A Comparison of Social Media Live Video Platforms

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When you think of live video, Facebook may be the first platform that comes to mind. They’ve certainly made the biggest push for it over the past year or so. But, there are plenty of other platforms that are worth considering. Twitter, Instagram, Periscope, and now even YouTube are all getting in on the live video feature.

Each platform comes with their own unique features and capabilities, so it’s important to carefully consider which one would best fit your goals and your brand.

Paid Promotion

This is a big one. Organic content can only get you so far, and the ability to promote your live video to a wider audience will ensure your message is being seen far and wide. Without this ability, you’re limiting your views by a lot. Keep this in mind when you’re comparing production costs and overall messaging.

Here’s how the channels stack up:

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Shelf life

Will your live video be seen after your broadcast is over? The answer depends on what platform you’re using. Your Facebook Live video will live on your page forever, but that’s not the case with Instagram – for now, it will disappear as soon as your broadcast is over. Periscope falls somewhere in the middle, as they keep videos up for 24 hours after broadcast ends.

How they stack up:

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Fan Interactions

Will your fans be able to interact with your live video with comments, reactions, and shares? As interaction is what social media is all about, this is a hugely important one for live video.

How they stack up:

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Notifications

Step 1 to a successful live video: get your audience to actually see it. How will your audience get notified that you are going live? That depends on the platform, but Facebook takes the cake on this one. They now have a “Videos” tab on the app that gives you a notification when a user is live. They also recently rolled out the live videos automatically popping up in your feed (much to many users’ annoyance).

How they stack up:

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Check out the full feature breakdown with this chart:

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Just at a glance, Facebook and Twitter seem like top choices for brands right now. But, don’t discount Instagram quite yet. This is a new feature for them that will likely evolve and improve over time.

Now, go forth and broadcast! And be sure to check out our tips and tricks on how to produce live videos if you haven’t already.



Ignite Social Media