Dive Brief:
- Musical.ly and its more than 100 million users could be attractive to marketers for short live video streaming as reported by Variety.
- The app is best known for enabling users to create and share short lip-syncing videos.
- According to the developers, popular creators on the Live.ly app are earning thousands of dollars weekly.
Dive Insight:
Musical.ly is a platform marketers might want to pay attention to. Variety reported on one YouTube star, Bart Baker, who said that he had 3.3 million followers on Musical.ly, a larger audience than he has on Twitter’s Periscope or Facebook Live.
With Twitter’s recent decision to sunset Vine, and the earlier shuttering of Meerkat, Musical.ly's more than 100 million users might be attractive for marketers looking for alternatives for short video live streams.
For example, this summer Good Morning America built excitement for a concert series by teaming up with musical.ly to give users a chance to perform live on the show and meet musical artist Demi Lovato.
The popularity of music and video on mobile devices along with the rise of influencer marketing is almost a perfect storm that marketers can tap into. And given that younger demographics are essentially demanding authenticity, live streaming video is about as authentic as any marketing messaging can get.
“Live video has several major advantages for marketers," Fritz Brumder, CEO and co-founder Brandlive, previously told Marketing Dive. "First, consumers are engaging — i.e. watching longer — at higher levels versus canned video, according to the data. People enjoy the unpredictable and interactive nature of live video, and as a result stick around longer. Secondly, live video is easier and less expensive to produce. There is not a need for an expensive set, or a detailed script, and no post production.”
