In a crowded field, creating a sense of urgency can push your brand to the front and center. Thanks to FOMO (that’s “fear of missing out”), people are likely to sit up and pay attention if they get the sense that they’ll miss something important if they aren’t there in the moment. Thus marks the rise of Instagram Influencer Live Stream.
That might be why live video and live streams are proving to be pretty useful and effective. About 80 percent of audiences would rather watch a live video from a brand than read a blog post. Live videos are also thought to be more authentic than other forms of content.
Instagram’s live feature is one of the more recent introductions into the live video fray. It has a few things in common with other live video options, such as Facebook Live and Snapchat. But, it also stands on its own.
For example, initially, Instagram influencer live streams vanished the second the video ended. Now, users have the option of saving their live video, giving it another 24 hours of life. With its ephemeral quality and perceived authenticity, Instagram Live can be a great way for brands to use influencers to connect with a new or existing audience.
Who’s Using Instagram Influencer Live Stream
Plenty of brands and individuals have jumped into the Instagram influencer live stream feature since it launched in 2016. Here are a few clever ways brands have made live, temporary video work for them.
J.Crew
Clothing retailer J.Crew has found a way to add a real sense of urgency to its Instagram influencer live streams. It offers links and promotions, valid only for the length of the video. Once the live video ends, those sales are gone for good.
Tim Coppens
Menswear designer Tim Coppens used Instagram Live to share his fashion show with a larger public, Business of Fashion reported. Once the fashion show ended, the stream was gone, creating something that Coppens described as “raw, direct, and engaging.”
Beyond Yoga
Beyond Yoga gave fans of its clothing a view of how the clothes hold up during a yoga session. The brand live-streamed a video of a person doing yoga while wearing its clothing. Thus, it gave potential buyers an idea of how the clothes move and handle sweat. Plus, it addressed other issues that might crop up during yoga.
Instagram Influencer Live Stream Best Practices
Perhaps the biggest obstacle standing in the way of brands and influencers using Instagram Live is convincing people that they need to drop whatever they are doing and tune into the live stream right away. Following a few best practices will help your brand make the most of an Instagram influencer live stream:
Create a sense of urgency
People need to know that if they miss this live stream, that’s it — they’ll miss whatever the offer is, or whatever antics the influencers get up to during the video. Offering limited-time-only, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it promo codes works to create a sense of urgency. But so does creating scenarios in your videos that will only happen just that once. For example, if you work with an influencer, he or she could make a super important, earth-shattering announcement during the stream.
Give users a chance to interact with influencers
Instagram influencer live streams are to modern audiences what radio call-in shows were to people a few decades ago. They give everyday people a chance to interact with someone they admire. During a live stream on Instagram, the people tuning in can leave comments and questions on the video. The influencer can mention any comments or answer questions, giving average folks a chance to bask in their 15 minutes (or seconds) of fame.
Capitalize on the “live”-ness of a live stream
During an Instagram influencer live stream, it’s likely that an influencer will goof up, trip over his or her words, or otherwise make a gaffe that wouldn’t appear in an edited, polished video. That’s totally OK, and might even work in your brand’s favor, as small mistakes can contribute to the overall realness and authenticity of a live video.
Instagram Vs. Facebook Vs. Snapchat: An Influencer Live Stream Smackdown
Instagram isn’t the only social media platform to offer a live video feature. In fact, it was actually a bit late to the party, offering live video well after Facebook and Snapchat were already doing the same. But the Instagram influencer live stream is a bit different from other competitor options.
For starters, Instagram’s live streams land somewhere between Snapchat and Facebook Live when it comes to ephemerality. Snapchat videos are gone right away. Facebook Live videos continue to live on a brand’s news feed. Someone who missed the live stream can check out the recording, even months or years after the fact. That eliminates some of the sense of urgency from Facebook live videos.
An Instagram live video can go away immediately after the recording ends, or an influencer can decide to convert it into a story, giving it an extra day (24 hours) of life.
Another big difference between Instagram live and Snapchat is that more people are using Instagram’s stories and live features. In August 2017, one year after its launch, Instagram’s stories and live features had 250 million users, while Snapchat had just 166 million.
If your brand has been working with influencers on Instagram, but engagement has been stagnant or nearly non-existent, giving Instagram’s live streaming feature a try might be just what you need to breathe new life into your influencer campaigns.
