Twitter Live Streaming: Info on Twitter’s Newest Feature
With how popular the trend is, it’s no surprise that Twitter has jumped into the live-stream game. Twitter is now featuring an always-on, always live-streaming section of its apps and website, which runs 24/7. Twitter live streaming has allowed for a greater expansion of their earlier efforts with live-streaming and has aided the site greatly.
The Effect of Live-streaming:
With Twitter live streaming, the company has seen an incredible increase in its growth, adding 9 million users since the beginning of the year. This is the most users added in years, and with it daily active users are also up by fourteen percent. Twitter live streaming has also brought back many of its older patrons, those who had previously stopped using the site or weren’t using it quite as often.
Twitter has always wanted to be known as a dependable site for instant news. It’s struggled in the past to keep up with services such as Instagram and Facebook, but with the 24/7 live-streaming option, you’ll be able to see what’s happening all the time, at any time. This is indispensable in the world of social media, where news happens fast and loses relevance even faster.
Relevant, Dependable Content:
Twitter recently released the news of its partnership with 16 big names including, but not limited to Bloomberg Media, Viacom, Buzzfeed and the PGA. The partnership with these big-ticket names brings a hope for exclusive original content and streaming, allowing for yet another jump-start in growth and expansion. All Twitter needs is for its user-base to support the idea of live-streaming, as the website was originally founded on quick, fast updates and not the continued watching of one feed.
Users, though, won’t need to be worried about not finding something interesting to watch. Sports, entertainment, and politics are big-ticket items for the streaming, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping there. With diverse content and a focus on relevant trends, such as Trump’s inauguration or the Oscars, viewers can almost always find something that they’re at least somewhat interested in, if not completely into. And with the pairing, together with live video and live Twitter conversations, users are feeling more able to be “there” with the action and are drawn into the live-streaming even more. It’s a great way to keep your user-base solid and happy.
Effect of and on Advertisements:
Streaming isn’t cheap, and streaming 24/7 is bound to cause Twitter to have to dip into its pockets. So how are they planning on making up the revenue? The same way everyone in the live-streaming business makes money; advertisements. As annoying as they may seem to viewers, ads are essential to the life of any video streaming website. Or any website in general, to be honest. Without the money brought in by ads, Twitter wouldn’t be able to support its goals of a 24/7 live-streaming section.
Twitter wants to be the first to showcase the best news, and sometimes that news needs relevant ads. Lately, fake news and offensive content on competitor sites have caused many companies to search for different places to advertise, and Twitter’s stepping up to the challenge. Their ploy for one of the largest live-streaming platforms has them vying to steal video advertising away from TV, YouTube, and Facebook, among others. And with tens of millions of viewers lined up to partake in the live-stream sessions, those ads will definitely be watched.
Every ad brings in money, and the more times an ad is watched, the more money is brought in. With Twitter’s base of users growing more than it has since 2015, businesses are vying for spots to place their advertisements in the live-streams. They want their names out there just as much as Twitter wants them paying for a spot to promote their business.
The issues that some of the other social media and streaming sites have faced is the inability to match advertisements to content. For example, if you’ve ever watched a children’s show on YouTube, there’s a chance that the advertisement attached to it was completely irrelevant or even inappropriate, such as a rated R movie, or a product that a child would never need. While these other websites are doing their best to fix these issues, Twitter has already opted to stream content with compatible advertisements.
Studies have shown that viewers of an advertisement are more likely to be agreeable towards the brand if they are actively enjoying the video that their watching. With Twitter live streaming, advertisements are able to reach those who have searched for what they want to watch and are more willing to see an ad that’s relevant. Viewers are far less likely to be offended or “turned off” of a product or show when confronted by an ad that actually seems to go with what they’re watching. This makes better business for the advertising company, and better business for Twitter as well.
24/7 Live-streaming is a risky business, and adding integrated advertisements is even more risky, especially in a world that views ads as a nuisance more often than not. However, Twitter seems to understand how to connect with their user-base and keep the content fresh enough that they don’t appear to have much to lose in this endeavor. With the amount of growth that they’ve already achieved this year, they look to be on the way to the top when it comes to live-streaming content.
If you’re wondering more about Twitter’s foray into live-streaming, or have any other questions regarding social media constructs, feel free to contact us. We’d love to discuss all your queries with you and help you find the answers you’re looking for.