Much like Periscope and Snapchat, live streaming has become one of the hot trends for social media developers. It is also one of the easiest and most affordable approaches for broadcasting a live event, and reaching a more targeted audience than traditional live viewing. With opportunities for more UGC (User Generated Content) and advertising money, it was only a matter of time until the world’s largest social network joined the bandwagon.
Facebook announced that the social media platform would be going “all in” with live video last night via the company’s CEO/CFO, Mark Zuckerberg. “Facebook Live displays
on-screen reactions from users and has comments you can replay, and like Snapchat, broadcasters can add filters and draw on their videos. Users are also able to view the Facebook Live Map to see broadcasts from around the world” (Vanity Fair, 2016).
Now that Facebook is going full-force with live viewing provides a lot of opportunities for advertisers to embrace more integrated marketing communications campaigns. The company initially placed a bid to broadcast live NFL games, but was beat out by Twitter. Although Facebook did not successfully acquire this deal, it just goes to show what companies and TV networks will be able to accomplish with this feature, and the massive audience brands can reach with Facebook’s 1.5 billion users.
In what ways do you think brands could use Facebook Live to incorporate or enhance their integrated marketing communications?
If Facebook Live lives up to the expectations everyone is thinking, what do you predict the future of live television will be?
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm13m1wPiM4
Vanity Fair: http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/04/mark-zuckerberg-is-turning-facebook-into-a-live-streaming-empire
Image: http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/facebook-video-lead-1024×683.jpg
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