Suddenly everyone is talking about a new video streaming Twitter app called Meerkat — and a similar competitor called Periscope. What makes these apps so different? What makes them attractive to marketers? And how can your organization use them to drive awareness, build engagement, and increase sales?
What is Meerkat?
Meerkat is a mobile app that allows users to stream live video via Twitter. The video is accessible only during the live shoot; there is no archiving for later viewing. When you start streaming, Meerkat tweets an announcement that you’re broadcasting live, with a link people can click to watch. Viewers can comment on what they’re seeing, which appear as tweets, so an entire conversation unfolds on Twitter. While there’s plenty of video on Twitter thanks to YouTube and Instagram, and Twitter’s own Vine app, nothing is quite like Meerkat, which took the South by Southwest Interactive Festival by storm a few weeks ago.
How are big brands using Meerkat?
Some brands took to Meerkat almost immediately. Starbucks broadcast its coffee beans being prepared at its roastery. NASDAQ streamed the ringing of its closing bell. Red Bull “meerkatted” snowboarding events from the Red Bull Double Pipe Finals. During the commercial breaks of CBS This Morning, one of the hosts provided a fascinating glimpse at all the preparations that take place between segments.
How can marketers use Meerkat?
This technology opens the door to a few exciting possibilities for marketers. A few of the events you could live-stream include:
- Interviews with the CEO, recruiters, or regular employees
- Behind-the-scenes tours of your office, store, or factory
- Presentations, talks, panels, conferences, job fairs, seminars, and webinars
- Product demonstrations
- Tips on how to use your products or services
People love previews and “sneak peeks,” and Meerkat gives almost any event the immediacy and importance of a live press conference. Live video lets you reach customers and fans in an urgent, honest way that feels very different than YouTube. What do you want to say to your customers? What do you want to show them? How do you want to welcome first-time buyers? Try using Meerkat to convey that message instead of traditional online video — a term we’ll now have to start using to describe Instagram video and Vine.
Oh, and it doesn’t matter how rough the video is, because it’s gone the moment the livestream is over.
What about Periscope?
Just days after Meerkat’s smashing debut at SXSW, Twitter bought Periscope, a very similar app. In fact, Periscope might be even better. It saves videos for 24 hours, so anyone who misses the live stream can still watch it later, which expands your audience dramatically. While Meerkat users can comment on videos, Periscope users can “like,” them, making it like other social media content. like Instagram. The interface seems a little more polished as well, in my opinion. Both apps are free, and their very existence shows that livestreaming on Twitter is here to stay — and may come to Facebook or Instagram someday.
Why are both these apps so popular? As Bonobos’ David McGillivray told Fast Company: “There’s a unique rawness to that you don’t see across other social networks. All our photos on Instagram are staged; we spend time editing and re-editing our tweets for maximum effect. But with live video, you simply don’t have the ability to do that. And there’s something very powerful about that mix of vulnerability and honesty.”
Are you ready to enter the thrilling world of live video? Brandemix can help.
Jody Ordioni is President of Brandemix.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Ordioni is the author of “The Talent Brand.” In her role as Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brandemix, she leads the firm in creating brand-aligned talent communications that connect employees to cultures, companies, and business goals. She engages with HR professionals and corporate teams on how to build and promote talent brands, and implement best-practice talent acquisition and engagement strategies across all media and platforms. She has been named a "recruitment thought leader to follow" and her mission is to integrate marketing, human resources, internal communications, and social media to foster a seamless brand experience through the employee lifecycle.
