With the huge growth in viewing video on mobile and tablets, it’s incredible to find that many communications professionals are still slow on the uptake of streaming content to mobile as part of their communications plans. 

At least that’s what we discovered when analysing the results of our 2013 Streaming Survey. Our findings showed that 31 per cent of communications professionals still don’t expect to stream live video content via a mobile device this year. This despite the fact that, according to comScore’s UK Digital Future in Focus 2013 Report, 64 per cent of the 49.5m UK mobile owners now use a smartphone. And this is a figure that’s set to increase even further, given that the report confirmed that in December 2012, 82 per cent of phones acquired were smartphones. 

The Comscore report also stated that there are now 11.2m mobile video users in the UK, a 262 per year-on-year increase, and this fact is supported by the BBC’s confirmation that by the end of 2012, mobiles and tablets made up more than a quarter of the total of their iPlayer requests, a 177 per cent year-on-year increase. 

On-the-go content

There is certainly a growing demand for ‘on-the-go’ content, which has meant that mobile phones are now recognised as a key channel to reach audiences anywhere, and according to Invodo, one in two consumers said they watched product videos on a smartphone, while 57 per cent said they did so in store while researching a product purchase.

The falling costs of data charges and rising speed of connectivity will also encourage more people to view video on mobile, but the key factor is the access to free wi-fi, meaning that the mobile user is not incurring a bill for the privilege of watching the video. In the UK, the introduction of 4G should help increase the amount of video viewing on smartphones even more.

Video on mobile can provide numerous opportunities for brands to communicate with their audiences, from driving purchase using interactive technology, enabling the viewer to click on the video on their tablet to have a mobile coupon sent to them to redeem in-store, through to streaming live events, giving mobile access to consumers to events that were previously only accessible on a desktop.

Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have already proven to be ideal platforms for audiences to access such events, from press conferences to film premieres. We also know that social media users like to share video-related content, with 40 per cent of all UK Twitter traffic at peak TV viewing time being about TV, according to SecondSync.

Twitter recently reported that an on-air hashtag can boost engagement, and that a TV-related tweet in a user’s timeline can drive discovery.  Similarly, according to a TV Licensing report, 57 per cent of the UK’s social media users aged under-35 years say that the social media buzz around a TV programme can affect whether or not they watch it live.

Engaging content
This being the case, if brands can also produce engaging content that their advocates who are already following them, or who have liked them in Facebook, share with their friends, there is a strong chance they can then encourage their friends to view, often by clicking on a link, wherever they may be at that time when reading that update.

Brands that have already seen great results of streaming to mobile include Butlins, who used markettiers4dc to produce a live and interactive Web TV show as part of the launch for its Wave Hotel.

Commenting on the event, Butlins head of communications, Jae Hopkins, said: “The ability to stream the launch event to celebrate the opening our £25m Wave Hotel live on Butlins.com as well through our Facebook timeline, whilst ensuring the audience could view on their mobile phones too, was an exciting challenge. When the idea was first pitched to me, I was extremely excited about the prospect but equally terrified about how to make the logistics work. However, the entire project, as well as my emotions, were managed fantastically well, and it was a complete success in terms of the content produced, the technical delivery, and reach of the campaign.”

Russell Goldsmith is digital & social media director at Markettiers4DC Group