Are you undertaking Facebook Live videos yet? If not, you should start now!

Wednesday October 11, 2017 , 4 min Read

I don’t see any reason why I should start the article with the number of users Facebook has and the kind of reach you can get through it, because any of you with the privilege of using Internet and owning a phone know that Facebook is the biggest social networking channel in the world. Launched in April 2016, Facebook Live allows you to livestream videos directly from your mobile device to your newsfeed. Before we get into any more regurgitated numbers, let us jump directly into why using FB live works best for you and your startup.

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You can connect directly with your viewers

FB Live is a super-personal way to connect with your readers. Your readers (read viewers) get to see you on a deeper level where they can see you at your most vulnerable moments without any editing. You can directly answer your reader’s questions. It is like a Reddit AMA, except that you can’t romanticize answers because people are watching you live. In a way, it humanizes you, no matter how big a brand you are. You can see the number of people who are watching the video currently, their names, and the comments that they make. Please also note that the video is automatically saved to your timeline. By interacting live with your audience, you break barriers that traditional marketing cannot.

You can target it at a particular audience

Do you want to speak to just your family or friends or people from a particular FB group? You can target people separately that way. If you want to market it only to a particular section initially, you can do that too. You can limit your FB Live audiences by location, time zone, age, and gender. Broadcasters can also set a minimum age or maximum age.

Just because you are going to use FB’s livestreaming service doesn’t mean that you will get people to watch it because of the huge reach of the platform. You should use steps and follow certain best practices to make it happen.

Let your audience know in advance about the broadcast

Allow your audience to prepare in advance for the livestream, especially if you want a lot of viewers. Make a bunch of announcements on your personal and business profiles about the broadcast to warm-up the audience. Send email reminders to your email list about the impending live stream. Write a nice copy on the importance of how your livestream will bring in more revenue to their businesses or any other objective that you want to fulfill with your video.

Make sure everything is set

Double-check everything that needs to be used for the broadcast. Will your Wi-Fi connection pose a problem? The camera and the mike – are they in working condition? You don’t want to leave your audience in the lurch with power mishaps or anything that would affect the livestream. Not only does it hamper the proceedings of the day, it also helps you lose your reputation.

Write attractive headlines

Is there an offer that you are going to make to the audience after the broadcast? What are the benefits of attending your event? What are the takeaways? Use the answers to these questions for creating headlines that will make the audience be a part of the livestream.

Reply to comments

Engage with your audience by answering their questions, appreciating their participation, and asking for their feedback. Create a blog post around all the questions asked in the broadcast if you think it solves problems for your customers. If there are questions asked during the FB Live session that require more clarification from your side, make a video on them. This will attract more admirers as they understand your sincerity towards your craft.

Facebook promotes its Live videos

FB is investing a lot of money to make sure that a lot of people start using the platform. Facebook has paid more than $50 million to social media influencers. People like Michael Phelps, Dwayne Johnson, etc. have been recipients of this payout.

Who would have thought that livestreaming would one day dominate the scene? Facebook says that live videos are watched 3x longer than videos that aren’t Live anymore. Facebook Live videos get 10x more comments than regular videos. This is why you need to up your Facebook Live game.

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