We already know the benefits of search engine marketing, but is there a way to merge common SEO strategies with emerging Internet marketing trends? There are endless statistics lauding the benefits of including videos and live streaming for SEO. Just when digital marketers were getting their heads around the fact that 69% of consumer internet traffic in 2017 will be based around people watching videos, a development comes along that changes the game. What’s better than just watching content? That would be watching content unfold live before your very eyes.
No longer is live streaming vision something that belongs solely to the medium of television sports broadcasts. The same excitement and anticipation can now be imitated by anybody with a solid social media following and an iOS or Android operating system, thanks to some recent updates on Facebook and Twitter. It can also be exploited for SEO purposes as a way of boosting the company’s social media marketing.
This live streaming revolution was sparked by Periscope, an app that was acquired by the struggling Twitter in January 2015. The history of the app is a fascinating one. Developers Kayvon Beykpour and Joe Bernstein were travelling in Istanbul when protests broke out in 2013. When the two wanted to know what was happening, they were dismayed to find that the live updates that were available to them were only available in 140 character tweets. The idea of completely visual live updates was born.
Although the concept of live streaming is not new, the popularity of it amongst ‘ordinary’ social media users is. As usual with social media marketing, the ease of use and the impression of dynamic content have been imperative to the promotion of live streaming. When a user goes to publish a tweet using their mobile device, the option of creating a live video automatically presents itself. Since Twitter’s update, the Periscope link can be watched via Twitter, without users having to be taken to a separate application and without having to create an entirely separate Periscope account. It’s a small change, but one that appears bigger in the eyes of time-starved social media users.
The same option is available for mobile Facebook users. In both cases, the creator of the video can invite people to watch the live stream, or can make it public for anybody to witness. This trend has taken better to Twitter than it has to Facebook, simply because Twitter has based its foundations on being on top of all things live. New stories are frequently broken on Twitter, and users like to feel that they are constantly connected to what is happening right now, not just what the site thinks they want to see.
Recognising this and confirming the influence of live stream videos, Mark Zuckerberg announced in March 2016 that the Facebook algorithm was undergoing changes to give priority to live videos in news feeds.
And then there’s YouTube, the video leviathan before Twitter and Facebook cottoned on to the changes in video marketing. Unknown to many users, YouTube has had a live streaming operation since 2011, although it was not available on mobile. The 2016 update that introduced the mobile app seems to be playing a game of catch-up to the two leaders. As Facebook and Twitter are also social networking sites that more actively encourage participation, a greater sense of engagement could be achieved with Facebook and Periscope.
The most useful application of live streaming as part of a digital marketing campaign is a sense of immediacy and authenticity. Videos that have been carefully edited and pre-approved can occasionally appear emotionally manipulative, and as if they are airbrushing the image of the company. In contrast, creating a live stream allows your audience to see what’s going on behind the scenes a little. It can make them feel a part of something so much bigger than just consuming the product, and keeps them entertained through regular, bite-sized content.
As a small to medium business owner, going live can be a scary and risky process – what if something goes disastrously wrong? What if not a single person tunes in to your live feed? What if the pressure in the moment is too much and you can’t think of anything to say? What if you promised your audience Barack Obama and then your stream goes dead? The easiest way is to start out slowly – and to not expect an audience the size of the live stream for the US Presidential debates.
In practice, businesses that are trying to grow their social media presence using SEO marketing and a live stream may only expect an audience of up to ten followers, but this still leaves plenty of room to get creative with your content creation. Sessions could be as simple as a Q&A with the owner or some satisfied customers. This can go some way towards forging relationships with your audience as they get to see the personalities of the people that they will be dealing with when they purchase your product.
Another possibility for small businesses is to take your audience through your typical day, or the process of creating something. Are you an independent artist who paints bespoke greeting cards by hand? Show your buyers exactly how much work goes into your product. It will give the audience a newfound sense of appreciation for your product, and it may feel slightly more special when they buy it if they know exactly where is has come from. You might be surprised at what captivates audiences when they’re watching it happen in real time.
By implementing the same SEO services used to attract users to your webpage, you can make sure that you’ve got an audience for your live stream. The key to your video cropping up on search engine results pages (SERPs) is pre-live-stream preparation. If you’re hosting your live stream on your social media account, make sure that your Twitter handle (your @ name) or the name of your Facebook page incorporates keywords for your industry and ones that relate to your original webpage. When a potential client conducts a search, your social accounts could appear on a SERP like this:
Once potential clients have found your social media accounts through keyword search, the next step is to incorporate the same themes and keywords into your live stream preparation. This means posting updates about what you’re planning to do in your live stream video and exactly when you’re planning to do it in the days leading up to your live stream, so that your audience is prepared. Not only does this create a sense of anticipation for the video, but search engine algorithms also favour social media profiles that are more established and active.
Choice of keywords also becomes important when naming your live stream. Both Periscope and Facebook give you the chance to write a name and description about your video – take the opportunity and attract any potential consumers who are searching for someone like you by including your main key words in this section. These SEO strategies of keywords and creating fresh content through frequent live streams can and should be utilised on your social media accounts as well as your original website to make sure that your message can be found.
SEO Sydney‘s key takeaway: Getting started in live streaming can be easily achieved and incorporated into any digital marketing strategy – plus, with every passing moment that video you posted last week becomes more and more out of date.
