With the live video market becoming more and more saturated with updates to Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube, many digital marketers are asking the question, does Snapchat make sense for us? Coming from the perspective of a marketer working for a marketing agency, I believe that there are a few things that you can look at to make your ultimate decision on whether or not Snapchat can be a successful piece of your inbound marketing strategy.
Is Live Video Right for You?
Before you just jump right in and create a strategy for live video, it is paramount to understand what the benefits will be for you and if it truly makes sense to make live video a part of your current marketing strategy. Asking yourself questions like;
- How many of our followers are engaging with our social posts currently?
- What would my audience benefit from live videos?
- What content do I have to share that would work for live video?
- Do I have the means and time to create live videos regularly?
For many, it makes sense to incorporate live video into their marketing strategy. Everything from live streaming conferences to give viewers the experience of being at the event if they couldn't make to live updates and announcements from the storefront can boost engagement numbers and bring more people to your website through social media. If you and your team ultimately decided that live video is the direction that you want to go, then it is time to find the right platform to best connect with your audience.
New Updates
There are many live video applications in the digital world today and they are constantly competing to create a better experience for the user. Not to mention that new applications and add-ons are popping up each day. Medium, an online publishing platform used by content marketers and writers has just added a Snapchat like, live story feature which they are calling Series. Writers can essentially create live slideshows telling a story and the difference from Snapchat is that the story does not expire after 24 hours. While it is still just in a beta version, the publishing and creation process needs some work. With development and time, this could be a very powerful tool for marketers already using Medium. Instagram has also just announced that stories are now available globally which means that anyone in the world can see your Instagram story and live streams. With updates like these, the potential reach that you can have with live video is at a whole new level. It is worth taking a look to see if any of the other platforms that you are already suing have Snapchat-like features before starting fresh with a brand new platform. That way you can utilize you previously established audience and followers instead of having to start from zero again.
Snapchat vs. the Competition
While Facebook LIVE, Instagram, Periscope, and new applications like Medium's Series are making a big splash in the digital world, Snapchat was the original live video stories application. Unfortunately, that is why they are constantly trying to play catch up. They were the last to offer a decent advertising platform and the ad platform that is available is far less effective and intuitive than that of Facebook/Instagram. Competing with the behemoth that is Facebook, Inc. is no easy task although Snapchat has put up a valiant fight. However, it seems as though, from a business user perspective, Snapchat will become obsolete over the next few years as Facebook LIVE and Instagram stories get better and better. If you are not already utilizing Snapchat for your business, you will be better off sticking to your guns and using a platform that you have an established engagement strategy and following with that has Snapchat-like features.
If you are considering using live video in your social strategy but don't know where to start, schedule a consultation with one of our experts at Revenue River to learn more about how a sure fire social media strategy can impact your digital marketing campaigns.
