According to a recent survey from live streaming video platform Brandlive, 44 percent of the companies it polled had produced one or more live streaming videos in the last year, and 20 percent were planning to do one in the next 12 months.
In an attempt to establish a benchmark for live stream video usage by businesses, Brandlive, whose client list includes major brands like GoPro, The Home Depot and eBay, surveyed 208 professionals between December 2015 and January 2015 regarding their live streaming video initiatives.
The survey participants were split between brands (46 percent), retailers (20 percent), agencies (15 percent) and a group defined as “other” (25 percent) from small, medium and large businesses with revenue ranging from $5 million to $1 billion.
Brandlive found that the majority of the businesses currently producing live stream video content were using it for training purposes, with in-person events, customer service training, retail training and sales training outranking product launches, consumer marketing and e-commerce sales.
Of the companies planning to do live streaming video during the upcoming year, the largest majority plan to use it for consumer panels, followed by virtual tours. More than 50 percent of the survey participants said they would use live stream video for marketing efforts, including product launches, e-commerce sales, consumer marketing and influencer briefings.
When asked to rank the importance of live streaming video, two-thirds of the survey participants said it was either “Important,” “Very Important” or a “Top Priority.” Brandlive’s survey also asked survey participants to rank the perceived benefits for producing live streaming video content and found the top answer was “More authentic interaction with audience.”
Other perceived benefits involved things like bringing a human element to digital marketing and being able to re-use video content at a later date.
Perceived Benefits of Live Streaming Video Content
Resources and costs were the top two barriers keeping companies from using live video more often according to the survey’s results.
When it comes to current resources, 65 percent of survey participants said their company did not have an in-house video production team; 30 percent said they did. (Five percent didn’t know.) When asked about budgets, 24 percent said their live streaming video budgets will increase, while 68 percent said it will remain the same. Eight percent said their instant streaming video budget will decrease.
More than 40 percent of the companies planning to use live streaming video in the coming year said they would not be using an outside video production service. More than 50 percent of the companies currently doing live streaming videos also reported they would not being using an outside source for their live video production needs.
Among the companies considering outside production resources, approximately 20 percent said they would use a video production company or video platform service.
While Brandlive’s survey pool was limited, with just over 200 respondents, the findings show that more brands are thinking about their live streaming video options. (Although it is worth noting that 35 percent of the survey participants said their companies had no plans to do live stream videos.)
Just this week, Facebook announced it was differentiating live streaming video from regular video content and had tweaked its algorithm to rank live video streams higher in the News Feed.
As live video continues to grow on Facebook, and platforms like Periscope expand their capabilities, it’s a safe bet brands will follow suit and invest more time, money and resources in live streaming video content.
You can download the full Brandlive survey at: Live Streaming Video for Brands and Retailers: A Research Report.
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