Meerkat Adds New Element to Social Media Marketing

No, not that critter found in the plains of South Africa. We’re talking about a new app that started quickly spreading last week on across Twitter. Meerkat allows Twitter users to seamlessly stream live video to all of their followers. Download the app, and then start streaming live from your office or living room within 30 seconds.

How it works

The app is incredibly easy (maybe too easy) to download and start streaming. Once you download the app, you simply connect the app to Twitter through the setup page. Be aware that it will notify your Twitter followers that already have the app that you have joined as well. Once it is set up, it shows a screen prompting you to write a description and either schedule a live stream, or stream immediately.

Warning! Once you hit stream, it will begin live streaming and tweet on your behalf that you are now live streaming, allowing your Twitter followers to click a link and see what you see!

What’s next? 

It’s hard to say what is in store for this new app. The app is currently only in sync with Twitter. As we’ve seen in the past, Twitter could absorb the app and take control of it, or it could develop it’s own live streaming capabilities to compete. Meerkat could also stay a separate entity and maybe try to enter other social networks such as Facebook.

So are people really interested in a live stream of you going through a car wash (the first I witnessed)? Will Meerkat be something brands can take advantage of? One thing is guaranteed: it is an app that brands and online marketers will be keeping their eyes on.

The app can be expected to be showcased, and most likely heavily used, at SXSW March 13-17.

Published on: March 9, 2015