Live Video Streaming Isn’t Overrated: Here’s Why

Live video streaming is one of the latest trends in marketing—but it’s not just a trend. It’s a highly valuable training tool that will allow you to reach your audience on a more personal level. By implementing live video for your business, you can pique employee interest in training and impart valuable knowledge in real-time—helping you improve your employees’ comprehension of everything you’re trying to teach.

The Benefits of Live Video Streaming

1) Live events encourage higher levels of engagement. Employees are more likely to find the time to make it to a live event at a given moment than they are to check out an on-demand video “eventually.” Live video creates a sense of urgency that will be sure to spark the interest of your employees. 2) Live video is easier to record. There’s no need to go back and correct small mistakes or obsess over the way your face looked when you said one particular sentence. It’s already out there, done, and over. 3) You get more interaction from your viewers. Live video allows you to receive immediate feedback which you can integrate into your next session or lesson. Employees may also be more likely to provide specific feedback when they know you’re listening to hear what they have to say. 4) Live streaming is as long as it needs to be. There’s no reason to shorten your lessons to fit into a particular time constraint; you can keep the stream going for as long as necessary to reach your students and provide them with the information they need. 5) Live streaming allows you to reduce the cost of instructors or other interactions with your employees. There’s no need to worry about travel expenses or to take a trainer away from their family so they can come out to deliver a lesson. Instead, live streaming makes it possible for one instructor to reach as many learners as necessary from as far away as they like. It’s the perfect schedule!

How Other Companies are Using Live Video Streaming

Many companies are using live video streaming for a variety of reasons. It has become a critical part of inbound marketing, as businesses offer content that is specifically designed to draw in users who are interested in the content that’s being presented at that exact moment. It’s a great training tool: many companies have found that they can easily present information to a variety of employees or customers all at the same time through live video presentations, allowing viewers to attend presentations from the comfort of their offices or living rooms. A live video is also an excellent tool for increasing customer interaction. Some examples: 

• Dunkin Donuts shares recipes with their customers and encourages them to participate. For example, one recent promotion offered customers money for sharing their stories.
• Buzzfeed got a little silly with its customers as it drew them in with an invitation to see how many rubber bands could fit around a watermelon—a great way to bring in customers and invite them to see what the BuzzFeed community is all about.
• General Motors was the first brand to live stream a release—inviting customers to watch it happen in real time.

The key to all of these brands is engagement: real-time video creates a sense of urgency that encourages customer involvement and lets them get excited about the content that’s being shared. No matter who your viewer might be, you can create similar hooks that will increase their interest.

How Can Live Video Streaming Be Used in Corporate Training?

Many corporations stretch over a broad geographical area, which makes it difficult to ensure continuity of training over multiple branches. Thankfully, live video can close those gaps. One instructor can reach everyone in every branch which is undertaking the training at the same time. Live video, when used as part of an integrated online training program, can have a number of useful advantages. The continuity of experience offered by live video is its key advantage. No one can argue that their trainer “left that part out” or that they “were never told about that” when the same trainer engages everyone at the same time. Increased employee engagement and instructor interaction are also among the main advantages of this type of program. 

• Live video allows employees to interact and ask questions for clarification, which means that confusing points can be addressed before employees need to use the material they’ve covered as part of their daily job duties.
• Live video permits employees to interact with one another through the comments area, which means that they can learn from one another—a valuable tool when one employee might not even know what question they need to ask or hasn’t realized what questions they have yet.
• Live video ensures that your information is current and relevant. Instead of training content that’s outdated, referencing procedures and equipment that are no longer in use, employees can go through training that includes the latest information.
• Live video is less expensive and less time-consuming to put together than canned video content. There’s no need to go over it afterward, to make multiple takes, or to examine the content minutely to make sure that it was perfect because the live take is already done. Viewers see it as it’s being shot.

Live video streaming is an excellent tool used by many companies in a variety of ways. Are you incorporating the opportunities offered by live video into your corporate training methods? If you aren’t, it’s time to consider it—because this is one surefire way to raise more employee engagement, increase their ability to ask questions and provide more continuity across the training process. Contact Knowledge Anywhere today to learn more about best practices for training delivery.