A few decades ago, online video was considered a good idea that the world wasn’t quite ready for. Video quickly drained resources, gobbled memory, and those with slow internet connections had to wait minutes, even hours at slow speeds, to watch even a few minutes of low-quality footage.
Even then, many videos were so grainy and low-res that it wasn’t worth the wait. So video was often used sparingly in things like games or educational modules, and many businesses who wanted to use videos for sites or messaging were advised to wait a little longer until the technology improved, rather than provide something low-quality that would inconvenience their customers.
That technology is here now, and video is pretty much everywhere.
Look at most social media channels and you’ll see there’s no end to video clips – so much so that there are settings to stop autoplay so you can scroll easier without the noise and visuals of a video starting.
Channels like YouTube offer nothing but videos, and Twitch and others even offer the opportunity to watch videos live, another trend. Don’t forget TikTok, which is all about short videos that are easy to share and create.
Recent surveys show online viewers love a variety of video formats and styles—from highly-polished, scripted, well-lit and well-edited productions that businesses with big budgets craft, to the low-quality, downright amateur clips that any novice can create and publish.
Videos give a nice glimpse into someone’s life and are fun to tune into—no reading required. They’re also fun to make for people who don’t have time/interest/abilities to type out a quality post. A video is simple to make especially if you’re naturally chatty.
Survey after survey reinforces that, the shorter the video, better. While some Twitch fans may love watching their favorite influencers play games for hours, the average social media video viewer seems to only last 90 seconds or so before they start looking for something else to catch their eye.
The Rise of Live Streaming
The biggest trend in video is the live stream. Running the spectrum from tuning into live sporting events or watching movies on Netflix, to swapping messages, live stream video is filling entertainment demands and connecting presenters to their audiences.
The potential of live streaming has appeal to gaming audiences, where people can tune in to watch a favorite sporting event be played. It has potential for education, where students can interact with their teachers in a live setting, or trainees can watch a live webinar for work and ask questions in real time.
Live streaming offers appeal in the social networks landscape as well, where anyone can be a producer and interact with their followers.
“Live stream video is an unprecedented opportunity to reach followers, customers, and potential clients. Through enhanced streaming technology, we’re able to accomplish more than was ever imagined a decade ago,” shared Ayrin Islam, CEO of ringID, an interactive multi-dimensional social network that offers the ability to create, broadcast, watch live video as a mechanism for social commerce and updated ringID features. “The potential for what lies ahead in live-streaming technology and application is exciting for those of us in the social space.”
The Future of Live-Stream Technology
Between personal and professional creation of live streams, the possibilities are virtually endless.
Scheduling
Video creators can choose and announce a time for their live performances well in advance in order to build up an audience. live-stream videos can be leveraged for monetary purposes as well as growing viewership, expanding audience reach, and just for fun and engagement.
Businesses can use live-stream results and analytics to gauge the best time for broadcasts and see who is tuning in from different time zones. A site or a social page can also announce when a show will start and include a countdown clock.
Future viewing
Creating live content allows you to store it and use it later, repurposing your content. This can be great for fans who missed the broadcast to check out later.
Content Diversity – Keep or Delete
While some live-streams should stay around indefinitely, not all video needs to. Some services allow messages to automatically be erased after a certain amount of time. This has the advantage of creating a more interactive, live conversation but with a video, and once it’s watched, it’s gone.
The lives-streaming technology of today brings new opportunity and potential to online platforms, and no space is seeing the benefit like today’s social media leaders. With new ways to engage clients and bring commerce opportunities, live-stream has become the preferred way to show up authentically and deliver content. As technology advances, social media platforms remain at the ready for what’s next in live-streaming trends and practices.
