Facebook LIVE has become popular because it generates much more traction than regular posts, images, and videos. With a Facebook LIVE event, you can engage directly with your audience, interact and build that important brand relationship. Plus, you’re more likely to get followers to see your Facebook LIVE because it’s less hindered than your page by the Facebook algorithm. If you’re new to Facebook LIVE and you want your brand to start benefiting from it, here’s a quick guide to getting started.
Before You Start
1. Know your audience – You should treat Facebook LIVE the way you would any other part of your content strategy. Use data to paint an accurate picture of what your audience actually wants to see and that targets their needs.
2. Don’t skip the promotion – A live event, even with a valuable topic, structure, and script, won’t be successful if nobody knows it’s coming up. Think ahead and make a Facebook event about going live and give as much notice as possible. Make sure you do this after you have everything planned out so that you’re able to provide details about the event. Be specific as possible to intrigue those into joining.
3. Prepare for your event – I’ll talk about this in more detail in a moment, but a successful live event is never spontaneous. Prepare everything: from the topic, structure, script, and design, to the place you will be streaming from and the tech you will use.
Planning Your Facebook Live
Pick a Topic and Type
There are different types of Facebook LIVE content, from motivational or educational to case studies and interviews. The first step of planning is deciding which one fits with your content strategy and what you’re trying to get across. For example, if you’re in the stage where you’re trying to draw attention to new products, go for a tutorial or personal journey Facebook LIVE.
Then it’s about narrowing down a topic. This will entirely depend on the format you’ve chosen and the industry you’re in, but it’s worth noting here that you should be considering the sales-drivers of your audience. Then consider: what’s the ultimate goal of your live stream? Do you want to engage the audience, offer products, promote new ones, or tell them about some great discounts that will be live when the event ends? Which should all help you decide.
Create a ‘Key Point’ Structure
It’s not about reading from a script – you can make ordinary videos for that – but avoid forgetting something or going on a tangent by having key points you want to mention or discuss. Creating a rough outline keeps you on track and means you’ll give your audience full value. Plus, using a structure usually allows you to do deeper research on your topic beforehand and gives you more to talk about.
Depending on the format you’ve chosen, also make sure you have checkpoints too, such as when you’ll be taking questions or engaging with the audience, what you will be promoting, and if there is anything you want to draw your audience’s attention to.
It’s All About Timing
Even the best and well thought out Facebook LIVE events can be hindered by timing, because if your audience isn’t there, there’s nothing you can do. Understanding your audience really helps here; for example, if you’re marketing to mothers with children, avoid school pickup times, or if you’re looking at working professionals, don’t have a Facebook LIVE in the middle of the day. Look at your page data and find out the best time to post to give you a good idea, although remember that some of it comes down to testing.
Going Live
1. Actually going live is fairly simple. Go to your page, group, or profile and select the “Live video” option with the camcorder icon.
2. This should prompt you to give permission to Facebook to use your designated camera and microphone, which you should allow.
3. Test your live first by setting the privacy setting to ‘Only Me’ so that you can check your setup and how it all looks before releasing it to the masses.
4. Once confirmed, create a title and mini description that grabs attention and explains what the live event is about for those scrolling through their feed.
There are also options to tag people or your location, which can help appeal to those locally or encourage your friends or customers to get involved.
5. When you’re ready, simply go live and change your privacy settings to public so that everyone can watch.
Voila! Your first Facebook LIVE.
Ready to start adding live video into your business and don’t want to do it alone? Sign up for the Your First Time Challenge below. We are kicking things off on February 25th!
