95% of brand execs say live video is key to their 2018 strategies

Dive Brief:

Nearly 95% of brand and retail executives say live video will be an important part of their marketing strategy in 2018, according to a study released today by Brandlive and IBM Cloud Video. The top three ways executives are using live video are for training purposes, media/influencer briefings and broadcasting in-person events, the study found.
Live video offers the greatest benefit for customer and employee engagement, with 59.5% saying it brings a human element to digital marketing, 56.9% saying it engages consumers better than social media and 43.1% reporting that viewing time has increased. The survey also found that use of live video for e-commerce is growing, as 60% plan to pilot live e-commerce sales for the first time this year, per the study.
Using live video to train salespeople and associates is one of the top use cases for ROI, the study found. In the past year, about half of the executives said they had used live video to train retail associates, salespeople and customer service representatives.

Dive Insight:

With companies finding value in live video, they are looking for new ways to leverage it. "It's not enough to just use live video somewhere in your enterprise, it's becoming more like 'how many use cases can you find to apply live video' in your company," Fritz Brumder, Brandlive CEO and co-founder, said in a statement.

One of the top marketing benefits of live video is engaging consumers in real time, something that is likely to appeal to marketers as they look to deliver more contextually relevant and personalized digital experiences at a time when consumers are increasingly ignoring traditional ads. As marketers continue to look for ways to optimize their digital advertising budgets — including reducing them in some cases — live video could be a cost-effective approach that promises a high ROI.

Video is expected to make up more than 80% of all online traffic by 2020, according to Brandlive. As video grows, it's safe to assume that a growing share will be live content. Along with training, broadcasting events and social media, the study also reinforced live video's ability to connect with consumers in an authentic way, which could drive loyalty and create an emotional connection between consumers and brands. Companies are also examining ways to combine their buy-now experiences with live video to drive higher levels of engagement and sales than pre-recorded video.

In 2017, companies were are on target to spend $135 billion on online video, almost 2x as much as they planned to spend on TV spots and 1.5x the $83 billion planned for digital ads, according to research by Magisto. This suggests that brands are prioritizing and experimenting with video content as part of their marketing strategies.