5 Companies Seriously Rocking Facebook Live

These companies are doing amazing things with Facebook Live! Let’s see what we can learn from them…

Video marketing is evolving all the time. It was only last week that we were talking about the possibility of VR becoming the future of video marketing; and now we’re going to move onto another new kid on the block: Facebook Live.

Facebook Live officially launched for public use earlier this year, and since then, some early adopters have taken advantage of the platform to supercharge their video marketing strategy. But before we take a look at those, let’s answer one simple question:

What is Facebook Live?

Facebook Live is exactly what it sounds like, a feature that allows you to broadcast to your Facebook followers in real-time. This ‘live’ aspect allows you to interact with your viewers during your video in order to better determine what they want to see.

Let’s take a look at some companies that are rocking Facebook Live…

1. Benefit

Benefit is a cosmetics manufacturer and also the host of the Facebook Live weekly series, Tipsy Tricks. Every Thursday at 4 p.m. PST, the Benefit team grab some wine and some make-up, and share their best beauty tips and tricks.

Their view count is always waaay into the thousands and they actively reply to viewers’ comments while on the air.

Facebook Live is a great way for Benefit to showcase their products in order to increase exposure and also sales. The fact that the hosts have a cheeky glass of wine while filming does a great job of humanising the brand and making it more approachable by viewers.

Creating a series is also a great way to build a loyal fanbase. Viewers know exactly when this show is going to be on every week, which means they can look forward to it and Benefit can create some hype in the week leading up to the show.

2. Tastemade

Another brand that creates a weekly live show is Tastemade, the food and travel video network. They use the hashtag #FoodArtFridays to promote their Facebook Live video series which is about, you guessed it, food art!

The video above featured an awesome latte artist creating objects in coffees based on live requests from viewers. It lasted for a lengthy fifty-one minutes, but was broken up by cool post-it notes, like this one:

Live video content tends to be a lot longer than usual video content, yet it is incredibly successful. In an industry where we always preach that “shorter is better“, why are live videos, of almost an hour long, thriving?

According to Tastemade’s Head of Programming, Oren Katzeff (as he quotes Bob Ross!):

“There’s an artistry and a beauty to watching beautiful things get made.”

The latte art video is almost mesmerising because we are watching the art develop before our eyes – this is what hooks viewers and keeps them. It definitely helped supercharge Tastemade’s video marketing as the video gained over 1.4 million views while live, and even more after that!

3. iHeartRadio

The internet radio platform, iHeartRadio, is using Facebook Live a little differently. They focus on the collaborative aspect of it, encouraging viewers to send in questions for their radio guests. In a statement about Facebook Live, Chris Williams, iHeartRadio’s chief product officer, said:

“Our reason for existing is to connect fans with their favourite artists in meaningful and authentic ways and provide them unique and genuine access – which nothing lets us do better than Facebook Live.”

iHeartRadio has really taken advantage of this new platform to supercharge their video marketing in a way that includes fans and allows them to become a part of the experience. Click here to watch their Q&A video with American actress and singer, Keke Palmer.

4. Buzzfeed

Buzzfeed is kind of the king of content. They cover every story, every event, no matter how ridiculous. So why should their Facebook Live videos be any different?

In March of this year, they hosted a seemingly spontaneous live dance battle between staff members. But it wasn’t just any dance battle, it was an interactive dance battle! Buzzfeed encouraged users to vote for their favourite performances and even suggest dance moves.

A month later, Buzzfeed took their Facebook Live absurdity to a whole new level. In a forty-five minute video, two Buzzfeed colleagues (fully kitted out in safety gear) stretched rubber bands over a watermelon until it burst.

Doesn’t exactly sound thrilling, does it?

Well, the video managed to clock up 807,000 viewers at the peak of its live run time, and today it stands at over 11 MILLION views! The video is actually quite captivating and manages to build tension as more and more elastic bands are applied to the watermelon!

5. Dunkin’ Donuts

Dunkin’ Donuts was one of the first brands to utilise Facebook Live, and they did so with an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look into their kitchen.

According to Melanie Cohn, social media manager at Dunkin’ Donuts, the highest average view time of their live video trumped the view counts of their pre-recorded videos. She said:

“Within 13 minutes, we had 21,000 viewers, which proves the stickiness of live video and wanting to know what’s next…since you don’t know what will happen next, it keeps you watching longer.“

To engage viewers for even longer, Dunkin’ Donuts announced that their video would end with a big surprise, which turned out to be a contest offering engaged couples a chance to win $10,000 towards their wedding.

Final thoughts

The five brands mentioned in this article prove that Facebook Live is a great tool for supercharging your video marketing.

Live videos engage viewers, and keep them engaged for a longer period of time than traditional pre-recorded videos. Broadcasting live videos on Facebook adds a social aspect to the event, encouraging more viewers to get involved.