Buckle Up for Instagram Live
Over the past few years, Instagram has grown immensely beyond a photo-sharing app to becoming the hot favorite platform for marketers, influencers, and brands. Gone are the days when square images dominated the forum. Today, Instagram is known for reels, boomerangs, time-lapses, stop-motion sequences, video posts, and live streams. And with all the social media jumping on the bandwagon of live streaming, Instagram Live is a sure-shot shortcut to the top.
- 1.074 billion users worldwide (eMarketer, 2021).
- 71% of Instagram users are under 35 years of age (Statista, 2019).
- A user spends an average of 53 minutes per day on Instagram (Recode, 2018).
In This Blog:
- What is Instagram Live?
- The Power of Instagram Live
- Why Instagram Live?
- Popular Instagram Live Formats
- Live stream on Instagram with OneStream Live
❓What is Instagram Live?
Instagram Live (also known as IG Live) is an exciting feature that works in tandem with Instagram Stories (more commonly known as Insta stories or IG stories), allowing the users to broadcast live videos to other Instagram users. Hence, Instagram Live essentially works as a part of Insta Stories. Global brands are leveraging Insta stories to stay ahead of the competitive game - a feature that allows users to post photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. What’s more interesting is that Insta stories are displayed at the top of the feed, making them prominent enough to catch users’ attention compared to regular content. Hang on; it gets even better. When you use Instagram Live, your story is bumped to the first place in the Stories displayed above the feed! Now, that’s what we mean when we say Insta Live is a shortcut to the frontline.
🪄The Power of Instagram Live
- 500 million Instagram accounts use Instagram stories every day.
- 80%of Instagram users rely on Instagram to make purchase decisions.
Remember we just pointed out above that Instagram Live pushes your stories to the first position on top of the feed? There’s more to the awesomeness. Followers who haven’t turned off Instagram Live notifications will get notified every time you go live on Instagram. This notification can be a breakthrough in exposing your broadcast to more of your Instagram followers. You can engage with your audience in real time, take their questions and comments, and respond to them instantly - what a fantastic way to get insights and feedback directly from the people who matter the most to you.
It still doesn’t end there. You can also post Sticker Q&A’s into your Instagram Live Stories and magnify your engagement levels. A simple question box allows you to skim through all the questions and answer them promptly during the live video itself. All you have to do is post a Question Sticker on your Insta Story before your live session. And once you’re live, you simply need to tap on the question mark button at the bottom of your screen to start answering.
To top it off, you can share your Instagram Live video to your IG profile once you’ve finished broadcasting. It’ll be there for people who missed your live session and for those who want to watch it again.
Marketers are harnessing the phenomenal power of Instagram marketing to capture user attention, make connections, and build their brands. They are capitalizing upon the intuitive real-time interactivity offered by Instagram Live. Moreover, Instagram is widely acclaimed for being the pioneer in discovery shopping, thanks to Instagram Live shopping, making headlines for breaking Amazon’s records.
Saba Mohsin
🧩Why Instagram Live?
Using Instagram Live can:
🔹Increase Visibility – since Instagram Live streams are featured first, they get all the attention they deserve. Push notifications sent to the followers add an extra pinch to the visibility factor.
🔹Increase Engagement – bringing followers closer to their real-life favorites, Instagram Live increases engagement manifold. What’s better than getting your questions answered in real-time by your favorite Instagram influencer.
🔹Build Long-Term Relationships – each time you appear live to your audience, you’re playing a pivotal role in building a relationship with them, whether you’re answering their questions or revealing parts of your life.
🔹Develop Brand Identity – this relationship eventually turns into a brand identity that you can then share with your Instagram community.
💡Popular Instagram Live Formats
While you can share pretty much anything on your Instagram Live stream, the most popular formats are:
🔸Q&A Sessions – easy to execute and highly effective in generating interaction. Open response to questions in real-time grabs the attention of curious viewers and helps them connect with the people behind the brand.
🔸Product Launches and Announcements – product launches and announcements are big news. Promoting them on Instagram Live is a recipe for success.
🔸BTS Videos – people are innately curious about how things happen behind closed doors. Show your audience how you made their favorite product, give them a site tour, introduce them to the team, and so forth.
🔸Interviews and Collabs – collaborating is a win-win. You promote your collaborator to your followers, and they promote you to theirs.
🔸Experimental Content – as interesting as it may sound, all the weird ideas in the world grab viewers’ attention over social media. Remember Buzzfeed’s live video where they stretched rubber bands over a watermelon until it eventually bursts. The video amassed over 11 million views on Facebook. That’s a lot of eyeballs!
🥁Live Stream on Instagram with OneStream Live
So, Instagram Live looks like a pretty great thing, yeah?
As live video becomes a larger part of people’s daily communications, getting a grip over this powerful medium now is destined to pay dividends in the future. While Instagram doesn't allow direct live streaming from the desktop, you need a third-party app to go live on Instagram. By connecting OneStream Live with Instagram, you can multistream your real-time and pre-recorded videos to Instagram and harness the power of Instagram Live for your success.
Go for it!
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OneStream Live is a cloud-based solution to live stream across 40+ Social Media Platforms and the web simultaneously. For queries and feedback, Live Chat with our team or write to us at [email protected]. You’re also welcome to Write for Us!
