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5 Unexpected Ways Meerkat Will Crush It For Sales And Marketing People


So, if you haven't heard of Meerkat yet, don't waste another minute in the dark. Go check them out.

In a nutshell, Meerkat allows you to live video stream to all of your Twitter followers. Think live TV on Twitter. Meerkat allows users to instantly live stream whatever it is they are doing directly to all of their Twitter followers. Are you at a concert and want to share what you're watching live, Meerkat it. Do you want to share a live message from your CEO to all of Twitter, Meerkat it. Meerkat is the next step in content delivery, no lag, no latency, instant, live engagement.

Meerkat, like Twitter before it, is expanding the way sales and marketing people connect and engage with prospects and customers. It allows sales people to become flies on the wall of their customers and prospects. And like most things, those who jump on it early will be the biggest beneficiaries. Meerkat is video content, make no bones about it. It's just a new and different type of content. So, you have to be creative in how you leverage it.


Having said that, here are five killer ways you can increase sales numbers and lead generation numbers with Meerkat:

  1. Create a Weekly Meerkat Demo of your Product: Create a weekly or daily Meerkat product demo that you promote ahead of time. Leverage hashtags and tweet at your prospects and thought leaders to maximize viewers.  Have your team promote the hashtag all week. During the Meerkat, make comments, offer insight to your target audience, which will then be automatically posted to Twitter. If you do Webinars and have scheduled demos today, this is a no-brainer.
  2. Follow Your Clients/Prospects: Imagine being a fly on the wall in your client's office or at their sales kick off. As more and more people/companies adopt Meerkat, more and more powerful information is going to be available to the diligent salesperson. Make sure you know which of your clients are using Meerkat, follow them and watch their streams. You'll learn all kinds of cool things.
  3. Tip of the Day: Use Meerkat to create a "tip of the day" or industry news piece that educates your clients. Leverage your head of sales, marketing team and product team. You can schedule this at the same time every day and promote through hashtags and tagged mentions of your prospects and clients.
  4. Promote Your Brand: Stream Meerkat during cool company events. Use it to highlight the fun, unique and interesting elements of your company. Meerkat can be a great way to engage customers with unique and interesting approaches to your business, your culture, your products and your people.
  5. Meerkat Mysteries: Randomly Meerkat special deals, information and secret product tricks or tips. Create a sense of mystery around each new Meerkat that engages your customers, client's and prospects. Keep them on their toes wondering what the next Meerkat could give them.  Create an environment where people are "tuned in" to the next stream in hopes of finding out what the next deal will be.
  6. Bonus - Meerkat Events: Create special Meerkat events where the information can only be found by tuning into Meerkat. Have monthly or quarterly sessions where Meerkat is the only place your audience can get the 411.

Meerkat is in it's infancy, but it has tremendous ability to augment, change and lead your sales and marketing efforts. The key is to get ahead of the curve and experiment. Test, leverage trial and error, A/B test and be creative. I can't say Meerkat is the next big thing, but it has potential. And like most things with potential, early adopters win.

Engagement, content, sharing and collaboration are the name of the game. Meerkat and social streaming in general kills it in all those areas. So, whether it's Meerkat or Periscope get on it. Social streaming is a medium you must learn to use.

NOTE: Meerkat only is available for IOS 8 at present. Sorry, Android users.

