The Rise of Live Videos
One of the newest social media trends is making live videos. We already had a taste of this power with Snapchat and posting videos to our stories but, Instagram just took this idea to a whole new level.
In August, they introduced Instagram Stories as a way to share all the moments of your day, not just the ones you want to keep on your profile. Instagram is now testing their own live video option. Live video on Instagram Stories helps you connect with your friends and followers right now. When you’re done, your live story disappears from the app so you can feel more comfortable sharing anything, anytime. Social media is becoming fascinated with live, authentic content. Millennials love video content and are the most active video viewers of any age group in the U.S. in 2016 and they’re not likely to slow down in 2017.
Live videos have much more engagement than any other content format, and have been responsible for a lot of growth on social media sites. Even news sources are citing Facebook Live videos when covering major events. The world of media is changing thanks to live video.
Organizations could really benefit by using this new feature. In Public Relations one of the most important things to remember is your publics. If organizations or other influencers want to reach this new generation they have to adapt to the new trends. Live videos offer a chance for viewers to see real and unfiltered moments. Organizations could use live videos to promote their brand or an event coming up. Celebrities can use live videos to interact with their fan base and promote their own brand or image. We have already seen the power Snapchat and Instagram stories have on millenials. Social media grows everyday so the possibilities are endless when it comes to using this new feature. I am excited to see how it will grow throughout 2017.
Personally, I have never posted a live video on Instagram, however, I have watched a few. I like watching the videos that my favorite celebrities post. I tend to not watch live videos posted by my random followers. I have noticed that the younger generation likes to post live videos for their friends to see and the older generations tend to just post stories of photos or video.
Overall, I really like these new features that are becoming popular with almost all of the social media sites. I believe that organizations and social media influencers could truly benefit by using live videos and reach the target audiences more effectively. Social media has started off with a bang in 2017 and I think it will only continue to get better from here!
