What is Streaming?
One of the definitions of streaming that we can give is the one that refers to seeing or hearing a file directly on a web page without the need to download it to the computer. Streaming is in fashion because consuming multimedia files has become a necessity for users of courses, events, contests, social networks, etc.
Therefore, it is not strange to think that streaming can be a totally valid tool to incorporate into our marketing strategy.
Streaming and Social Networks
The broadcast of live videos is something that escapes us, no one. It has been installed permanently on television platforms, and it is even possible that in the future, we may consider not depending on the cable, having certain speed and technical conditions, many of us prefer the services offered by platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO and many others that are emerging and competing with the traditional landscape.
In the case of Social Networks, it is clear that they have clearly seen the gold mine that the broadcast of live content represents for the generation of content. Even this penetration has penetrated the adult entertainment industry. We can take the very popular ebony cam live show as an example.
Because let’s not fool ourselves, what Facebook calls Stories is nothing more than pure and simple streaming. Have you considered live video in your brand strategy?
In the year 2003, we learned about live broadcasting through Skype and the way the use of this technology was made easier for anyone with a minimum of connection and equipment and without the need for large installations. Any of us could become a video-skyper in real-time, although we would still have to wait a little longer for this phenomenon to reach laptops, tablets, and, above all, mobile phones.
Applications for live broadcasts
Periscope
Do you remember Gerard Piqué’s first broadcast of enormous repercussions? He specifically announced on Twitter that at the end of a game, he was going to hold a broadcast as a press conference in which he would admit questions. From that moment on, the player began broadcasting, and the number of his fans skyrocketed. In the beginning, Periscope was the application to use on Twitter to make live broadcasts. However, in 2016 and seeing that the other Networks were beginning to compete with their transmissions, they announced the function of streaming video without having to go to the Periscope application. For many (including myself), this app is still the engine of transmissions made on Twitter. Apart from Periscope and the integration itself that we already found on Twitter, another application to stream on Twitter and that also allows you to save the video to be able to access it directly from the web is Upclose.
Facebook Live
It is Facebook’s real-time video playback tool that allows users to share videos with their friends and followers. It is available for both personal profiles and fan pages (important if you want to enhance your personal brand) and, of course, for all operating systems.
Up close
It is a web and mobile platform that allows brands and users (great potential) to broadcast live videos in a simple way. Through the computer or the mobile, and what is more important, they interact with their followers through an exclusive chat. Aren’t you beginning to see the advantages that the use of this fantastic tool could have for your personal brand?
Stre.am
Again an application to share live videos directly from the mobile. And, of course, you can count on the participation of other users during your transmission. You can integrate it on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Instagram Live Stories
Instagram, in its eagerness to take things from Snapchat here and there, 2016 integrated the live transmission into its platform, but unlike Periscope or Facebook Live, these videos are not saved in the user’s profile, nor can they be consulted in deferred. Once the broadcast is made, the opportunity is lost. During it, you can send “hearts” to comments that you “like” it and send comments. The reason for not saving these videos is for Instagram, that policy that it certainly has regarding its users, and thus perhaps they lose their fear, and the transmissions are made massively. Instagram Live also allows you to send photos and videos with an expiration date through Instagram Direct. The evolution that Instagram itself suffered from the launch of Stories and announcing on the network itself the enormous possibilities that it offered, such as makeup tutorials, DJ sessions, or the lives of the members of the community.
Snapchat Live Stories
Actually, Snapchat is the Network that first “attacked” Periscope. It started with its Live Stories and was adding other functions such as the Story Explorer with the idea of transmitting events to its users.
Meerkat
This app was launched in 2015 to great acclaim. It is a video streaming app for Twitter whose main virtue is its simplicity. All you have to do is capture a video from your smartphone and share it with your Twitter followers in real-time. By the way, the same creators of Meerkat later launched Housepary, a more informal app to meet up with your friends via mobile. Don’t you think they are really great options?
OBS
What were you wondering about how YouTubers broadcast live? Well, here you have the program with which they do it: Open Broadcaster Software, which you can download from the page that I have left in the link. It is necessary to configure it correctly and then go to our YouTube channel and manage the video transmission after pressing the button (I recommend you take a look at a tutorial). You can capture the screen or broadcast whatever you think best: tutorials, power points on some topic, etc.
YouTube App
The video Social Network par excellence could not be left behind in relation to streaming, and although a little later than Twitter and even Facebook, it launched the live transmission option within its application. Within it, you can choose if your streaming is public or private if you allow comments and if you want users of your channel to be notified.
After all, at the moment that Social Networks begin to bet on the option of live video on their respective platforms, it is when technology begins to advance to put all kinds of tools in the user’s hands.
