It’s been almost a year since MGM studios and Twitter joined forces for an immersive New Year’s Eve experience using Twitter Live. In the span of a few hours, the launch segment had garnered an impressive 22 million views and impressions. Since then, the micro-blogging social media site has updated and added to the live streaming feature, reflecting back a cultural craving for immediacy.

Curious what’s on the horizon for next year? Here’s a look backward, and forward, to help businesses leverage twitter live in their social media marketing.

A Look Back at Twitter Live in 2017

Twitter Live has had an impressive arch over the last 12 months. When it comes to revenue, video remains their single biggest ad format, according to Twitter.

What has shifted is the participants, players, and partnerships. Let’s see how Twitter Live has settled in over the last four quarters.

• Q1: Twitter’s user growth outpaced Wall Street Predictions, swelling by more than 9 million. By March its content partners had topped to more than 200.
• Q2: Armed with an updated API, Twitter made the live platform more accessible to broadcasting companies. Supporting professional video and editing equipment, as well as the software that runs them, allowed major players to interface directly with Twitter.
• Q3: Partnerships with big names in the sports world, fashion arena and media sect all pledged allegiance to live-streaming. Everyone from the NFL and Viacom to IMG Fashion and BuzzFeed is now relying on Twitter for their live content.
• Q4: Right at the end of the year, Twitter Live is eking out a final offering that’s poised to change news as we know it.

Is Twitter our preferred news network?

News cycles have long rewarded the first on the scene. Twitter satisfies our demand for the instantaneous. For those who want to watch the news in the moment, Twitter is reliably where it happens first.

In fact, social media is the exclusive news provider for more than half of online users. It’s also where reporters themselves look to confirm facts or cultivate story leads.

Twitter Live has taken notice, creating the world’s first “social news network”, TicToc by Bloomberg. As of December 18, 2017, a Twitter-specific 24-hour news cycle will go live supported by a team of 50 reporters and newsroom staff.

It’s the precision and journalistic excellence of Bloomberg News, paired with the global following of twitter’s aggressively engaged users, and the commentary they so freely share.

The move appears to be traditional media’s first dedicated effort to bring some quality into the demand for instant breaking news.

Who’s ahead in the Twitter VS Facebook Live race?

Twitter and Facebook Live both have the potential to grow your market segments. It’s less a question of which is performing better, and more an inquiry into your individual business marketing needs.

If you’re attempting to get in front of an audience you’ve already cultivated, Facebook Live tends to pull ahead. However, if what you’re after is overall network growth, try out Twitter.

The two also differ in terms of which types of content they best support. Since Twitter is a more open platform, it’s especially great for public events. Conversely, Facebook does a thorough job serving concentrated individual networks. Ultimately, the choice is whether your content is better suited for a network-centric audience or open and public viewings.

Keep in mind that about more than half of Twitter Live’s unique video viewers are outside the U.S., and also under the age of 25. If you have a young, international target market, this is the platform for your business.

Some moments can only be truly captured with live video. Whatever your business chooses to broadcast, going live on Twitter can help you share the experience.

Still, have questions? Make contact and we’ll let you pick the brain of an internal social media strategist