5 Ways Marketers Can Best Leverage Live Online Video: VidCon

Led by Facebook Live, live video is the essential platform of the moment for marketing, but it's also a frightening place for marketers afraid of making a mistake in real-time and damaging their brands. At VidCon 2016, Ryan Bell and Brian Fanzo of media consultancy Backlamp offered instructions on succeeding with live.

Different online platforms have different uses, Bell said, and how you tell your story is important. This week's events in Congress, where some savvy Washington D.C. staffer turned to Periscope when C-SPAN stopped airing live coverage, show the power of live online video. That's something that wouldn't have happened only a year ago.

Think like a fan, and provide access to people, places, and experiences. Here are five ways marketers can best put live video to use:

1 Giveaways

"Everybody wants to get something for free," Bell said. Not only are giveaways good for getting attention, but you can use them to put your products into diverse hands. Make sure the product given away is relevant to the viewers.

2. Live Reveals

Holding an event? Make it live and pull in fans who couldn't be there. Product launches, fashion shows, and event showcases are all great candidates. Bring fans along on the journey, and turn fans into brand advocates.

3. Interviews

"An interview is a wonderful way to open up your audience to somebody else's audience," Bell said. Piggyback on someone else's following by interviewing them on your platform.

4. Employee Advocacy Programs

"You don't realize that people in your company are stars," Bell said. With employee advocacy programs, your give your current staff the chance to shine on camera. It's a brilliant move: It empowers employees, and gives your brand advocates who already knows the company inside and out. It also saves costs over hiring influencers, generates sales, and even helps with recruiting. You're not just promoting a product, you're promoting your corporate culture.

5. Influencer Marketing

Hiring on-camera talent is a smart move, but be sure the star is relevant to your brand, Bell cautioned. It should be someone already associated with your industry. Bell likes to use multi-platform creators, since that creates an ecosystem of content that talks to each other. A little pre-event word-of-mouth marketing helps ensure there's an audience ready for your live broadcast.

Troy Dreier's article first appeared on OnlineVideo.net