How to get the most out of live streaming on social media

For charities of all sizes, live streaming has the potential to transform not only digital fundraising but also to capture new audiences.

Live streaming sets you apart from the crowd

Demand for video is strong. Vimeo, the video hosting and sharing platform, reports that growth in live streaming has sky rocketed – in 2018, the platform found 47% of global consumers increased their live streaming from the prior year. Looking towards the future, Cisco, the software company says that by 2022, video content will comprise 82% of all internet traffic. The live streamed video gaming tournament Fornite Creative Showdown, shows how valuable the channel is. This year’s prize money of $1 million went to the winner’s charity of choice.

Charities of all sizes can start live streaming on social media. Hootsuite, the social media management platform says that there are many reasons to go live on social media. Some of the best reasons to broadcast includes:

• Live events generate real time feedback: Charities can get feedback from viewers at the same time as broadcasting. Hootsuite says this builds trust and engagement with audiences. It also gives you valuable insight not how audiences respond to your content.
• Capturing the moment: With live streaming, charities can create a sense of urgency around each stream. The temporal moment of each live stream is preferable to static webpages, so charities can tap into each moment.
• Creating authenticity: Live streaming means imperfections and stumbling points can still come across to audiences – this can help build trust and authenticity. Unplanned moments can add spontaneity to social media live streaming posts.
• Live videos get more attention: On all the major social media platforms, live streamed videos are prioritised over static posts. If your charity is struggling to get to the ‘top’ of feeds, live streaming video offers an easy way to skip the queue.