Promotional products and live streaming make a great pair

Good marketers know they can’t rely on just one medium to get their brand recognized. The days of businesses solely taking out full-page ads in newspapers and magazines is over. A lot of physical media advertising just isn’t as feasible as it once was, since it doesn’t reach the demographics a company desires. With that said promotional corporate gifts are still a reliable mainstay.

Companies wanting to give their marketing campaigns a one-two punch should pair tried and true techniques like branded apparel with trending tech. One great way of getting more eyes on your business is to use Periscope, Meerkat or other live video streaming apps to show the public what your enterprise is all about.

Making multiple connections
Live streaming video is a great way to not only help introduce your brand but also show viewers the kinds of promotional items your business offers, from hats and other types of clothing to mugs and drinkware. While live broadcasts aren’t a new technology, more people now have access to real-time movie making anywhere they happen to be, thanks to smartphones and tablets. Apps like Periscope and Meerkat give anyone the ability to give you a glimpse into their everyday lives.

Owned by Twitter, Periscope hit 10 million users in 2015 after just six months of being on Apple’s iTunes store, The Guardian reported. Periscope alone receives 2 million returning visitors every day with a plethora of broadcasts to choose from.

A number of brands are already tapping into these live streaming avenues to show off their companies as well as their offerings. Entrepreneur noted Adidas, Red Bull, Mountain Dew, Spotify and General Electric used Periscope or Meerkat to market themselves.

Creating excitement
The live aspect of these apps can help a brand generate excitement around its products, whether it’s an old established company like General Electric or a relative newcomer such as music streaming site Spotify.

Broadcasting via live streaming video can create a sense of urgency around your brand and using the show to exhibit your business’s branded items can keep viewers watching and pique their interest in buying your goods.

Not only can these social media platforms drive more views to your offerings, they can also give you real-time results to tell you which promotional items work best for your business.

Periscope users can give a virtual heart or thumbs up to broadcast in progress and write their opinions on the brand or its products and services. Therefore, this kind of streaming can give you an indication of the types of branded items your audience will go for.

In fact, Mountain Dew connected with its fans over its Twitter account and Periscope channel to showcase the soft drink brand’s new swag which included branded hats and T-shirts, ClickZ noted. Those followers that liked or commented on the items received the gear as a present from the company.

Testing your markets
Displaying your offerings using these apps helps your business gauge which promotions are in demand. It also allows you to test out the potential appeal for products before rolling them out to more members of the public.

The American Marketing Association recommended companies give Periscope and other live streaming apps a try to see if the new technology meshes well with their target audiences and their brand’s message.

Your enterprise can test the waters, so to speak, with a simple yet engaging script and a few branded items to show off during a broadcast. Grow an audience with some promotional announcements via your Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages and then examine the number of hearts and comments you receive.

These apps give you a better way to break the ice with potential customers while giving them an entertaining, informal view into what your business does. You can give your company a more personable face and get to know your patrons on a better level so you can anticipate their wants and needs.

Some short videos on these channels receive hundreds of hearts, Business Insider reported, which means more eyes on your company and your branded products. This new and free marketing trend, when done right, can give your venture an added oomph.