Meerkat made big waves at this year’s South by Southwest festival and a lot of people predicted it would be 2015’s hottest live streaming app. And then Twitter decided to acquire and back Periscope. Definitely a heavy blow to Meerkat’s relevance considering both it and Periscope work primarily with your Twitter account. Meerkat’s future may be a little unclear, but marketers and users are still finding success on the platform. If you’re considering integrating Meerkat into your online video marketing strategy, here are 5 things to keep in mind: It’s Easy: The reason why apps like Meerkat are so popular is because they are incredibly convenient and simple to use for broadcasting video from mobile devices. Within seconds, marketers can use Meerkat to inform, educate and entertain their audiences around the world – all from an iOS device. You’ll definitely get better results with a steady Meerkast (broadcast), so consider using a mounting system or tripod. There’s a Sense of Urgency: One of the main differences between Meerkat and Periscope is that Meerkat doesn’t allow for replay of your broadcast after it’s finished. Similar to Snapchat, the platform’s one-time distribution creates a sense of urgency and engagement for your audience. Consider using Meerkat to create that feeling of a user missing out on something if they don’t tune in. Meerkat can be a great tool to use for contests, industry announcements and product releases, for example. You Should Schedule Your Meerkast: Meerkat gives you the option to schedule your stream on Twitter ahead of time. Use this feature to promote your stream before you go live. This builds momentum and provides for a successful broadcast. Marketers can schedule their streams during tradeshows or industry events to hook viewers that are awaiting news. Another idea is to promote a Q&A session with your CEO or company experts on specific topics. You can also leverage relevant hashtags with your upcoming stream during these promotional tweets. Everything’s Echoed on Twitter: Everything that happens on Meerkat happens on Twitter. Any type of reply or comment you or a viewer make during a Meerkast will also show up on that user’s Twitter feed. This is one of the cool social aspects of Meerkat. It’s a great chance for marketers to encourage users to comment through questions or polls. Users can attract other viewers to their Meerkasts because they’re placing these comments and replies on people’s Twitter feeds. Keep Layout In Mind: Composition can by tricky with Meerkat’s vertical video format, so make sure that your framing is optimized for this platform. Meerkat also has buttons, comments and user icons overlaid during your Meerkast. The examples below demonstrate what to do, and more importantly what not to do, when it comes to Meerkat composition.
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