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How To Integrate Live

Social Video Into Your

2019 Comms Plan

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How To Integrate Live Social Video Into Your 2019 Comms Plan

This report is based on a survey conducted with 125 communication professionals to track trends surrounding this fast growing and increasingly powerful tool for achieving communications goals—live video streaming.

According to a survey by LiveStream 80% of consumers would rather watch live video from a brand than read a social post. Facebook says that its live video is three times more engaging than pre-recorded video. Cisco projects live video will account for 13% of all internet traffic by 2021. All of the major social sites are increasing their emphasis on live video. What does this mean for communicators? We surveyed more than 125 communicators from brands, non-profits and agencies to find out. Our survey covered three distinct areas:

• How live video streaming is being used for public relations • The role of the CEO in the live video revolution • The top goals and opportunities for communicators using video The results provide excellent guidance for your plans for live video as well as information on missed opportunities your competitors may be taking advantage of. We are seeing an increased emphasis on broadcast quality production (LiveStream found that video quality is the most important factor for 67% of viewers when watching a broadcast); the importance of featuring your CEO for brand authenticity and the

growing use of live streaming to multiple channels at the same time to increase reach. We hope you find the results valuable and we welcome your feedback.

Douglas Simon President & CEO

E: dougs@dssimonmedia.com | @DSSimon T: 212.736.2727 | C: 917.952.7007

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Communicators and Live Social Video

57% of Communicators are Using Live Social Video

Live video for social media is here to stay. A significant majority of communicators are using live streaming to

achieve communications goals and engage key audiences. According to Facebook, live video is three times

more engaging than video on demand. Live content also offers the added benefit of being repurposed later.

Communicators are using specific communications platforms to achieve goals and build influence. Live

streaming video is also being used to earn media.

81% of Communicators Plan to Increase Live Streaming in 2019

The use of live streaming video as a communications tool will continue to grow rapidly. Why? Obviously, it’s

working. One interesting nugget is that it is being accepted at similar rates by both communications agencies

and in-house communication teams. In the coming year, communicators will be using live video to break

news, share thought leadership events, take customers and prospects behind-the-scenes and even engage

them in the content to build relationships in the B2B space.

Source: D S Simon Media

Source: D S Simon Media

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“Live streaming is so great for a brand to show the people behind the company” says Deirdre Breckenridge,

CEO of Pure Performance Communications. “The real test will be as brands open it up to their employees.

Then the value of live video will rise to another level. It will be about trust and creating guidelines to expand it

companywide.”

Facebook is the Most Popular Site for Social Streaming

Facebook is effective for increasing brand awareness, generating more leads/sales, increasing engagement

with followers and it is the most versatile site to work with.

Twitter, which scored low, tends to be used heavily by media and for major events. It’s an opportunity for

communicators to piggyback on major events. Increasingly, Twitter is being used for episodic shows to build a

following. It’s an effective platform to promote live events on other platforms and engage with influencers.

YouTube is the easiest to embed videos on multiple web sites, in brand pressrooms, on LinkedIn, etc. It also

allows the highest quality video.

LinkedIn offers the opportunity to share live video on its site with a YouTube code. You can also use it to link

to other sites where the live streaming program is being featured. It’s excellent for thought leadership

interviews, panel discussions and content with partners and prospects.

Instagram does not allow broadcast connectivity. The show lasts 24 hours and one-minute clips can be

uploaded after your livestream ends.

Source: D S Simon Media

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17% of Communicators are Using Simultaneous Live Video Streaming

to Multiple Sites

Why limit yourself to one social channel when you can engage far larger audiences and influencers while

amortizing production costs for your event? It’s now possible to reach audiences across platforms including

Facebook, Twitter via Periscope, YouTube and LinkedIn at the same time. You can even reach multiple

channels on the same social platform with broadcast quality video production.

Simultaneous live video streaming multiplies the effect of your live video. This builds engagement and makes

your audience more likely to interact. The value of utilizing multiple sites for social media streaming is

increasing for in-house teams as well as agencies. We expect multi-channel streaming to become the fastest

growing piece of the live video streaming puzzle in the next year.

Source: D S Simon Media

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The Role of the CEO

40% of Communicators are Featuring Live Video of CEOs on Social

Media

Agencies and in-house teams are using live video streaming to feature their CEO at a higher rate than ever

before. More than two-thirds of communicators use live social video to feature their CEO. Pretty impressive.

According to the D S Simon Media Brand Authenticity Survey, 83 percent of journalists say making your CEO

more accessible, also makes a brand feel more authentic for the consumer. Today, within the era of fake news

and polarization, authenticity has become more critical than ever been before. The question then becomes

what should the voice of your CEO video messaging be? It should be used to establish a position of thought

leadership and should also speak in a voice that is of interest to journalists, bloggers and others who will be

covering your brand through their channels.

“Live is here!” according to Martin Waxman, CEO of Waxman Communications. He notes “you have to look at

training your CEO to be comfortable in the live setting.” Our recommendation is to assess the skillset of your

CEO to see if they have the ability to be a host, interviewer or guest. The lowest bar is to position them as a

guest where they can demonstrate their thought leadership.

Source: D S Simon Media

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56% of Communicators are Using Pre-Recorded Video of CEOs on

Social Media

Featuring your CEO on pre-recorded video is an important stepping stone to making them comfortable

stepping up to live video communications. Some communicators are hesitant about their CEO’s ability to

handle live interaction. We generally advise a mix of live interaction and pre-recorded content to help your

CEO build influence. Communication skills in using video are becoming increasingly important for CEOs to

engage in an authentic way with their key publics. Live social video also includes the opportunity to use

recording segments on different social channels after the live event.

57% of Communicators Plan to Increase Live Social Video of their CEO

in 2019

One of the most compelling forms of influencer marketing is to establish your leaders as influencers.

Communicators are getting this, which is why we will see a significant increase in live events featuring CEOs

on social channels.

Source: D S Simon Media

Source: D S Simon Media

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How Communicators Value Video

Creating Awareness and Turning Leaders into Influencers

Creating awareness campaigns have been a key element of using videos for years so it’s no surprise that was

the most popular choice for communicators. Video is one of the most compelling ways to get your experts out

there and establish their thought leadership and increase their influence. In this B2B environment,

incorporating prospects and partners into your content is a way to build relationships and they’ll frequently

share the content on their own social channels. If your organization is participating in trade shows and creating

thought leadership events, video is a powerful way to create awareness, turn your leaders into influencers and

connect with partners, while winning attention for your brand.

“This survey only reinforces what we have been seeing with our clients for some time as an increasing demand

and reliance on video as a critical tool in connecting with important audiences,” said Andrea Coville, CEO,

Brodeur Partners. “The sensory nature of video and changing methods of delivery -- from livestreaming

events, to short form stories on Instagram and Snapchat, gives marketers more options to stay relevant,

especially with younger Generation Z audiences who have voracious appetites for video.”

Source: D S Simon Media

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Video for Social Engagement (86%) vs Earning Media (43%)

What’s Up with That?

The chart above represents the folly of failing to use video that you’ve created for social engagement to earn

media coverage. 83% of journalists use third-party video as produced so communicators are missing out on a

significant opportunity.

Rural Markets Mean Business

Even if you can’t place your CEO on a national broadcast, there are significant opportunities in local media

markets. Often, these are friendlier environments to present positive stories. The Sinclair broadcasting map

above includes local media outlets that were critical for President Trump in winning the presidential election of

2016. His campaign made an aggressive effort to reach out to people through those channels, while the

Clinton campaign refused to make Clinton available to be interviewed by their political correspondent. As an

organization, do you want to run the risk of not reaching people in those markets to build influence?

Source: D S Simon Media

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Additional Tools, Resources and Tips

Tips for Live Social Broadcasts Think live whenever you are doing any video production. You can amortize production costs that you are

already committed to by adding and promoting a live event. This include field shoots, studio production or

after a satellite media tour.

1. Think of the content of your live event as a television show. Is it a talk show or a presentation? Do you

have existing video to integrate? Thinking of these elements beforehand will make the content of the

livestream more compelling.

2. Go on location. Transmission technology improvements have made it more cost-effective to go on

location where the action is for your broadcast. Opportunities include going live from your office, trade

shows or other events.

3. Don’t rely on one social channel. Create a multiplier effect by simultaneously broadcasting to 20

channels or more on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.

4. Maximize your use of influencers who are already advocates for your brand. One powerful way to

maximize the use of influencers is to have multiple influencers interact together during your event

while allowing them to connect with their own followers. Another way is to provide behind-the-scenes

access to an event your target audience won't usually get to see.

5. Promote the content in advance on each of the sites to build a larger audience. Start a week in

advance with information about the event that is posted to the social channel that will be broadcasting.

It can be in the form of a short video or even a simple graphic that identifies the launch date and time

as well as a brief description of the event.

• Click Worthy Description

• Promote with Earned Media

• Promote with Paid Media

• Boost Promotional Posts

• Use Video or Images to Promote it

• Use Paid Promotion on Related Sites and Channels

6. Edit content after the event for multiple social video clips that can be shared across all participating

platforms and feed your own social media ecosystem.

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Broadcast Quality on Live Social Video

Tech Tips to Make it Happen

You will need to connect your camera, or video production switchers, to a computer that is connected to the

internet. You’ll need hardware and software but, don’t worry, it is not very expensive. First, you’ll need a Black

Magic Converter or similar software (picture below). Connect the converter to your computer. You’ll need

software: OBS Studio is free open source software. Wowza is another option but has a monthly fee. You do

need to have a hardwire internet connection to transmit video.

Connect Your Livestream to Popular Social Platforms

Watch a Video to Show You How

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Methodology: How To Inregrate Live Social Video Into Your 2019 Comms Plan includes results from an online survey

conducted by D S Simon Media using Survey Monkey, an online survey development software with over 25

million users. We surveyed communications professionals, both in the agency world and professionals who

work in-house. We received nearly 125 responses from journalists during a one-month period. Responses were

submitted anonymously.

What’s Your Take? If you have an opinion you want to share, we are happy to interview you for our video blog.

Contact: Doug Simon

E: dougs@dssimonmedia.com

T: 212.736.2727

About D S Simon Media D S Simon Media provides video for journalists and for social media on behalf of brands and non-profits. The

most popular offerings include Satellite Media Tours (SMTs) and Social Media LIVE™. Both its media tours and

social broadcasts are produced from its New York studio or from client’s preferred location. Media tours include

25+ bookings and guaranteed audience reach. The company has introduced Social Media LIVE™, providing

live social video streams to more than 25 sites simultaneously on behalf of brands and non-profits.