In January, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown violated team policy by using Facebook Live to stream his teammates’ post-game locker room banter following the AFC divisional playoff win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Brown’s action reflected particularly negatively on his team because coach Mike Tomlin, unaware of the live broadcast taking place, unleashed some profane references to the New England Patriots.
Unfortunately, there are no take-backs in live-video streaming.
While this technology has progressed since the 1990s, the increasing popularity, since 2016, of Facebook Live has given rise to its use as a free marketing tool and has reinvented branding on a personal level. In fact, the immediacy of live video has the potential to make or break the public’s opinion of a brand.
So, what should you/shouldn’t you do with this popular tool? Here’s a look at the fine line between using and abusing live video marketing, and its impact on branding:
The good: Use video to showcase your brand’s values.
In a June 2016 survey Cisco predicted that online video will be responsible for four-fifths of global internet traffic by 2019.
Buzzfeed proved its own marketing power in August 2016 by live video-streaming two employees trying to explode a watermelon using rubber bands for 45 consecutive minutes. The video was not related to a specific product or service but at its popularity peak attracted 807,000 viewers.
The Buzzfeed live video succeeded because it intrigued viewers’ curiosities and kept their attention through escalating tension. The video also showed the brand was fun, innovative and exciting — making a solid ploy to its primarily millennial audience.
See what Facebook Live can do for your brand: Form a committee to monitor and analyze video’s impact on social media in you target market. Do this to determine what your audience members value through their shares and engagement. Then, plan a unique marketing campaign through live…