Meerkat and the Live Stream Race

Just when it looks like you can’t get any more personal with your social media presence, Meerkat comes along and tips off a live-streaming race amongst platforms vying for your content.

Meerkat launched right before one of the biggest gatherings of techy-party people at South by Southwest — either an auspicious start or a brilliantly calculated move. The app has seen a meteoric rise in visibility within digital circles, not just because it’s the new kid on the block, but also because it brings to life even more possibilities for brand building, both personal and commercial.

The app affectionally named after a cute animal ties into the Twitter API and requires sign-up for viewing via Twitter. Once you’ve authorized the app, you’re well on your way to becoming your own live broadcasting star. You now have the capability to share with your Twitter followers, and anyone who clicks on the link, your live whereabouts in real-time.

No longer do you have to use “antiquated” methods of sharing, such as Instagramming or Vining a video of a donut you just ate, you can now share the demise of said donut along with the lead-up to it as it is happening (*waving at donut guy that doesn’t want to be filmed*). Just open the app, give your stream a title, and off it goes into the vast universe of potential followers, consumers, and lurkers.

The ease of use, along with the new-out-of-the-box smell, makes the experience feel different than existing methods of live broadcasting. Herein lies the opportunity for brands, sports teams, individuals, and narcissists: the end result, for better or worse, is as authentic as it gets, and authenticity, as marketers well know, is the moving bulls-eye when it comes to content creation.

This presents a differentiating advantage for individuals and brands seeking new ways of engaging their audiences, and, as a result, existing platforms that were once the darlings of the ball are having to pivot rapidly to also provide a similar service for their existing user base.

YouTube recently struck a deal with the NCAA to broadcast live highlights, post-game analysis, interviews, and additional coverage of March Madness on the official March Madness YouTube Channel.

“Tapping into the power and reach of YouTube’s video platform opens up new opportunities for us to grow interest and consumption of March Madness,”
— Mark Johnson, Turner Sports’ VP of business operations.

Facebook also dove into the live stream world by partnering with the NCAA to host a live show from South by Southwest on Selection Sunday. The recorded version of this broadcast can be found here.

Not wanting to be left behind, Snapchat — the ephemeral media sharing app — is also “working to forge media-rights deals with sports leagues and broadcast networks, including the NCAA and Turner, so it can feature live sports in its ‘Our Story’ feature, starting with the NCAA Final Four, according to multiple media executives familiar with the plans,” according to DigiDay.

Live streaming capabilities existed well before Meerkat, but what is new is the Twitter-like, rugged feel of execution where all you need is your phone — no Google hangout to set-up, no additional services to sign-up for which may require payment. What’s slightly puzzling is that Twitter didn’t release such a capability natively. Acknowledging the fact that Twitter’s purpose was initially micro-blogging and not video, Twitter did recently make strides in its video capabilities in order to benefit from a growing hunger for visual content.

So how can brands or individuals leverage Meerkat in their favor?

Given its nascent stages, most of the content coming out of the |LIVE NOW| streams tends to be experimental in nature as early adopters figure out how to best leverage the platform. However, there is potential, especially for sports teams and athletes, to provide exclusive access to players or team activities — think fan Q&As, pre and post game; stadium tours; additional locker room access, and even promotional code giveaways that are only available to fans tuning in to the live stream.

Entertainment or TV entities can also leverage the platform in their favor by providing access to actors as an extension of a show or a movie. James Van Der Beek, for example, hopped on Meerkat today to test it out and while the experience of talking without “hearing” feedback was a little awkward, he thought perhaps this would be a good way to engage fans after the showing of any shows he may be on.

We’ve seen TV & movie celebrities experience success in engaging fans via Twitter interactions, this is taking it to another level, one in which the viewer continues to be the viewer, but with the added experience of feeling like you’re in a room with someone you look up to or want to interact with.

Brands, on the other hand, will have to weigh the value of the medium against the lack of control which comes into play with any live stream. Not that there aren’t opportunities to take advantage of, but controlling for the variables during live broadcasts is trickier than editing a Vine or Instagram video before publishing. Like every other platform in the past, devoting energy to a new social media channel or app requires a strategic approach and an analysis of whether Meerkat is a viable solution for your audience given its Twitter log-in requirement.

Are you using Meerkat? Have you seen any good examples of influencers or celebrities using it? How can brands leverage this platform while still controlling for the “unknown”? Do you believe it has staying power?

Let me know your thoughts and your experience if you’re using the platform, either here or over Twitter @jhonyfgutierrez.