Live Streaming Stars To Pay Attention To In 2016

By Cheval John

Photo Courtesy of blog.ditley.com

Photo Courtesy of blog.ditley.com


As we are 28 days away from 2016, we can reflect on how much live streaming changed the way we look at media.

We knew about live streaming from major media platforms like ESPN, who broadcast their sporting events using their apps.

And marketers indicated that they were going to focus more on doing live video this year according to the Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Marketing Industry 2014 report.

That same report indicated that marketers were using YouTube to showcase their expertise and promote their business.

It makes sense to a large degree because YouTube is the second largest social media platform in the world behind Facebook.

Plus, YouTube is owned by Google, the world largest search engine.

So if you are on YouTube, you have a huge opportunity to get your business more exposure due to Google Algorithms.

That is great news if you are a small business owner.

At the same time, you will have to work twice as hard to build your audience on YouTube because you are competing with other business owners.

According to Expanded Ramblings, there are 1 billion people who uses YouTube.

You are among the number of people who are trying to gain an audience with your uplifting message and building a tribe.

So if live streaming is going to continue to be more important going into 2016, how do you stand out from the crowd?

You will have to be more creative on how you use video to gain a loyal following.

This year has brought out live streaming platforms like Meerkat, Periscope and Blab.

Meerkat has in a way become more irrelevant.

So I will only focus on Periscope and Blab.

Periscope is raw video where people can share their lives with the world.

It has allowed many business owners to showcase their expertise and grow their business for the better.

The catch is that the video only lasts for 24 hours and then it is gone.

That allows a person to grow a loyal community and increase their business for the better also.

And with Apple TV now integrating Periscope into their product, your periscope shows will have a much wider audience.

Though I have not used periscope personally, I can say that the live streaming app is a one way street because there is not much engagement with the audience.

Which now leads to blab.

Blab is a combination of Meerkat and Periscope that was launched in April.

The live streaming platform allows four open seats plus you can actually see who is in the room of your show.

You can also see what people are saying about the topic that you are chatting about in your blab.

Plus, if a person that is in the room of your chat wants to join in on one of the four open seats, they can join in the open seat with the host’s approval of course.

That makes blab in my opinion more interactive.

What is also cool is that if you recorded your blab show, they send you the audio and video file of the show.

That gives the person the opportunity to turn their blab shows into a podcasts.

And since podcasts have a much smaller competition compared to YouTube (about 300,000 to 1 billion), respectively, they are able to stand out from the masses of people who are on YouTube.

The biggest difference is that blab is still in beta form and the staff are making improvements to the live streaming app.

That means small business owners, who are using blab in beta, are way ahead of their competition because they are building a loyal community.

Periscope and Blab have allowed people to become thought leaders.

I can guarantee that these live streaming stars will go to the next level in 2016 and continue to uplift people to build their business to profitably for the better.

Here are the 10 live streaming “stars” everyone should look out for in 2016

1. Vicki Fitch-Author, Speaker

2. Robert C. Stern-Owner of Social Leader, USA

3. Victoria Taylor-Owner of Blend Social

4. Jennifer Quinn-Host of The Daily Q Show

5. John Kapos-Owner of Perfection Chocolates

6. Melodee Meyer-Founder of the Fit Free Project

7. Adel de Meyer-Social Media Specialist

8. Saba Sedighi-Founder of iStreamSocial

9. Sarah Moore-Digital Strategist

10. Kohleen Liddell-Social Media Strategist

Do you agree with the list above. Who am I missing from this list? You can leave your comments below.

About Cheval John

Cheval John is the Founder and CEO of Vallano Media, LLC, a marketing agency which helps small to mid-sized businesses use social media correctly to build a loyal following and in the process become more profitable. Cheval is also the host of "What's The Word?" a podcast about finding out what inspires people to choose their respective careers and how social media impacted their lives and business. He is the author of two books including the Amazon Best-Seller, "8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Learn." He has spoken at Social Media Week Lima in Ohio and at Social Media Day Houston 2017 about topics around live streaming and podcasting. Cheval has been featured in media outlets including Ebony Magazine, Social Media Today and Forbes. He was named a Houston Top 25 Social Media Power Influencer (2016 and 2017) and a Twitter Top 50 Influencer by Onalytica in 2018.

2 Responses to “Live Streaming Stars To Pay Attention To In 2016”

  1. Jennifer Lehner (@jenrgy) says :

    Vicki Fitch is at the top of my list, too! 🙂

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