When you think of the trendiest marketing strategies, live streaming should definitely pop up right away. It can be relatively cheap, have little to no production value, and generate more revenue. Our Restream Friday Live show host Anya Razina sat down with the one and only Mr. Neil Patel, a marketing guru, successful entrepreneur, and insightful blogger, to talk about live streaming and why it’s the best marketing tool to engage and grow your audience.
In case you know nothing about Neil Patel, he’s considered the top marketer, who is not just helping large corporations like Google, NBC, General Motors and eBay boost their revenue, but is also mentoring small businesses and individuals to facilitate their growth. Neil’s goal is to share his knowledge with as many people as he can and prove that marketing isn’t that expensive or difficult. So without further ado, let’s go through the most interesting and helpful parts of the event.
1. What video marketing trends will stay relevant in the near future?
The biggest trend we saw in 2020 was live streaming. Due to the engaging nature of this format and the global pandemic, live streaming has become the world’s biggest hit. The biggest social platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and X (Twitter), wasted no time and adapted their algorithms for live streaming, hence encouraging people and businesses to live stream more.
Here’s why live streaming is so huge right now. According to Neil Patel, social platforms basically act as a new version of traditional live television. And when you go live they will try to spread your broadcast over not just your network, but also your network’s network, thus massively increasing your audience reach.
They want more people to stay on YouTube or Facebook or any of their platforms because they make more ad revenue versus if you go out there and watch TV.
2. Is the power of live streaming as a marketing tool still underestimated?
Despite live streaming being the 2020 top video marketing trend, its impact is still underestimated. Lots of businesses continue to make pre-recorded videos to promote their brands or products. Yes, high-quality pre-recorded media can strengthen a company's position in the market. However, it doesn’t really facilitate the expansion. Live streaming, on the other hand, is incredibly diverse and engaging, and it can massively increase audience reach in no time.
Nowadays, one of the most popular forms of live streaming in businesses is live interviews. One thing Neil Patel recommends in regards to live interviews is to go live at the same time together. This way, the two different audiences get to know each other, and the content spreads much faster.
3. Are there any good SEO practices for live videos?
It’s not a secret that Google’s search engine dominates the scene. However, did you know that the second biggest search engine is actually YouTube? Therefore, investing in SEO makes a lot of sense when it comes to live streaming on this platform. If you want to rank higher, put some thought into your live video titles and descriptions, and include the trending keywords related to the topic of your stream.
The next big step is to promote your content after the end of the broadcast. The next 24 hours are crucial in terms of marketing due to the way YouTube’s algorithm works. Do push notifications, set some messenger bots, promote the video on your other social platforms, and ask all your friends to comment, share and like your video.
4. How do you measure the ROI of live streams?
One of the most common misconceptions about professional live streaming is that you need a team of professionals to produce the content and analyze the results. Fortunately, this is not the case. You don’t really need that fancy equipment or proper marketing strategy. All you need to begin with is your phone, laptop or desktop. Neil Patel believes it’s best to simply start and see how it goes.
And if you’re really curious whether your live streams are doing any good, there is at least one way to find out. Remember that live streaming is about the long run. So don’t expect immediate returns. Stream for at least half a year, and then simply ask people. You’ll be shocked to learn how big the ROI actually is.
5. How do you approach repurposing your live content?
Probably the most common mistake when it comes to live streaming is not realizing its fullest potential. People miss dozens of amazing opportunities, one of which is repurposing content. For example, if you do a live interview, you can transform it into an audio podcast and then post it on platforms like Spotify, iTunes and Buzzsprout. Afterward, you can repurpose it into a blog post.
Another important factor most people miss when streaming is that they don’t offer a single thing. Keep in mind that live streams present a unique opportunity to promote and sell your products or services. And if you repurpose your live streams into all sorts of content, you’ll indirectly increase your sales.
6. Live video vs. pre-recorded video: which is better?
Fairly enough, people expect to see higher quality from pre-recorded videos and are much more forgiving in regards to live videos. Therefore, you can save lots of money, as you don't need the production and editing expenses. Moreover, you're getting more views when live streaming than from pre-recorded videos because social media algorithms are trying to encourage live content more at this moment. Also, live streaming allows you to engage with your audience in real time, which can in turn boost your social profile and increase sales.
When you go live, no one expects perfection or editing.
7. How often do you have to go live?
There’s no golden rule for the frequency of live streams. The idea is pretty simple: go live as often as possible if your content remains interesting and helpful for viewers. This means if you can produce engaging content four days a week, do it! Generally speaking, the more you live stream, the more attention you can get.
You don't want to go live for the sake of going live, even though it's good to. If your content sucks, people aren't going to want to keep tuning into it.
8. Is there a benefit from multistreaming to different platforms at the same time?
The one simple concept about video marketing is that the more people view your content, the better. And one of the easiest ways to maximize the number of your viewers is to live stream to multiple platforms simultaneously. Luckily, you don’t have to manually set up multiple cameras and desktops to get this going. With Restream Studio, you can go live on 30+ top platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitch and X (Twitter), at the same time right from your browser tab.
Create stunning live videos
Restream Studio is the easiest way to create high-quality live videos on multiple platforms at once. It's user-friendly and offers an engaging viewer experience.
In other words, you spend time, money and energy to create live content, so you might as well spend a few more seconds to make sure you get the most out of your work. Remember, audience reach is the key to sales.
9. Is offering live streaming services a good practice for marketing agencies?
Despite the fact that live streaming isn’t necessarily the hardest marketing tool, many businesses actually don’t want to do it themselves. Such companies would rather pay someone to run live streams for them. Therefore, marketing agencies can be sure of one thing — there’s a strong demand for such services.
One more factor every marketing agency should consider is that there’s little competition in live streaming services at the moment. This means, although you might potentially make more money for pay-per-click services, live streaming is a safe bet that requires little investment and can make you more money in the short run.
I would actually even say, in the next year or two, you'd probably make more money, you know, just focusing on things like live streams.
10. How do you get rid of shyness and be confident on camera?
We know about our own imperfections, but most people do not notice until we highlight them. When you go live, try to keep in mind that most people online are quite forgiving and not really as judgemental as you may think. Surely, your first few live streams won’t be close to ideal, but try to avoid focusing on little details only you can see, and keep on trying to do your best! Your confidence will grow with time.
It may not work out the way you want, but if you do it a few times, you'll get used to it. You'll get encouraging comments. People are very friendly on the social web.
11. Is it better to go live at different times or to have a regular schedule?
The general advice is to set a schedule and stick to it. However, to be able to do so, you need to try going live at different times and see when your broadcasts get more views. Once you figure out the ideal time when the majority of your audience is going to show up, you can then adjust your live streams and set a stable schedule. Test different times before making the final decision.
When you're first tuning in live, use multiple different schedules, because then you'll see what times create the most interaction and engagement.
12. How do you convert your audience and start making money?
The biggest mistake people make is that they forget the pitch. If you forget to include a pitch within your live video promoting your product or service, you're less likely to generate revenue. Simple as that! Make sure people know what you are trying to promote or sell.
As my mom always said, if you don't ask, you'll never receive. So ask, and you can do that with a pitch.
13. What is production value, and should you neglect this factor when it comes to live streaming?
Production value is a combination of all the technical elements of a production, such as lighting, decor, sound and other elements that are enhanced to increase audience appeal. Neil Patel believes there’s a time and place for production value. However, due to the nature of social media algorithms, live videos with no production value consistently beat high-quality pre-recorded videos in traffic.
It's too hard to fully produce perfect videos that are live. If that's the case, it's not really that live.
14. How do you grow your channel from scratch?
Growing your channel from the bottom all the way to the top can be very challenging. Neil Patel recommends the following steps that may help you grow your audience faster:
- Stream at least three to five days a week.
- Bring people with big communities onto your streams.
- Do keyword research and include the right keywords in your titles, descriptions, etc.
- Go live on as many platforms as you can at the same time.
- Promote your live videos via emails, push notifications, message bots, etc.
- Include incentives, such as giveaways and prize draws.
15. How do you monetize conversation-type live streams?
One of the trickiest live streaming types to monetize is live interviews or simple live conversations. Things can get even more difficult if you are not selling any product or service. Luckily, affiliate links can solve this issue. You can talk about virtually anything and include relatable affiliate links on live streams.
Let’s wrap everything up
Live streaming was a huge deal in 2020 and will remain super trendy for at least two or three years more, according to Neil Patel. The marketing guru believes every business should incorporate live streaming in its marketing strategies, as it’s way cheaper, more engaging, and, in general, more efficient when it comes to developing brands and growing communities.
The power of live streaming is still underestimated by many businesses, which means the competition is still relatively low. This is an incredibly good opportunity for marketing agencies whose focus is mainly live streaming services. To make the most of your live streams, follow these simple yet powerful tips from Neil Patel:
- Go live as often as you can while keeping the quality of your content high.
- Invite other content creators with big communities onto your streams.
- Do keyword research and include the right keywords in your titles, descriptions, etc.
- Broadcast on multiple platforms to maximize your audience reach.
- Promote your live videos on all social media via emails, notifications, friends, message bots, etc.
- Include incentives, such as giveaways and prize draws.
- Always promote something on the stream: product or service.
- Repurpose your live videos into podcasts and blog posts.
- Don’t forget to constantly engage your audience on streams.
We thank Mr. Neil Patel for sharing his knowledge with us!
