According to a recent data release, figures show that the recent boom in live video is continuing, with live video streaming up by more than 300% compared to on-demand viewing. The data also reveals that 67% of live video is being watched after the event is over.
The research conducted an analysis of current data using:

• 1.5 million videos
• 300 marketing teams
• 650 million video plays
• 1.7 billion impressions

What does this tell us about live video streaming experience and engagement?

The data, released by a multi-national video marketing platform, demonstrates that the live video experience is being enjoyed even after the event is over, and shows that longer length videos are enjoying greater engagement than short ones, quite the reverse of the experts’ expectations.
Breaking the data down even further shows that social media live video streaming is getting interesting, when compared with brand (on-site) viewing that is currently averaging around four minutes per view:

• Facebook – average 20 seconds per view
• YouTube – average under a minute per view

While we can see that live video streaming engagement is up by a wide margin, conventional forecasting tells us that marketers expected shorter videos to be more ‘viewable’. These marketers are not deviating from their expectations either, as many still believe that short video pieces will keep viewers interested, and encourage them to stay with their channel.

However, the reported data is delivering a contradiction to this common belief. It is worth examining what types of live video streaming content is being viewed for longer, and this is an area where marketing professionals will truly find the secret sauce recipe for success.

As viewers can still enjoy a live video experience after the event, which may be a sporting event, a concert or a special news report, for example, this may be the area of greatest engagement time. Although major sports events may be streamed live, viewing after the event via this medium still gives the viewer a satisfying ‘As-live’ or ‘Catch-up’ experience’, but at a time that is convenient for them.