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Archive for the ‘Social Media and Videos’ Category

Facebook Live For Business

Happy Halloween to all who celebrate and I know there will be a lot of Facebook Livestreaming happening tonight, which make’s today’s blog post very timely.  This is actually the second part of last week’s blog post, Social Media and Videos in which I discussed YouTube on my Podcast Social Media Sunday with the Delaware Blogger.

Anthem Culture

What is Facebook live?

Facebook Live lets you connect with your fans, friends and followers by sharing real-time video of what you’re seeing and doing.  Earlier I mentioned Periscope which is the live broadcast app on Twitter which was and perhaps still is very popular, but I prefer Facebook Livestream because of the countdown option and for some strange reason makes me less nervous.

In my first Podcast I talked about the difference between Facebook and Twitter and how the Facebook friends are like the friends you had in High School and Twitter is like the friends you wished you had in high school.  Maybe that’s why Twitter makes me nervous, it’s broadcasting to friends that I wish I had in High school…weird right?

Facebook for Business on a smartphone

Facebook Livestreaming can be seen live by people who follow you but if they missed it  live it will appear in their News Feed and on your timeline. When you’re watching a live video or a video that was live, you can tap or click Subscribe to get notified the next time that Facebook account starts a live broadcast.  So tell your followers to subscribe if they are watching to keep them in the loop.

Setting up a Facebook Live video is pretty easy – from your FB page click the ‘’LIVE”  icon and then describe your live video – you can use letters, symbols or emojis which is your title and what other’s will read in the News Feed

You can choose who you want to view it “Friends, “Public” or a specific “Facebook Group” then press “Go Live” you get a 3 second countdown and you can video face forwarding or turn camera around to video your surroundings.

Tips for Facebook Livestreaming from Social Media Examiner

  • While people are watching you, invite those viewers to tap the Subscribe button. This way, they’ll get notified the next time you’re live.   After you end your live broadcast, it will be saved on your timeline like any other video you upload.

  • Have a focus for your broadcast. Know what you plan to talk about ahead of time so you don’t have a rambling on about nothing unless that’s what the video is about. Knowing what you plan to talk about and doing it well will do wonders for your reputation.

  • Create a compelling title. It goes without saying that you should relate the title to the focus of your broadcast. When people get a notification that you’re live, the title is the only thing they see when deciding whether they want to join you.

  • Strive for great audio. Speak loudly and clearly close to the phone or use a microphone. Like with any video, your audience needs to be able to hear what you have to say. To this end, avoid broadcasting anywhere that has a lot of background noise.

  • Use both the front and back cameras. Since you likely won’t want to have the camera in your face the whole time, you can easily toggle back and forth between the two. When the camera faces you, the audio is better. Speak up when filming away from yourself.

  • Acknowledge your audience. When you go live, be sure to mention your friends and fans who are viewing, if it seems reasonable. Alternatively or in addition, respond to comments either during or after the show. – I don’t always wear my glasses that I am not great at doing this.

  • Test different broadcast length and times. Facebook recommends you go live for at least 5 minutes. Anything from 2 to 20 minutes is just fine. See what your audience likes and use that as your gauge. Also try going live at different times to see when most of your audience is around.

  • End with a call to action. Live video can be an integral part of your social media marketing, so make the most of it by directing your audience to a specific place. Include a simple call to action at the end of your video, such as to visit your website or private message you for more information on the topic.

  • Repurpose Your Video – As with other content, you’ll want to use your video in as many places as relevant.  Write a blog post with some of the highlights and embed either the Facebook post itself or just the video. Then share it on all of your social media profiles.

  • FACEBOOK LIVE

5 Ways to Use Facebook Live for your Business

  1. Behind the scenes. Come up with “adventures” that would be of interest to your friends and followers. If you could take a group of friends with you somewhere, where would that be? It could be somewhere you go during downtime (to the beach or a concert) or else directly related to business.

  2. Find something fun and relevant for your friends and followers to know about and take them there. For example, if you sell surfing gear, a day at the beach would be right on target, the same as a concert would be if you work in the music industry.

  3. Q&As. Pick a day and time and let your friends and followers know you’ll be on live to answer their questions. Do this monthly, weekly or regularly, when you you’re getting lots of inquiries.

  4. To get even more out of it, plan ahead. Create an event and encourage people to ask questions in advance, so you know what to address in your live stream. This will give you tremendous material for future content.

  5. You can write blog posts or video tutorials as answers to your questions, too. Q&As are also excellent for market research.

Create How-To Videos: . Find something that pertains to your expertise and relates to your business, but is also personal. Then show your audience how to do it with simple steps.

  • Use a tripod and point your Android or iPhone camera at you or even at your computer screen, and explain how to do something as you do it.

  • Product demos. Just like with how-tos, do live product demos for your friends and followers. Unbox products that you use for your business or simply share how you use them. Alternatively, show new uses for your own products. As with all video, you want to be having fun as you do demos, so your audience has fun too.

  • Breaking news. Compile sources that inform you when there’s breaking news in your industry. Then when something happens within your area of expertise, you can go live immediately and share it with your audience.

  • Report news and also add your own thoughts and opinions, so people know what to do with that information. Doing videos like these helps you establish your expertise. Remember, journalists, other influencers and potential clients could be watching. Tremendous opportunities may be waiting for you.

Video streaming, especially through Facebook Live, is an incredible opportunity to showcase your knowledge and increase your fan, follower and customer bases.  Since video is super-strong right now and Facebook Live seems to get higher organic reach than other types of content, it’s definitely worth getting ready to add Live to your marketing plan just as soon as you have access.

Are you using Facebook Live for your business and if so, do you have any tips to share?

aau-radio-with-the-delaware-blogger


Social Media and YouTube Videos

Two weeks ago on Social Media Sunday with the Delaware Blogger we discussed Social Media and Videos and my special guest was Bryan Shelmon from Anthem Culture who is vlogging his vision on YouTube.

Anthem Culture

I am going to break up this blog post into two separate posts because I want to discuss YouTube and Facebook Live separately, however, you can head over to the Podcast to hear the full version now.

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YouTube

With an estimated 500 hours worth of video being uploaded to YouTube every minute, in August 2016 alone, videos uploaded to YouTube generated 127 billion views, both organic and paid. THAT’S A LOT OF EYES!

When I first started my YouTube channel I tried to make my videos perfect and trust me they were far from it, but some of you guys watched them and even gave me positive comments so I kept at it – still not perfect but it was fun nevertheless.

YouTube is the second biggest search engine online, and it gives businesses a gigantic platform to gain viewers. Users aren’t satisfied by physical ads or static marketing anymore, they want interactive and engaging material.  Uploading video content, that showcases your businesses views and ideas, gives you the aura of expertise and authority. By uploading videos with tips and strategies, businesses can not only get attention but also provide help and value to customers, which will build respect.

Tips and How-To videos are great ways to develop your company into becoming an expert on the topic. When viewers see the videos, they will recognize you as an expert for providing those tips and advice especially if it was good and that is definitely a win win for everyone.

When I did my first YouTube videos they were created to complement or be a companion to my existing blog, DeDivahDeals but I wanted my followers to see me and it did open up a wider audience.

My second blog, Blogging with Blake is a teaching blog so I basically took what I did in my workshops and put it on video, again widening my audience and making it appear as though I am authority in the field of social media and guess what I am…because here I am now doing Podcasts  – SOCIAL MEDIA SUNDAY WITH THE DELAWARE BLOGGER

Trust me it took a while before I became comfortable in doing them, but the more I ‘taped” the more fun it became

Blogging with Blake Header

YouTube Videos builds credibility and trust – uploading content on YouTube or  Periscope, Meerkat, Vine and Vimeo, businesses are able to give reasons for customers to take a closer look at their services and products.

Credibility comes from information and there is no easier or direct way which will be absorbed more quickly than through video content. 15 seconds of video content can be more engaging and provide more information than an entire page of ads, text or those throwaway flyers you get in the mail – we as humans are very visual creatures with short attention spans – less than that of a Goldfish!

5 tips to make your videos worth watching

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People aren’t going to click on your video to see a boring infomercial or stay to watch it in it’s entirety so…

1 – Create good content and be consistent for your targeted audience.   You want to create a channel which is more than just putting up videos.  Think about your audience where are they in the buying process? Trying to cold-sell to customers and prospects might not work initially because they may not be interested in your  products yet, Most people who find your videos on YouTube are usually in the discovery stage and aren’t ready to commit to a purchase.  They want to check you out first.

2- It’s important to choose keywords that are relevant to people who are looking for new information and to provide video content that educates them based on those keywords. Make sure to use keywords that people are looking for when searching for products, services or tutorials.  Think like the customer.  “How to boil and egg” which is a basic analogy but works.

The goal of your videos should be to search out and find those viewers who are interested in learning more about your products and services. You’ll have an easier time converting website visitors after you’ve warmed them up to your offers.

3 – Your videos should focus on providing video that engages and educates people, but leaves them hanging a little. Use the video to convince them that they need to visit your website to get the information they require or come back for future videos.

End your video by saying something like Please visit my website at blah blah blah.com or for more information” call us at, send an email to or find us on our  social media platforms.

4 – Optimize Your Channel Page to Drive Traffic

Always provide contact information for your company; include links to your website and other social media profiles.  Also make good use of your banner header, where you can insert four clickable links. Be sure to add appropriate calls to action there. Including your request to subscribe – using a statement like, “if this is your first time here, subscribe because…give them a reason for subscribing, give them the value or their subscription.

5 – Give your video a catchy title for the thumbnail and don’t spend a lot on fancy equipment because most people are watching videos at work from their desk with a their smartphone, not some major television production on ABC or CBS.

Remember the opening seconds of video must hook viewer and give them what the title states.  

Are you using YouTube to broaden your brand and expand your business online?