“Is there an app for that?” is one of the most popular lines you hear these days. And, of course there is! Take a look around you. Virtually everyone has their heads bowed down with thumbs tapping away on a small screen.
Mobile phones have taken over, literally, everything and it is time you take advantage of this through live video streaming of your company events: through Android phones all over the world. How many times have you thought of sending critical company videos to your users around the world, while letting them give you feedback at the same time? You can now do this, and even better, your users do not need to be in a conference room or have specialized equipment in their locations. All they need is their Android phones, an Internet connection, and they are live!
Why Go Mobile?
In today’s world, mobile phones are ubiquitous tools and it’s not surprising that 1 in 5 people worldwide had smartphones in 2013 (according to Business Insider). By the close of 2015, 2 billion people around the world (a quarter of the world’s population) will be active smartphone users connecting to the Internet anywhere, anytime. A majority of the smartphone users are running their smart devices on Android, the world’s most popular smartphone OS (with a million new devices activation every day), according to Android’s website.
Android smart devices have also become small TVs with larger, higher definition screens. In 2014, 53 percent of all video content was viewed on mobile devices (Efficacit© et Transparence des Acteurs Europ©ens, EurActiv website). These figures are set to rise to 69 percent by the year 2018.
Mobile live streaming is becoming more popular today. No one wants to watch something that was recorded months ago, today, when they already know what happened at the end. Well, this is why many broadcasters are investing money and time into making their content available on all types of devices as it happens.
The Benefits
Before looking into how it’s done, it’s best to learn the advantages of reaching the mobile market. Video streaming to cellphones is fast becoming the most convenient way to reach your audiences. Streaming live events has certainly become a priority for many companies. Especially those in the fashion, news and sports industries, where your clients want to gain access to Internet content as soon as it happens.
Many people choose to view videos on their Android tablets and phones on the go. One of the biggest reasons why your company should do mobile streaming is that it will expand the exposure of your content. People will not have to sit in front of their desktops or laptops to watch your videos. They can stream it directly on their mobile devices from anywhere, anytime via the Internet.
Metrics
Francesco Guarascio says that the EU Commission considers video streaming takes up about 50 percent of data transferred on the Internet. According to the Business Insider website, 50 million people in the U.S. watch video over their smartphones. While tablets were the video kings early 2013, smartphones quickly surpassed them in July 2013 and viewership over smartphones is set to triple by 2016.
How to Reach Mobiles
Many streaming platforms have ways to reach mobile audiences. This is true for on demand video content and live streaming and Blue Jeans is no exception, it offers self-service, collaborative video broadcast services that are easy for attendees, presenters and organizers.
Blue Jeans Primetime is a cloud-based platform that enables you to interact over video and stream with thousands of your viewers. This service can be presented, watched or listened from an Android device. Primetime service is ideally suited for any interactive events you may want to handle online. Some of its features include:
- Role switching: By default, your viewers will enter your online event in view-only mode, but once they “raise” their hand, they are promoted to presenters to ask questions or join the online panel, contributing to the conversation.
- Self-service: Blue Jeans’ Primetime makes it easy for you to manage your large online event without having to dabble with computer code or add extra equipment.
- View and present from any device: Attendees and presenters have the option of joining from a wide-range of audio or video devices, including computers and smartphones.
- Great moderator tools: You get moderator controls that allow you to mute, pin, promote participants and record the entire meeting. The moderator can also brief and prep presenters in a “green room” like setting before they go live in the meeting.
Mobile streaming is big and will continue to grow. Remember, video is a highly social element and it’s important that you remove any boundaries to make them easier to share, easier to participate in, easier to digest and easier for your clients to enjoy.