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 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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
5 Ways to Use Facebook Live for your Business
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?