Everyone’s on Facebook. All ages, every demographic, and every interest group you could ever imagine. It’s a built-in audience of clients and customers and pure potential.
And now there’s Facebook Live, a feature that offers live-streaming video capabilities to users. Because who hasn’t dreamed of being a star? Facebook Live could certainly deliver such a result: just look at Chewbacca Mask Lady.
Video is a powerful tool in the marketing and messaging of your business, no matter what industry you may call your own. Think about it: If given the choice to either read a blog post about, say, how to renovate your kitchen, versus watching entertaining live feeds from the cabinet demo to the granite install…you’d probably watch the video, right?
And that’s exactly what makes Facebook Live brilliant for your business: the behind-the-scenes peeks into your company’s personality, in real time.
A successful Facebook Live video leads to higher engagement rates, as well as actual leads and sales, because your viewers have now met you. You’re human, you seem quite nice, and you’re coming off as an expert in your field. Excellent!
But sometimes Facebook Live doesn’t maximize your professional message. In fact, it doesn’t do a thing for your image, and may even hurt your branding. Here are a few tips to getting it right. In five, four, three…
- Have a plan. This is not the time to fly by the seat of your pants and wing it. Prepare your topics, write down key phrases you don’t want to skip, and adjust all the external elements before you go live. Shifting positions because of aggressively shiny sunlight that’s turning you into a golden-white blur should’ve happened two minutes ago. Same with turning off your alerts, putting your pets in another room because the beeping garbage truck is headed down your street, or shutting your office door and posting a note outside alerting others you’re Facebook Living. (Yes, it’s a verb. Or, it will be.)
- It’s all about the benefits. Give your audience a reason for watching and a reason for staying interested in you. Whatever industry insider information you’re highlighting, would viewers benefit from your live share of projects and trends, and prompt them to keep tuning in for more? Make sure the answer is yes.
- It’s quality, not quantity. Build your audience slowly and organically. Don’t try to attract numbers of viewers with ambiguous and untrustworthy click bait. Instead, set yourself up as a generous information sharer who tells a good story.
- Interact with your viewers. As I mentioned earlier, the positives with Facebook Live increase with your exposure and interaction. When viewers put a face to the company, they respond more intensely. Same goes for your engagement with your viewers, so be ready with questions and greet people who comment by name. You’ll be surprised by the uptick in loyal viewership.
Above all, be yourself. Talk to your potential clients as you would any industry peer. But be careful! Any slightly controversial comment could land your brand in hot water. So maybe our advice is to speak on Facebook Live as you would any industry peer you’re meeting for the first time, sans cocktails!
And remember: If you need help crafting your message and telling your story, just ask us for help. It’s kind of our thing.