From established brands to emerging startups, business owners across the board are embracing live streaming as a means of sharing original content and products.
Facebook Live, the arguable frontrunner in the live stream campaign, is not only an easy way to share news about your business or organization, but it’s also a fantastic tool for interacting with your clients, potential clients and followers in real time. Teach them to do something new, take them behind the scenes of your organization, or share a big announcement — Facebook Live will reshape the way you engage with your audience.
Mount Marty College, one of our higher education clients, regularly uses Facebook to interact with students and alumni, and a few weeks back, they hosted their first Facebook Live event to announce an exciting new development at the college — the launch of the state’s first-ever Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice program. It was a huge announcement for MMC, and Facebook Live was an awesome, engaging, interactive way to share the news.
Think you’re ready to go live? Keep in mind these seven tips to capitalize on Facebook Live’s functionality and make your next live stream a success.
- Find the right event or reason. Why should your audience be interested in your live stream? Why should they tune in? Special announcements, events and big reveals are great reasons to go live. Consistent new content can be also be reason enough to stream; some popular brands, such as Martha Stewart, have taken Facebook Live to the next level by creating regular live segments, allowing them to answer audience questions while they’re on air.
- Promote it ahead of time — on multiple channels. Think Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, email: Promote your live event anywhere and everywhere your business has a social media presence.
- Prep the on-camera talent. The personalities who appear on your live stream certainly don’t have to be professionals in front of the camera. They do, however, need to be comfortable. Facebook Live thrives on audience interaction, so choosing individuals who do well thinking — and speaking — impromptu is also a good idea. Remind them to introduce themselves and the business while remaining calm and personable.
- Check the Wi-Fi. A fast, functioning internet connection is essential to a successful stream. Check your connection beforehand in the space you plan to use it to ensure everything’s in working order.
- Stage your show. Think of everything your audience will see during your live stream — now do what you can to make it look as good as possible. Also, keep in mind the sound. Minimize ambient noise, and test whether additional microphones are needed.
- Think about length. Make the live stream long enough to be worth the time of everyone tuning in, but remember to make it meaningful to capture, too. No one should finish the stream thinking it went on for too long. And no one should finish thinking they wished they received the message via email instead.
- Practice. It might be tempting to go on the fly, but even the most seasoned professionals know prep is key to a successful live performance. Whether that’s doing research, testing the equipment or rehearsing with on-camera personalities, you’ll be grateful for the prep work when the time comes to go live. As an extra tip, try setting Facebook’s “Who Can See This?” privacy setting to “Only Me.” Now if you practice going live, you’ll see how the stream will look in real time, but no one else will see it.
Have questions or need social media support? Contact us for assistance or advice!