Livestreaming & Digital Broadcasting:
37 Predictions for 2016

Our All-Star Panel Peers into the Future of Digital Broadcasting

37 featured predictions for 2016…plus:

Jennifer Quinn looks 3-5 years ahead

 

Rebekah Radice on getting started with digital video

 

Tyler Anderson on the appeal of podcasting for marketers

In 2015, livestreaming burst on the scene with the launching of Meerkat in February, Periscope in March and Blab in April. Apple entered the game with its plans to broadcast Periscope on Apple TV.

Now the world’s largest social network is rolling out Facebook Live to its users.

Marketers are taking advantage of the growing popularity of  video on Snapchat and Instagram, while Twitter video remains an underutilized, but powerful engagement tool.

Podcasting is generating renewed and growing interest, as new technologies and distribution channels make consuming audio (including streaming audio) on-the-go more practical than ever.

So, what’s next for livestreaming and digital broadcasting?

• How will Facebook Live impact Periscope and Blab?
• In what new ways might people from marketers to educators, recruiters to non-profit professionals, utilize livestreaming platforms?
• How will people incorporate streaming media technologies into their social and personal relationships?

And Now…Predictions from our Esteemed Panel:

Ted Rubin

Like everything else that is relatively new, and has so much promise, live-streaming will continue to evolve in 2016. It is not the brass ring, simply another valuable tool in the engagement, connection, relationship building toolbox. Jump in if you have the bandwidth, if not no worries, there are many other ways to leverage the social/mobile continuum.

Rebekah Radice

Did you know we now consume an average of 5 hours and 31 minutes worth of video every day? That’s right, every single day. (via eMarketer) And while 2015 was a year of massive growth for video marketing, I predict 2016 will put that growth on steroids. From Facebook Live to YouTube, Periscope and Blab, consumers are actively seeking out answers within this marketing medium. It’s now or never for you to get onboard this rapidly moving train of opportunity.

Brian Fanzo

2016 will be the year of the employee story on live stream and brands linking live streaming to content calendars, influencer marketing and paid social strategies! Storytelling and authenticity are only increasing in brand focus and there is no better way for brands to leverage both in realtime than live stream, no matter the platform or new apps that emerge in 2016!

Melonie Dodaro

In 2016, I see more marketers participating in live streaming. It is a unique way to engage in a more meaningful way with your community. I think with Facebook Live entering the live streaming arena we will see more mainstream adoption, which to date has been a little challenging for new platforms such as Blab and Periscope.

I also see marketers becoming more active in producing videos as you no longer have to invest in expensive high resolution videos. People are looking for more authentic content versus polished and professional videos.
Video and live streaming allow you to present yourself and your brand in a more authentic and engaging manner, allowing you to have a more human interaction with your community.

Personally I’m loving live streaming and have a weekly show on Blab, but I am especially excited about getting access to Facebook Live. It allows me to connect and engage with my community in a way that was previously much more difficult to do.

Mitch Jackson

“There’s an electrical thing about movies.” –Oliver Stone

For this simple reason, I believe platforms like Periscope, Blab and Facebook Live will continue to increase in popularity at an exponential rate. Our choice of platforms will not be as important as our ability to connect as human beings through the sharing of short, concise and compelling stories. In today’s world, we’re all Oliver Stones creating livestreaming masterpieces in a global 24/7 theater.

And for those of you who just don’t get the importance of livestreaming or think it’s simply a fad, I share with you one of my favorite movie quotes, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!” –Rhett Butler/Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind

Sue B. Zimmerman

I think 2016 is the year for being authentic, real and raw. I see tremendous growth for video on Instagram, Snapchat, Periscope and Blab with opportunity for people to instantly connect and engage with your products or services This is due to the ability to grow micro communities that willingly help amplify your message. The gold is in the amplification from those who know, like and trust you.

Ian Cleary

Live streaming is set to grow massively but I believe the significant growth will happen within the core social media platforms. Facebook recently released live streaming capability and it’s likely that soon you’ll be able to lifestream within Instagram and Twitter. This means that it will be challenging for external platforms such as Blab to achieve the scale they want.

Christin Kardos

With live streaming gaining popularity, I think we will see more brands and individuals using it not as a direct means of selling but as a tool for building relationships. Those who establish real human connections with their audiences will shine.

Vincent Suppa

Early adopters will push the archiving features of digital video to create public final wishes to live beyond the grave on their social media platforms. Employers and candidates will use a platform such as Blab, as the functionality allows, for privately recorded, documented interviews based upon mutual consent to share with other decision makers. Teachers will incorporate livestream media more into their curriculum to collaborate across educational institutions and use platforms such as Periscope for guest lectures in their classes.

Lisa Larter

I predict live streaming will separate the real entrepreneurs and experts from the pretenders because you cannot edit a live stream or read a TelePrompTer to fabricate knowledge. What you see live is a true reflection of the person and their knowledge.

Mark Babbitt

Livestreaming, to this point in the Social Age, has largely been a self-promotional vehicle; we’ve spent far too much time talking AT people instead of TO people. Now, with Blab and other platforms, we are finally using video to build real, albeit remote, relationships.

Bonnie Frank

People ask me all the time if I think Facebook Live will be the downfall of Periscope…Not at all! Each livestreaming platform provides a different experience that will appeal to some, not to all. Livestreaming is not going anywhere anytime soon and video will continue to prove more and more crucial and expected for businesses in 2016.

Chris Barrows

I believe the power of audio will play a key role in content strategy for personal brands and companies alike. Podcasting growth will continue with focused, niche podcasting outlasting the broader more general ones.

Karen Graves

Thanks to livestreaming technology the ability to form virtual relationships very quickly has finally arrived. What I have discovered with a platform like Blab, for instance, is that connecting with an audience, creating friendships, building partnerships, expanding community, gaining credibility and growing business happens almost as fast as interacting with an in-person audience. Livestreaming has upleveled the game for anyone who wants to be a Thought Leader.

Vincenzo Landino

In 2016, interactive video will be a major play for brands. Your audience, customers and fans will expect you to give them the attention they deserve via a medium that is always in their hands — their phone. The focus is mobile, the medium is live streaming. 2016 will be one hell of a ride for both.

Rachel Miller

Wherever you choose to show your face in real-time will be your most powerful communication channel. Live streaming video captures the real you. No hiding behind pretty stock photos and edited words. People want to see and hear you. Nothing proves your thought leadership faster than sharing your knowledge live, real, and raw on live stream video.

Daniel Newman

I believe that live streaming will become a more common way for brands to connect to their customers. The focus will be on short form, raw content that can teach or inspire an audience to take action. A key to brands staying with these platforms will be having tools that provide adequate data to measure the success of live streaming efforts. It’s all about good content and better data!

Tim McDonald

In 2016, those using livestreaming as just another broadcast platform will begin to see the relationships that can form when we use it for conversation. Livestreaming is the purest form of engagement you can have outside of meeting in person. You have to be present for each other. In other words, there is nothing new. We have everything we need. It’s how we use it.

Bree Kelley

“2015 was the year of live-streaming and video.” I disagree. 2015 may have been the year of live-streaming and video for marketers and social media marketers, but that has yet to be the general consensus of mainstream audiences. I think 2016 will be the year that video and live-streaming will spread from marketing think-tanks into the hands of our neighbors, friends, and family.

Roberto Blake

2016 will be the year that content marketing becomes more focused and tied to a very clear ROI and RGA (revenue generating activity) for marketers. Up until now vanity metrics and social proof as leverage have been a high priority for marketers. 2016 will be the year of practicality.

Kimberly Reynolds

2016 is the year that augmented reality and virtual reality go mainstream. Google Cardboard and Facebook’s Oculus demonstrate the big networks’ confidence in these technologies. Not only are AR and VR incredibly cool, they are also useful. As marketers realize that their messaging needs to be more targeted and personalized, AR and VR is a dream come true.

Jennie Mustafa-Julock

Blab will become popular with all the big gurus any day now. Facebook Live will make Periscope and Meerkat obsolete. And at least three new live streaming platforms will come out to confuse us all.

Audra Knight

In 2016, I think live streaming will begin to take off for recruitment and employer branding. Top candidates want to know what a company’s culture is like and appreciate the authenticity of live streaming. Hootsuite was groundbreaking in this effort with #followthesun on Periscope.

Jack Kosakowski

Select brands will figure out creative ways to engage their audience using live streaming apps. The brands that figure it out will reap massive rewards. The struggle with livestreaming will be capturing the right audience that Is relevant to your brand that can drive dollars and cents.

Katrina Collier

As competition for our “social attention” becomes even more competitive people are going to have to be creative to stand out in the noise, and as technology improves and becomes simpler to use, I can only see livestreaming becoming more common place.

I personally love Blab, as it’s given Audra Knight and me the platform to create The #SocialRecruiting Show and engaging conversation with a series of guests on anything around social media, recruiting and tech. It’s quick, it’s easy and it has multiple uses, which is essential in 2016.

Tyler Anderson

I believe podcasting will become mainstream. Yes, it’s been around since the mid 2000s. However, podcasting is primed for a major growth trajectory. In 2016, I believe it’s going to explode and finally become wildly adopted by the masses.

Jennifer Quinn

I predict that in 2016 we will see a bigger separation in quality for livestreaming and digital broadcasting. There will be a fair amount of broadcasters who have their shows rival the most professionally produced shows in existence, however, it will not necessarily guarantee success. Amazing content will continue to be what viewers demand (after the basic A/V requirements are satisfied).

Also, there will be new platforms being released at a faster pace than we’ve seen. I predict that by the end of 2016 the big player in livestreaming will be an app or platform that hasn’t even been revealed as of December 31, 2015.

Vincent Orleck

Being a full-on election year, I fully expect more and more candidates to utilize live streaming platforms to their advantage. We’ve already been watching the presidential campaign trail in 2015 on Snapchat Stories and Periscope, and I think that usage continues and expands as candidates and their campaign managers realize the potential power of the exposure that live streaming platforms and mobile apps can bring. But make no mistake, they will be very careful and hyper manage each broadcast as much as possible.

Keisha Stephen-Gittens

Let’s face it: much like reality TV became a guilty pleasure for so many, so will live streaming. Even though it’s not yet mandatory, brands and content creators will continue to experiment, measure and use these platforms as another way to engage with the connected consumer.

However, noise abounds and attention spans are fleeting. Brands will have to use existing data to create meaningful content that will break through the noise and encourage consumers to become loyalists – to keep coming back for more.

Jonathan Tripp

Livestreaming has put the social back in social media. In 2016, user-generated content that captures the live in-the-moment experience will drive deeper engagement and develop better conversation.

Chef Lizette

My prediction for livestreaming is it will become common place entertainment by the end of the 2017. Just as YouTube, Hulu and Netflix are valid replacements for cable TV, livestreaming will be a major disruption in 2016!

Janine Truitt

I believe the pandemonium of livestreaming will settle down in 2016. This will allow broadcasters who are creating quality content for their respective niches to shine above and beyond the noise we experienced in 2015. Also, the niches for livestreaming will continue to be many and varied.

Aaron Kilby

In 2016 marketers should plan to add video to their resume. With live streaming platforms like Periscope and Blab becoming popular very quickly, marketers will need to figure out the best ways to use it for their brands. These platforms are not mainstream as of yet, but all it will take is one large brand to figure it out and the rest will follow.

Danny Rubin

In 2016, digital broadcasting will continue to grow in popularity. For listeners, it means a bevy of options. For content creators and topic experts, it means the information they provide must be high quality and high value at all times. There’s too much competition to deliver anything less.

Sara Pandolfi

Livestreaming apps are being embraced as a social norm in our digital society. People want to share moments in real-time and view what others have captured in real time as well. For nonprofits that have incorporated social media in their campaigns, this technology gives them the opportunity to be more creative in cultivating and stewarding their supporters.

Vicki Aubin

There are many resources out there that have yet to be fully tapped by the people who can benefit from them most. Savvy job seekers are starting (and will continue to) utilize platforms like Blab and Periscope to make connections and help inform their next career move. Likewise, the ability to attach and showcase digital media, video, etc. to LinkedIn profiles is a smart way to distinguish yourself and make a powerful first impression.