opportunity to promote products and
services live to consumers.
There are a few reasons why live
streaming should be embraced by
more businesses in Kenya. First, there
are businesses that have very many
customers who cannot attend all
events and product launches.
Secondly, more people are increasing
their reliance on technology, making
it easier to collaborate and host
meetings remotely. Lastly, many
businesses in Kenya want to be
recognized globally, and are seeking
for cost-effective ways to do so
without breaking their banks with
expensive advertising.
Despite the elaborate reasons that
could upscale live streaming among
businesses in Kenya, there are still
concerns over why brands are yet to
exploit this technology. If it were a
few years ago, we would probably say
that most brands do not consider live
streaming as the right investment
option due to the high costs that
were involved.
Now that we have a number of
streaming options available, and
the Internet being accessib le at
about 58% in Kenya, brands should
no longer fear taking advantage
of live streaming. Out of the 58%,
approximately 99% access Internet
through mobile data.
Brands should also take advantage
of the 83% rate of smartphone
penetration in Kenya. The Internet,
smartphone technology, and social
media platforms provide a great
opportunity for businesses to exploit
their niche and reach more people
by initiating live streams for most of
their activities.
One of the biggest mistakes common
among brands in Kenya is the failure
to understand the consumer trends of
their subscribers. For example, most
people currently prefer watching a
video of a product launch, than read
the same information later on the
website, blog, or newspaper.
This consumer trend is evident
through the impulsive increase in
ad spending within the past two
years. This is also the reason why
tech developers are now making live
streaming options more accessible on
social apps.
Even though Facebook live stream
is not yet available on the global
scale, brands could take advantage of
Twitter’s Periscope app and Meerkat
which are available on the global
scale. These two platforms are based
on mobile and provide businesses
with a good opportunity to live
stream their activities to customers
and prospects.
In just a few months, Periscope
alone has managed to accumulate
over 15 million registered users. This
indicates the incredible trail that the
app is taking. If the app has over 15
million users now, you can guess what
the total number of users on live
streaming apps will be towards the
end of 2016 and beyond.
The time is ripe for brands to add
in some reality to their marketing
campaigns, and this can best be
achieved through live streaming.
Remember, videos have been existent
on social media for a long time now,
and most businesses have embraced
them effectively.
However, 95% of recorded videos
indicate the best and most polished
moments of your business. Most of
the images are often cropped and
even edited before being uploaded to
the target audience. This means that
businesses share only the best and
desirable moments of their activities.
Unlike recorded videos, live
streaming will not allow businesses
to pick out the best parts to show
to their customers. Ideally, what
customers see a brand sharing
through live stream is what they will
get.
This will spark some percentage of
reality among consumers who are
more interested in understanding
whether the people they watch in
the edited adverts are real. Edited
productions are full of bluffs and
fluffs, and brands need to understand
that they can’t fake perfectionism just
to lure consumers into purchasing
their products.
Overall, embracing live stream
apps will provide brands with an
opportunity to exploit unmatched
opportunities to engage with its
audience. Live streaming has the
ability to humanize brands in a way
that recorded videos and images
cannot.
In reality, brands in Kenya can
leverage on live streaming to
broadcast live events such as
tradeshows and conferences. Other
marketing strategies that could take
advantage of live streaming include
product tutorials, demonstrations,
Live Question & Answer sessions,
and flash sales among other brand
activities.
Aside from the positives, brands will
also be forced to confront the unique
aspects of privacy and safety while
embracing live streaming apps. As a
brand, make sure you have a realistic
strategy and elaborate policies that
guide your live streaming activity.
Peter Namasaka is a budding writer
who comments on topical issues on
integrating and expanding marketing
platforms. You can commune with him
on this or related matters via email at:
[email protected]