Utilising good data is key to successful live stream analytics

By Viktor Underwood, CEO, Quickchannel

Videos are now a staple in our daily lives, and in a choice between watching and reading, videos are regularly chosen over text. With the use of videos accelerating throughout the pandemic, many of us relied on them for a sense of normality. From online shopping to video calls and online learning to virtual events, obtaining insights on how these platforms were working became essential. This is where analytics come in, showing marketers what works and what doesn’t for the audience they want to target.

Keeping technical criteria in mind so that users take action is extremely beneficial for longer streams such as webinars and online events, with analytics now a vital part of improving video communication. It can tell those behind the scenes exactly where the viewer exited the video and if it is part of a pattern. If the answer is yes, marketers can analyse that point in the stream and look to make changes. This also works at the other end of the scale, and if a part of the video attracts more attention, it can lead to discovering a type of content the target audience is interested in.

What are the benefits of streaming analytics?

There are huge benefits to streaming live data, but tracking analytics can be a minefield for those who are new or inexperienced in streaming. But with virtual events and working here to stay, the businesses that get it right now will be able to face the post-pandemic future with a degree of well-informed optimism.

With many benefits to be had from using streaming analytics, it’s important for businesses to pinpoint the ones they want to achieve, whether that is through improving operational efficiency, reducing infrastructure cost or providing faster insights and actions.

Improving operational efficiencies enables data and analytics teams to act immediately using their access to continuous data to track and work on the KPIs while using infrastructure costs to manage workloads efficiently. Additionally, providing an end-to-end, AI-powered streaming analytics solution can take data from any source and use it for faster and continuous insights to all users.

Essentially, streaming analytics extract business value from data in motion in the same way traditional analytics tools do at rest. Organisations in different industries have data streaming available from holding webinars, social media, meeting with customers/end users, streaming events and websites, so flexible, scalable tools and processes need to be in place to make the data accessible and usable at a moment’s notice.

Additionally, businesses can use information derived from real-time analytics to identify anomalies and business changes (such as a spike in demand for a product or service) as they occur. This information allows companies to take instant action and seize an opportunity they might otherwise miss.

Customer engagement 

Customer engagement is a vital part of any analytics strategy, with data-driven marketing offering industry leaders the opportunity to increase their market growth while improving customer satisfaction.

So how can businesses improve customer engagement and improve their streaming activities?

• Choose a topic and be specific – When planning an activity, focus on your areas of expertise and cover topics your audience will find interesting. Don’t try to cover too much in one webinar and try to do the subject justice in an hour or less.
• Select the right webinar tools – If you want to share your webinar with a large audience, you’ll need a tool that allows for greater capacity. To make your webinar work best for you, use a webinar hub that allows you to access on-demand recordings and allows you to document goals, target audience, engagement, and interaction.
• Bring content to life – Make sure your content is engaging through animated graphics, high-quality illustrations, and videos. Discussion-based webinars can also be highly engaging, this involves ensuring speakers are prepared and doing your own research ahead of the event.

Most importantly, once you’ve hosted the stream, don’t leave it at that. Gather feedback and use your analytics to help you plan even better sessions in the future. Relevant stats can then be used to improve and update future webinars and events, improving customer engagement in the long run.

So what can we learn from analytics?

In an increasingly data-rich world, the role of analytics has never been more important. Empowered with the most effective analytics systems, businesses can make decisions that not only help their users but also drive profitability, grow customer numbers, set new trends and future-proof their operations.

Access to such data has become a necessity, and in 2019 it was estimated that more than half of major new business systems will be incorporating analytics by 2022. Once integrated, marketers can bring together both real-time and historical data for analysis that can improve decision-making and can be the difference between success and failure.

The key to successful streaming is preparation, so by following the above steps and making the most of the analytics behind your platform, you stand every chance of hosting a session that will have a positive impact on your marketing strategy, generate leads and customers as well as ensuring users are as engaged as possible.

Analytics goes beyond just tracking, so it’s up to marketing professionals to make sure they are well informed ahead of their streaming activities and are making the most of the data they have access to. With our reliance on analytics and data only likely to grow, businesses need to act now to ensure they have the tools they need to succeed in online streaming in 2022 and beyond.

By Viktor Underwood, CEO, Quickchannel

Videos are now a staple in our daily lives, and in a choice between watching and reading, videos are regularly chosen over text. With the use of videos accelerating throughout the pandemic, many of us relied on them for a sense of normality. From online shopping to video calls and online learning to virtual events, obtaining insights on how these platforms were working became essential. This is where analytics come in, showing marketers what works and what doesn’t for the audience they want to target.

Keeping technical criteria in mind so that users take action is extremely beneficial for longer streams such as webinars and online events, with analytics now a vital part of improving video communication. It can tell those behind the scenes exactly where the viewer exited the video and if it is part of a pattern. If the answer is yes, marketers can analyse that point in the stream and look to make changes. This also works at the other end of the scale, and if a part of the video attracts more attention, it can lead to discovering a type of content the target audience is interested in.

What are the benefits of streaming analytics?

There are huge benefits to streaming live data, but tracking analytics can be a minefield for those who are new or inexperienced in streaming. But with virtual events and working here to stay, the businesses that get it right now will be able to face the post-pandemic future with a degree of well-informed optimism.

With many benefits to be had from using streaming analytics, it’s important for businesses to pinpoint the ones they want to achieve, whether that is through improving operational efficiency, reducing infrastructure cost or providing faster insights and actions.

Improving operational efficiencies enables data and analytics teams to act immediately using their access to continuous data to track and work on the KPIs while using infrastructure costs to manage workloads efficiently. Additionally, providing an end-to-end, AI-powered streaming analytics solution can take data from any source and use it for faster and continuous insights to all users.

Essentially, streaming analytics extract business value from data in motion in the same way traditional analytics tools do at rest. Organisations in different industries have data streaming available from holding webinars, social media, meeting with customers/end users, streaming events and websites, so flexible, scalable tools and processes need to be in place to make the data accessible and usable at a moment’s notice.

Additionally, businesses can use information derived from real-time analytics to identify anomalies and business changes (such as a spike in demand for a product or service) as they occur. This information allows companies to take instant action and seize an opportunity they might otherwise miss.

Customer engagement 

Customer engagement is a vital part of any analytics strategy, with data-driven marketing offering industry leaders the opportunity to increase their market growth while improving customer satisfaction.

So how can businesses improve customer engagement and improve their streaming activities?

• Choose a topic and be specific – When planning an activity, focus on your areas of expertise and cover topics your audience will find interesting. Don’t try to cover too much in one webinar and try to do the subject justice in an hour or less.
• Select the right webinar tools – If you want to share your webinar with a large audience, you’ll need a tool that allows for greater capacity. To make your webinar work best for you, use a webinar hub that allows you to access on-demand recordings and allows you to document goals, target audience, engagement, and interaction.
• Bring content to life – Make sure your content is engaging through animated graphics, high-quality illustrations, and videos. Discussion-based webinars can also be highly engaging, this involves ensuring speakers are prepared and doing your own research ahead of the event.

Most importantly, once you’ve hosted the stream, don’t leave it at that. Gather feedback and use your analytics to help you plan even better sessions in the future. Relevant stats can then be used to improve and update future webinars and events, improving customer engagement in the long run.

So what can we learn from analytics?

In an increasingly data-rich world, the role of analytics has never been more important. Empowered with the most effective analytics systems, businesses can make decisions that not only help their users but also drive profitability, grow customer numbers, set new trends and future-proof their operations.

Access to such data has become a necessity, and in 2019 it was estimated that more than half of major new business systems will be incorporating analytics by 2022. Once integrated, marketers can bring together both real-time and historical data for analysis that can improve decision-making and can be the difference between success and failure.

The key to successful streaming is preparation, so by following the above steps and making the most of the analytics behind your platform, you stand every chance of hosting a session that will have a positive impact on your marketing strategy, generate leads and customers as well as ensuring users are as engaged as possible.

Analytics goes beyond just tracking, so it’s up to marketing professionals to make sure they are well informed ahead of their streaming activities and are making the most of the data they have access to. With our reliance on analytics and data only likely to grow, businesses need to act now to ensure they have the tools they need to succeed in online streaming in 2022 and beyond.