Live video captions could boost Facebook engagement (FB)

BI Intelligence

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Publishers can now create and stream closed captioning for Facebook Live. To utilize this feature, publishers must use the Live API or work with a third-party captioning company to create and insert closed captions, and Facebook users must turn their captioning setting on. Prior to this announce, publishers could add closed captions to time-shifted video but not live content.  

Adding closed captioning functionality to Facebook Live could boost user engagement, and ultimately lead to more ad revenue. That’s because closed captioning makes live video more accessible through several new use cases.

• Viewing video with the sound off: In environments where they can’t turn on sound, or simply want to watch video with the sound off, users can now better engage with live video. This is especially important on Facebook where most videos are viewed with the sound off.
• Assisting those who are hard of hearing: Nearly 360 million people have disabling hearing loss worldwide, which is nearly 5% of the global population, while over 38 million people in the US are deaf or hard of hearing. To give an idea of how many people closed captioning on live video could impact, 5% of Facebook’s roughly 1.3 billion daily active users (DAUs) equates to 65 million users.
• Adding clarity to videos with bad sound: For example, speech during sporting events may be hard for users streaming to hear and understand if the noise of the stadium is too loud. Captioning could remedy this, and could bode well for Facebook, which has recently made a push for live sports streaming partnerships. In this year alone, Facebook has signed separate deals to stream Major League Soccer matches, MLB games, and World Surf League events. 

Increasing user engagement with Facebook Live could benefit Facebook’s live video ad strategy. Facebook has made recent pushes toward live video ads, and started running tests of mid-roll video ads on live video last year. Moreover, the company made mid-roll ads available — to Pages and profiles with at least 2,000 followers, and that reach at least 300 concurrent views in a recent live video in February.

If 2015 was the year that brands and advertisers embraced online video, then 2016 saw the medium take the next step as live streaming took off.

Live streaming video refers to broadcasts in real time to an audience over the internet. While the concept of live streaming has been around for years, mobile-first video platforms with user-generated content have just recently begun to make serious waves thanks to improved video quality, faster broadband speeds, and enhanced mobile technology.

Online video has become a key part of the strategic business model for both brands and marketers as they seek more innovative ways to capture consumer attention. Creative live streaming video initiatives and campaigns are a way for companies to cut through the digital clutter and have emerged as the medium of choice not only for person-to-person sharing, but also for business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) communication. 

Brands are increasingly using live streaming to reach audiences. Its importance has grown significantly thanks to substantial investments by social platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, and Twitter to build and enhance their live-streaming platforms.

And advertising dollars are likely to follow. 88% of agency respondents stated that they “might” or “definitely will” invest in live stream video advertising over the next six months, according to a recent Trusted Media Brands survey.

BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on live streaming video that examines the eruption of online video from the perspective of both consumers and advertisers and assesses how live streaming is emerging as the medium's next catalyst for growth.

Here are some key points from the report:

• Live streaming video will further accelerate streaming videos overall share of internet traffic. Streaming video accounts for over two-thirds of all internet traffic, and this share is expected to jump to 82% by 2020, according to Cisco’s June 2016 Visual Networking Index report.
• Live video’s value comes from its unique ability to add an authentic human element to digital communications. As a result, brands are leveraging three main streaming methods to connect with their viewers: tutorials, product launches, and exclusive and behind-the-scene footage.
• Advertisers will continue to invest heavily in online video, especially as live streaming video gains traction. Already in the US, digital video ad revenue reached $7.8 billion in 2015, up 55% from 2014, according to figures from the Internet Advertising Bureau.
• While live streaming is still in its early stages, brands are leveraging micropayments, mid-roll video ads and direct payments from social platforms, to monetize their live streaming videos.
• The success of live streaming video hinges on brands overcoming a lack of measurement standards in the space, as well as changes in social media sites' algorithms that affect what content users see.

In full, the report:

• Examines the eruption of live streaming video.
• Explores the differences between platforms that host live streaming video.
• Breaks down successful approaches from both brands and publishers.
• Discusses unique monetization opportunities live streaming presents.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

1. Subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. » START A MEMBERSHIP
2. Purchase & download the full report from our research store. » BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of live streaming video.