whether you’re a social media specialist or digital marketer or you’re working in sport, fashion or the music business, streaming will undoubtedly improve your content, brand visibility and boost sales. But there’s a plethora of things you need to remember, learn and tons of options to choose from. Let’s start with the basics and answer some of the most commonly asked questions regarding live video streaming.
What are the best ways to livestream an event and why?
There are many free solutions if you want to stream an event, which you can easily check out for yourself. For personal use, the free solutions can be great. But if you aspire to professional streaming of any kind, the free options aren’t going to offer you enough.
Free software solutions for live video streaming (whether an online or desktop solution) are either not advanced enough or simply not good enough. When using a free solution it is quite common to encounter problems during a livestream and highly likely you will not be able to get support when it comes to technical issues.
If you aim to create great live streamed content and promote your event effectively, you should put in place specialist software that will enable you to better configure and manage your stream.
Professional quality never comes for free!
In answering the question, to stream your event in the best possible way, use professional tools to guarantee great results.
What is the best software for live video streaming?
Here at Tellyo, we’ve put a lot of expertise into creating our streaming software. We’re confident it is one of the best professional solutions for streaming regardless of the event type – be it a sports match, fashion show or music gig. Why?
Specifically designed for streaming and clipping videos, our software platform enables you to edit your content and its audio, and adjust videos to fit different formats and streaming destinations (such as Facebook and YouTube).
Tellyo is cloud-based software built on a core platform that delivers two separate solutions to choose from: Tellyo Pro for extensive usage when you have lots to live stream; plus Tellyo On Demand for occasional streams and when you want no strings and simple payments. Both are fully professional solutions and support the most popular social media channels like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Periscope.
You can request Tellyo Pro demo here (we will require some technical details from you) or simply create your account in Tellyo On Demand and start streaming.
What are some of the best live video broadcasting sites to stream live events?
If you want to stream to social media using a channel that’s already popular in the market, there are quite a few streaming-friendly sites we can highlight:
- YouTube
- Periscope
What’s great about the above platforms is that they not only offer streaming features, but also include other cool features too, like chat (YouTube) or announcements and sponsored posts (Facebook). However, the most important part of the deal is that popular social media channels offer direct contact with audiences on pre-established platforms.
Is it possible to live stream to Facebook, YouTube and Twitter simultaneously?
Yes. You can stream to all of the above mentioned platforms simultaneously using Tellyo. Additionally, you can broadcast to other, custom RTMP destinations.
What are some KPIs for live streaming?
This will very much depend on your strategic objectives. If you wish to gain audience and brand visibility, you should aim to get as many viewers and views as possible. Total reach is also a valuable indicator because it shows how many people could have potentially viewed your content.
Depending on your needs, other indicators might include engagement signals (likes, comments and shares), leads and sales, or new signups to on-demand platforms.
It is crucial to set some goals before you start a stream, as these will give you something to measure against.
What are the best practices for live streaming events?
We’ve prepared a number of articles that you might find useful, regardless of your streaming experience or industry knowledge:
- Improve your social broadcasts with different content types
- 8 common live streaming mistakes
- What indicates success? The social video KPIs that count
- Going social with your broadcast: the basics
- Sports video content ideas to help you survive out of season
- How to prepare and promo live-streamed sports content?
- How to incorporate sponsorship into your real-time social videos
- How to turn broadcast content into great social live streams
- Three ways to maximise real-time interactions with fans
- Understanding the power of online sports videos
- A sport marketer’s simple guide to Facebook post promotion
Explore our blog for other interesting insights and ideas.
Is it possible to clip videos out of a live stream?
Using Tellyo – yes. Our platform allows you to cut clips out of live streams and simultaneously share them on social media in a matter of seconds. You can enhance your clips using our feature-packed Editor or simply clip-and-publish. Videos can be distributed straight from the Editor to the most popular social platforms of your choice. If video editing and live streaming is your main concern – consider using Tellyo.
What kind of events can be turned into live video streams?
There’s really no correct answer to this. However, if you’re responsible for an event and it would benefit from having a larger audience, or you want to reach people who are unable to attend in person, then it would be a good option to stream.
To understand what kind of events others are streaming, let’s take a look at some of our clients:
Our Tellyo Pro is used mainly by sports leagues and federations, and TV and digital broadcasters. They will own content or have the rights to stream it, so they require a trusted service that will enable them to broadcast their content directly to social media. They stream big amounts of content regularly, such as entire matches and complete shows.
Tellyo On Demand is used across sport, fashion, music and event organising. It offers a more flexible option and is suitable for organisations who only need to stream from time to time, but still want to rely on an excellent service. They stream small amounts of content, such as occasional behind-the-scenes footage, gigs, press conferences, and fashion shows.
Still not convinced?
If you still have some doubts regarding live video streaming, live production, real time video sharing or anything in between – let us know. Send in your question(s) using our form, message us at contact@tellyo.com, or make contact via social media.
How to turn broadcast content into great social live streams
Live streaming presents huge opportunities for broadcasters, able to both complement and transform TV’s linear broadcast format.
Many broadcasters have been moving fast to incorporate live streams into their offering. But how can you follow suit? To help you find a way forward, I’ve gathered together some examples from across sports, entertainment and news.
Sports
Sports broadcasters have been mastering the art of turning broadcast content into live streams for some time.
They have seized upon live streaming’s ability to take viewers behind the scenes, showing content that wouldn’t normally fit a programme’s format, or be possible due to rights and scheduling restrictions.
For example, the NBA on ESPN uses live streaming before a game starts, showing insights such as the players warming up.
During the Rio Olympics, Sky Sports teams often broadcasted live behind the scenes via Facebook (often when they didn’t have the rights to broadcast the actual event). In this clip, they offer viewers some prime second-screen content by exploring a triathlon venue and chatting to fans.
BT Sports use Facebook Live to stream pre-game analysis from its team of pundits. With the punditry team at the stadium, it makes sense to put them to work! Viewers leave questions for the team, which delivers huge audience engagement prior to a game’s actual broadcast.
Entertainment
Carrying on the sports theme, the BBC’s TV show – Match of the Day – regularly use Facebook Live to reveal the running order of that evening’s football matches. The show’s host Gary Lineker presents the live snippet, which has lo-fi production values but provides another engaging dimension to an already successful show.
TV channel ABC also used Facebook Live to build excitement for its reality show The Bachelorette. Prior to the season’s start and for the first-time ever, it announced the bachelorette’s eligible men via Facebook Live. A perfect teaser before the first episode, which had over 1.3 million views.
If you’re recording a live chat show, why not stream what’s happening backstage? On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, live streaming complements the main broadcast and mirrors the show’s humour. Twin Peaks’ Kyle MacLachlan was recently streamed backstage via Facebook Live in true Twin Peaks style (in which nothing much happens)!
The Tonight Show sometimes stream the first part of their broadcast content live on social media. The clip below shows Jimmy Fallon’s intro, which Facebook Live then leaves before the full show commences. This can help to drive viewers from social over to your TV channel.
News
If you’re broadcasting news you will have reporters constantly on the move, where things are happening. Traditionally they’d have to wait to present live on the main show. Nowadays, reporters can go live via social media, unrestricted by programme schedules.
As with the last Tonight Show clip above, a cute trick with news reporting would be to guide viewers from a social stream to a fuller report on your main TV show.
A three-point plan for broadcasters sharing content during live events
Social media marketing that’s ‘in the moment’ has huge potential and value for broadcasters.
Through social channels, your viewers can be made to feel as if they’re in the moment. They can experience something as if they are there in person, rather than watching a recording.
You have two options: you can use live streaming, or create and share content in real-time.
1. Choose your channel wisely
First up, choosing the best channel is vitally important. Think about what you want to achieve and look for your audience. Also, consider how easy it will be to manage each channel for your event. Here’s a quick rundown of your main options:
Facebook Live
The king of live streams, Facebook Live has the potential to pull in huge audiences. Its users spend three times longer watching live video (than video that’s not live).
Facebook’s live streaming is easy to use and share. When BuzzFeed decided to explode a watermelon one rubber band at a time, little did they know it would be one of Facebook Live’s biggest hits. Over 800,000 people tuned in during the broadcast’s peak. It has since amassed more than 11 million views.
If you’re planning to share in real-time (as opposed to immediately live), Facebook is also a perfect place for short-form videos. Clips and highlights work well.
The International Table Tennis Federation use its live streams and our platform to create and drive short-form videos out to social media. In the process, they engage with and pull in fans.
Twitter is all about moments. The platform is fast becoming the place to watch live events and experience real-time action. It wants to be “the first place where people hear of what matters”, says its CEO Jack Dorsey.
From sports to news to entertainment programming, it has streamed more than 800 hours of live content in Q1 2017, reaching 45 million viewers. But it’s not just for big brands. Twitter live streaming is open to everyone.
But where Twitter slams it… real-time sharing…
John Wall, are you for real?! #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/p8eP75r0Wo
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 8, 2017
YouTube
YouTube is a great place to live stream content. It is utilised by news channels, TV shows and even streams live from the International Space Station.
2. Prep, prep, prep
No matter what channel you choose, put in lots of prep before your live event. The first thing to do here is…
Have your graphics ready
For example, in the French Ice Hockey League the Rouen Dragons have created a bumper at the beginning of each clip. It shows both the Fanseat and sponsor’s logo. The graphic has been pre-prepared for each clip and is inserted using our Tellyo platform.
Be active during breaks
Create short highlight clips in real-time and share these during breaks, such as at half time. This will whet your fans’ appetite for more.
.@KingJames & @kevinlove combine for 36 points in the first half to lead the @cavs! #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/NtKov04sey
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 18, 2017
If not video, plan photos you can share during the build-up to an event or as things are happening.
Lookout for extras
If you’re multicasting, you will create a lot of footage that might never get used. Have someone in your social media or marketing team on the lookout for funny moments or behind-the-scenes footage. Turn these into social videos.
Here’s a great example of a funny clip, which is the kind of thing you might also choose to share:
Mascot took his shirt off for JR LMFAOO pic.twitter.com/4pIDQKrpRZ
— Scottie Pimppen (@BullsLegacy) May 11, 2017
If not video, plan photos you can share during the build-up to an event or as things are happening.
3. Learn from other industries
Always be on the lookout for inspirational examples of live streaming and real-time sharing.
The first here is a classic from Oreo, seizing on the black-out during 2013’s Super Bowl final:
Power out? No problem. pic.twitter.com/dnQ7pOgC
— Oreo Cookie (@Oreo) February 4, 2013
Dunkin Donuts hilariously joined the viral blue/black or white/gold dress debate with this tweet:
Doesn’t matter if it’s blue/black or white/gold, they still taste delicious. #thedress pic.twitter.com/Oq8srrAKnd
— Dunkin’ Donuts (@DunkinDonuts) February 27, 2015
And when Luis Suarez bit Giorgio Chiellini during 2014’s World Cup, Snickers were quick to respond:
Hey @luis16suarez. Next time you’re hungry just grab a Snickers. #worldcup #luissuarez #EatASNICKERS pic.twitter.com/3RAO537HjW
— SNICKERS® (@SNICKERS) June 24, 2014
