How your business can maximise Facebook Live

Launched in 2015, Facebook Live is a feature that offers live-streaming video capability to individual users, and Pages alike.  If you’re managing the social media for your business or brand, then Facebook Live is something that you definitely need to work into your strategic marketing plan!  Let’s take a look at why below.

Facebook Live

Why do we like Facebook Live?

When you use the Facebook Live feature for your Facebook Page, a push notification is sent to all of your followers to let them know that you’ve gone live!  With the Facebook algorithm being what it is these days, this sort of immediate reach for your organic posts is almost unheard of!

It also allows you to interact with your viewers in real-time.  Viewers can comment and you can answer their comments on the spot and they can also ‘react’ to the broadcast so you can gauge how it is going.

There are as many as 3.5 billion Facebook Live broadcasts each year, with an average watch time per day of more than 30 minutes. Facebook Live marketing has its upsides compared to traditional media, too. Your viewers retain 95% of video messaging compared to 10% in text, while 82% of consumers prefer watching live video rather than reading posts on social media.

With so much opportunity, and even the new potential to directly generate revenue for your own company, it’s vital to put some consideration and some time and resources into getting the most out of the opportunities available.

Your audience is more than likely watching videos on Facebook, so hosting streams could help boost your brand recognition, enhance your sales, and grow your customer base.

 

Facebook Live Streaming audience reactions

 

So how do you set up your Facebook Live Event?

Making your first live video might seem scary– particularly if you’re camera-shy. It doesn’t have to be –  there are some great ways to make things easier on yourself and increase your potential viewers ahead of time.

Planning Your Broadcast

Remember that video and lives in particular are all about connection so putting some thought into what it’s all about for both your business and your customers is important.
What exactly do you want your Facebook Live stream to be? You may wish to introduce yourself to the local community, host a staff Q&A, or share some of your own professional expertise.

Whatever the plan, it helps to do just that: plan it out in advance. Now I don’t mean War and Peace word-for-word scripts here. Just jot down the 3-5 bullet points you really want to cover (bearing in mind that the optimum length of a Facebook Live stream is 15 minutes).

Consider doing a practice run if it’s your first rodeo and gather some customer questions in advance for a Q&A. This way you’ll have all your ducks in a row and are ready to make the most of your “Facetime” with your audience.

Your Live Kit

The beauty of Live videos is that they don’t require thousands of dollars worth of equipment. In fact, a little rough around the edges is likely to get you better engagement. Your videos should fall somewhere between “here’s something I made earlier” and “okay, the camera’s on, now what?”. This means knowing who you are and what you or your business stands for; conveying that is more important than the camera it is filmed on.

Having said that, there’s no excuse for having a poor connection or bad lighting. Additionally, sound is particularly important. If you need more detail on your kit or set up you can look over mine here.

Frequency matters

There is a fine line between boring your audience and growing a dedicated band of listeners. But at a minimum, once a month is a good rhythm (with weekly being optimal) if you have enough to talk about.

Engage with your humans

Pro tip time: If you’re planning to use Facebook Live, create an event for it. Then, once you go live, make sure that you wait a few minutes to give people a chance to log in. Introduce yourself and explain what you’ll be showing people during the live event. Then, when you’re ready, respond to people’s questions in real time. Ask them what they think, and answer them by name.

Remember: it doesn’t have to be perfect, just real and authentic.

 

If you need some help getting started, or just have a few deeper questions about your Facebook Business Page, we offer 1 on 1 coaching and support. Get in touch with us, we like to start with coffee!

Share article

Simone Douglas

Simone Douglas

Simone is co-founder and Senior Principal Solutions Architect of Digital Marketing AOK. Simone offers over 17 years in corporate management roles encompassing generalist HR recruitment and development of small to large teams across multiple sites, industry sectors and states. Experienced in a variety of social media platforms and their complimentary applications, social media strategy, risk management, disaster recovery and associated HR policies and processes.