Is Blab Best For Your Small Biz Branding?
One of the biggest changes of the last year that small business marketers need to understand and learn how to leverage, is the rise of “instant video.”
I’m talking about all the live-steam apps that have invaded mobile devices, like Periscope, Meerkat and Blab, which is the focus of this article. The big difference with Blab is that its reach stretches beyond mobile devices (it has a good desktop-laptop presence via Blab.im) and it is better for allowing others to participate. This makes it a natural evolution for anyone who has been using Google hangouts. Essentially you can host your own talk show!
You signup with Blab via your Twitter account and in many ways, conducting a Blab chat is a lot like conducting a Tweet Chat, especially if you’ve decided to use this live video streaming platform to promote your small business or your brand. I’ve discussed some of the fundamentals of planning and scheduling a Tweet Chat, and the same basic guidelines apply to a Blab chat or video session.
Promote your Blab video
Probably even more important than with a Tweet Chat, is promoting your Blab video in the social media well in advance of the broadcast. Also, be sure to use your email list to let your customers know about it. You can’t over-promote your live Blab video sessions. Once you’re involved in a live Blab video session, you have sharing tools immediately available that allow you to alert your Twitter and Facebook followers. If you’re conducting the Blab, occasionally encourage other participants to alert their social media followers in this way.
I suggest you create a Blab account by signing on with your Twitter handle and spend a little time exploring topics that you find interesting. This way you’ll learn how Blabs are promoted and shared, and get a feel for how they flow in real time. Once you’re a bit of a Blab veteran you can decide how this video streaming service can be best used to promote your small business.
The Blab video strategies you can use to promote your brand are virtually unlimited. Service providers can answer questions and offer insider tips. Some small businesses may want to broadcast Blab reviews of new products and services – and allow their customers and clients to offer their opinions at the same time. How-to videos are always useful.
Establishing a regular schedule may work for some small businesses and at that point you will be establishing your own Blab TV show. This will help you create a lot of content fast and if you approach your topics thoughtfully, you can make good use of this content going forward. The Blab app and website give you the option of recording your Blab video so it can be viewed after its live airing and you also get a file that you can feature the Blab video on your website.
Note that there is a good search feature built into Blab, so you need to choose the right keyword tags to identify your topics and your Blab videos. In the long run, this will help prospects discover your small business that you might not have otherwise been able to connect with.
Here’s a great tip to help you build your Blab audience: Put a link to a recorded Blab video in your newsletter. This will introduce the concept to your customers, encourage them to get signed up for the service and help familiarize them with how it works.
Blab’s place in social media
For the small business marketer, when answering the question “What is Blab?” I think it’s important to place it within the evolution of social media marketing. First we had words with the blog, then we had the photographic social media sites, like Instagram and Pinterest. Next came podcasts. Now, with the Blab app and website, we are moving fully into video social media marketing. In fact, I think we’ll see many podcasts moving to Blab video.
It’s undeniable that video is becoming increasingly important to the overall marketing strategy of small businesses. The only question left to be answered is how you can make the best use of this medium.
I suspect Blab will answer that question for a lot of small business owners.