The world has been going through one of the worst pandemics in the history of mankind and yet somehow, we found a way to make it fun. Do you remember the early days? Going stir-crazy during quarantine, watching the news to find out the latest death toll or the latest medical report from international health experts? With hundreds of millions of people forced to stay inside for weeks, many turned to the internet and social media for entertainment. Influencers, content creators and entertainers had to find new ways to reach their audience and turned to Instagram (IG) and TikTok as the main platform drawing everyone’s attention. One of the people that stood out was Canadian rapper and R&B singer Tory Lanez. The hip-hop sensation went viral and attracted millions of new followers for his Quarantine Radio Instagram live show, which had at one time 350,000 simultaneous viewers — a record on IG (later broken by N.Y. rapper-turned-informant, Tekashi 69).
On Quarantine Radio, Lanez played music mashups, hosted dance competitions and conducted interviews with other famous celebrities including Drake and Timbaland. He also released one of his latest projects, The New Toronto 3, and marketed it heavily using IG. DJ D-Nice was another artist who was able to capitalize on IG at the height of the pandemic. He went live from his Instagram account Saturday night for what he called #ClubQuarantine, a streaming event that drew famous viewers like Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Rihanna, Will Smith, Diddy, Kelly Rowland, Usher and more, according to USA Today.
He’d been hosting parties on IG Live every Wednesday but it hit a peak on that fateful Saturday night and drew entertainers, athletes and politicians such as Missy Elliott, Ellen DeGeneres, Mark Zuckerberg and Magic Johnson. Presidential hopefuls Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders also stopped by the virtual party, as did senators Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris.
There were a lot of other account that were either created or received significant attention, including: The Verzuz battle, created by rap artists Swizz Beatz and Timbaland; WFH Fits; the Social Distance Project; Love is Quarantine; Some Good News; and various challenges on TikTok and Tik-Tok Live.
According to numbers from Livestream.com:
Let’s walk through exactly how you can start using IG Live, some tips on using it, and a few ideas you can use to create an amazing IG Live stream today.
We’ll show you all the tips and tricks so you can see why IG Live can be a fantastic tool to help grow your brand and expand your appeal. Always remember:
Live videos are more popular than ever and there are a variety of ways to do them. Making sure you understand how to use IG Live to leverage your business is critical to your long-term success and short-term results. Whether it’s collaborating with an industry influencer or hosting a tutorial or workshop, over time, you can find out what works best for your brand. Remember, these videos are supposed to be fun, informative, and engaging. Find your excuse to let loose and start building your brand to new and successful heights!