How to use Instagram live video for app promotion

I must admit I love the new feature of Instagram. Well, it’s mainly about teenagers doing absolutely nothing in front of a camera, but hey, reality shows made a fortune, right? Good news is that few people and brands are doing it at the moment so if you start your live video now, it will be seen by many Instagram users!

I thought about how you could use live videos to promote your mobile app (since I found Instagram alone can be very effective). So here are some tricks and tips.

1. Get feedback from the users. A live video is a very good opportunity for the users to tell their opinion about your app. It’s much better than the store review because here you can have an interactive conversation. And convince them that what they see as a bug is actually a feature :)
2. Have a live demo. If your app is too complicated or if you tap on a brand new market you might want to show you audience the coolest features you had worded so hard on. Maybe they are your followers already or have heard about your app, so now it’s time to convert them to users.
3. A/B testing. Not in a classic way, but you can show them multiple options for a button style or text and see during which they give you more hearts.
4. Exclusivity (beta view). Do some promotion in advance that you will be unveiling your brand new app on Instagram. You can also let them have a quick peak while you are still working on it (beta phase), unless you are afraid that someone is going to steal your idea.
5. Interview. Let them ask any question — either professional or personal. It’s always interesting to see the person behind the app. You can explain how you started it, where the idea came from, who supported you, etc. People love emotions and emotions can drive downloads.

Some issues you will face:

1. Doing a live video is extremely time and energy consuming. You have to show a demo of your app, talk and respond to feedback at the same time. Yes, it’s actually like managing a real talk show, which could be scary for many developers or marketers.
2. Time zones. As I see that best time to have a live video is around 8–9 pm. But if you have an international app (most likely) it means that you must be online 24/7 to reach everyone optimally.
3. The video is gone. FOREVER! It’s not like you can have one demo and than loop it for the rest of your live. Well, you can if you record it and then just focus the smartphone’s camera on the video all the time. But then you will miss out on the interactivity.

Good luck and let me know if you have tried any of these!