What is Facebook Live?
So by now, you’ve probably heard of Facebook Live, or at least you’ve seen a notification pop up on your news feed and wondered what it is.
Basically, Facebook Live is Facebook’s version of Periscope and Blab. It’s a live streaming video published directly to your news feed.
The best part, everyone gets a notification that you’ve gone live. So if you’re struggling to reach people (especially after all of Facebook’s algorithm changes), live video is a game-changer.
The video gets published as they are happening, comments can happen as you are filming so you can respond (almost in real-time), and once you’re finished it gets published to your feed so anyone who missed you live can still watch it.
Why is Facebook Live so important?
Firstly, video is a growing medium, 1/3 of all online activity is spent watching the video! And users are 64% more likely to purchase after watching a video – so this is reason enough to be investing your time into video marketing.*
Facebook loves its own content, obviously. I’ve noticed that Facebook Live videos get significantly more traffic than a standard post, partly because everyone gets a notification and also because I believe they push it out to more people. Now, I don’t know this for a fact, but circumstantial evidence says it’s likely. Regardless, your Facebook Live videos will get seen by more people and increase your engagement.
That increase in engagement is another reason to try Facebook Live. Engagement is the key reason we use social media and this is a wonderful way to connect with your audience.
So how do you use Facebook Live?
There are two ways to use Facebook Live. The first is available to everyone when you publish a post on your mobile device. Go to publish a post as you would normally, and select the Facebook Live icon.
It’s the person icon with the halos, second from the left.
From there, follow the prompts, you get screens like the following…
Go to the usual publish post section, but select the Facebook Live button
This is the Go Live Screen, this is where you enter your captivating heading and Go Live.
Make sure you’ve got an engaging headline and you’re good to go! You can even place an opt-in link in your heading.
For Business Pages, you’ll need to use the Pages App! When you go to publish within the app, you’ll see similar screens.
As far as I know, it’s only available to iPhone users, although some users in the US are able to access it via their Android devices. So it is coming soon to all users!
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So But what do I talk about it? And for how long?
You’re all prepped to go, you know how it works, but what do you talk about and for how long.
I’m still new to this as well, which is why I wanted to write this post, there wasn’t enough information around! So I’m still learning – Try and speak for at least 5 minutes, and have 5 minutes of content prepared and ready to go. As you get more confident you can go upwards – I wouldn’t go any longer than an hour unless it’s incredibly cool content. It’ll be hard to keep peoples attention for that long.
I like to write a list of bullet points before I begin and keep the notes close to my screen, I’m focusing on sharing information and tutorials at this stage.
Other ideas for content are sharing breaking news, behind-the-scenes action, and sharing interviews if you can get another expert in the room with you.
The biggest thing to remember is to share valuable content that your audience wants to see. Don’t use it as a sales push!
Bonus Tips:
Don’t have a tripod, use a Bulldog clip as a stand!
- The title of your video is important! Just as you would with any headline, make it engaging and relevant. Address a pain point if you can.
- Remember your phone has two cameras, use them!
- Keep your phone steady, buy a tripod specifically for your phone, or you can cheat and just clip a bulldog clip to your phone, the base works as an excellent stand – and won’t cost a cent.
- Good lighting is vital, filtered daylight, or soft outdoor lighting works well. If you’re super dedicated you can even invest in professional lighting.
- Check your sound quality, and ensure you have a quiet space. Invest in a good microphone if you can.
- A clean and organized background is also essential, it doesn’t need to be a stark white background, just make sure it’s clean and organized – Don’t have your laundry or your messy desk visible… (I’ve seen it done and it looks terrible!)
- Engage with people, if you can’t respond to comments as they are happening make sure you go back and reply after the video is over.
Enjoy going Live!! And let me know how you go
*http://www.insivia.com/50-must-know-stats-about-video-marketing-2016/#sthash.RWtFyVXo.dpuf
