The concept of “going live” in the business world has been steadily picking up steam for a few years now. The implementation of Facebook Live back in 2016 thrust this practice into the spotlight.
Nowadays, creating a live presence, whether it is through things like behind-the-scenes videos, podcasts, Q&A sessions is more than just advisable; it’s practically a requirement to rise above the noise in any given industry. By 2021, the livestreaming market is predicted to exceed $70 billion.
The key to gaining traction with livestreams is a memorable host personality. The significance behind this goes much deeper than many people initially think. Here are three key reasons to why you should put emphasis on creating an extraordinary “live” personality that captures both attention and interest.
Bring new meaning to “brand authenticity”
While the idea of “going live” sounds fairly straightforward, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Chances are, you’ve spent a great deal of time and effort nailing down the ideal personality to represent your brand and make your message authentic. The character traits of this personality should ideally flow through all content you produce. When you’re creating things like landing pages, blog posts, branded emails, voiceovers, pre-recorded videos, ect, exemplifying these traits can be done with the utmost precision – as you can edit and tweak the content accordingly before it hits the airwaves.
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When you are livestreaming, you don’t have this luxury. In many ways, the host of these live sessions is a candid living and breathing representation of your brand. That said, the finer details of this personality must flow organically and not come across as manufactured in any way.
Take a look at Mashable’s live series Mash on This:
The program uses Facebook Live to do a rundown of trending topics taking place across the internet. The host, Dory Greenberg, does a fantastic job of reflecting the upbeat, hip, and quirky personality that Mashable is working to achieve. As she discusses the topics at hand, Mashable’s insights flow very naturally while Dory’s look, voice, or tone does not seem forced or overly scripted.
While Mashable makes it look easy, creating a meaningful sense of brand authenticity when livestreaming requires a great deal of planning before going on air.
Start by going back to your brand archetypes. In order to nail down the ideal personality type for livestreaming, you need to be very granular with the details.
- If your brand was a person, what would they look like?
- How do they dress?
- What types of products do they use?
- What kinds of food do they eat?
- How do they talk?
- What do they do for fun?
- If you were to grab a drink with them, what would it be like?
While some of these questions may seem irrelevant, they are necessary for pinpointing an organic, everyday personality to represent your messaging. Take your time with this and do test runs before going live.
Put a face and a voice in front of the brand for instant association
This concept is nothing new but definitely needs to be mentioned when discussing live personalities. The idea of creating immediate associations with a live personality goes beyond authenticity.
- When someone mentions The Price is Right, Bob Barker is probably one of the first names to pop into your mind.
- When someone mentions The Tonight Show, names like Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, and Jimmy Fallon are likely the first associations you would make.
In some cases, the personality can eclipse the brand itself! If you plan on making livestreams a significant part of your branding/marketing efforts, the host should be able to create instantaneous connections with new and existing viewers.
The key here is consistency. Over time, the face and voice of this personality should ideally act as a stamp of credibility attributing to the content you produce.
Furthermore, you should try to expand the channels for this personality as much as possible to spread the presence. Fortunately, this process is very easy these days. Podcasts are a great place to start. Social Media Examiner (SME) does a great job with their branded podcasts. The host/founder Mike Stelzner runs 40-45 minute segments in which he brings in experts to give advice on a number of topics related to social media and marketing. Stelzner also appears on a number of other podcasts from different brands.
Being as how SME (and Stelzner) are big names in the social media world, listeners can easily identify his voice, which alone brings a certain degree of credibility to the channel. If you are just beginning to test the waters of livestreaming, you can start with a monthly segment in which you bring in influencers or guests from other businesses to chat about a certain topic. In exchange, you can be a guest on one of their segments. As time goes, you can expand on these livestream opportunities to grow your reach and establish familiarity with new audiences.
The end goal is for people to hear/see the personality and go “hey, that’s the person from the such-and-such company!”
Crystal clear representation of company values
The personality you use in your livestreams plays an immeasurable role in cementing what your brand is, and the values it represents.
In terms of marketing these days, the name of the game is humanizing your messages as much as possible to build meaningful relationships with partners and customers. This is what livestreaming essentially is about.
When you are creating traditional types of (non-live) content, presenting your values in a sincere form can be tricky. The live personality you place at the helm should ooze of these values from the second they go on air. Everything from their language, appearance, to the actual messaging reinforces company values in a candid way.
Tough Mudder’s brand personality “Coach T. Mud” does a wonderful job in presenting the company and the unique values that set it apart from any other fitness regime on the planet.
In this live training video for the Tough Mudder boot camp, everything about Coach T. Mud perfectly sums up the company values, which revolve around teamwork, reaching and exceeding goals, perseverance, and facing fears. If you have ever witnessed a Tough Mudder event or workout, these values represent everything the brand (and the people involved) stand for.
Ultimately, you can present your company values all you want through traditional forms of content. However, livestreaming is far and away one of the most effective means for doing so naturally. If your live personality can accomplish this, the brand authenticity and memorable voice will work wonders to build substantial relationships with the audience.
All in all
At the end of the day, people prefer to buy from people, not robotic businesses. Creating a live personality for your “on the fly” content is one of the best ways to convey a human element behind your brand while putting a name and face to it.
Live streaming is the present and the future of content marketing. If you haven’t nailed down the perfect live personality to represent your brand on air, you shouldn’t waste another minute in doing so.
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