Did you know that Facebook Live is currently the fastest means you can build traction on Facebook?
Forget about posted videos, pictures, text posts, and even Facebook Ads. Facebook Live can build you an insane following in just a few months.
Here are the reasons why Facebook Live is the way to go:
- People are 3 times more likely to engage with a Live stream instead of a stale video.
- Also, users are 5 times more likely to engage with a live stream compared to a picture post.
Videos are not new in business marketing. YouTube and other video sharing platforms have been around for ages now. However, all those will only offer stale content that doesn’t really excite or stimulate.
Remember, the majority of Facebook users are after their next thrill.
Facebook Live gives you the chance to hit users with the newest and freshest content you have to offer. As far as marketing is concerned, Facebook Live allows you to build personal relationships with your audience.
How can you use Facebook Live for your business? What are the best practices for using Facebook Live for your business?
Read on to find out.
How to Use Facebook Live for Your Business
1. To showcase your brand’s experience
People value authenticity. The more you show people your brand’s uniqueness, the more they’ll fall in love with your business. Facebook Live gives you the chance to share your business’s day-to-day activities.
You can even do a live session where you walk your audience around your business’s premises. In addition to that, you can also interview and talk to some of the business’s staff and showcase their different personalities. It’s the perfect opportunity to show off your business’s culture.
All this will communicate to the masses that your business is not an emotionless robot. More importantly, Facebook Live will enable you to make a long-lasting impression on the minds of your viewers.
2. Do product launches and demonstrations
Probably the best way you can market your products on Facebook- Do a Facebook Live stream and show your potential buyers why they need your product and how they’d use it.
Before Facebook Live, populated product events were mainly hosted by industry-leading businesses. Nowadays, even small businesses can host product events from the business’s premises or the owner’s home.
Facebook Live events are even better than real-life product events since you’re able to host people from all over the world. People who would have otherwise not made it.
3. Host webinars and events
For most people, organizing traditional webinars is a tiresome, expensive, and time-consuming process. Facebook Live allows you to host webinars at the press of a button.
What about webinar advertising? You can use Facebook’s advertising tools to pass the word about your webinar. Everything is well within reach, and you never have to leave Facebook for anything.
Other business events can also be streamed on Facebook Live so that no one misses out. You can even urge your viewers to spread the message by sending invites to drive in more traffic. All you have to do is get them to press the “invite” button.
4. Offer online services
Facebook Live has also opened another avenue for businesses to offer their services. This is good news for businesses running online courses.
You don’t have to sell the services. You can choose to offer free information to build trust and give value to your audience. After the live stream is over, all the information will remain relevant and available in posted videos to cater to those who missed it.
For example, businesses selling music instruments can now offer additional online classes and teach people how to play them.
As you stream these online services, you also conduct interactive Q&A sessions and promote engagement with your audience. All this from the comfort of your home or office and without spending a single cent.
In case you didn’t know, Facebook Live is a free feature.
5. Talk about industry-related topics
You can arrange for a weekly or twice in a week Facebook Live episodes where you stream and talk about the trending topics in your industry. To spice things up, you can invite a guest speaker to help with the discussion.
Slowly but steadily, you can use Facebook Live to grow your business into a thought leader. It’s also a good way of building trust with your audience. Make sure that you’re not salesy on your weekly talks, instead, focus on bombarding your audience with value.
Best Practices Using Facebook Live for Your Business
Getting on Facebook Live is indeed as easy as hitting the “Live Video” button, writing a description, and going live. However, these practices will help to strategically set up your Live stream for success.
1. Get the lighting and sound right
No, you don’t have to spend money on expensive studio equipment. A good high-quality smartphone and stand are enough to get you started.
Next, make sure your room is noise-free. You don’t want external noises and echos to tarnish your stream. Also, make sure the lighting is good. Do this by streaming as you face a window to make sure the light hits you perfectly.
Are you new to streaming? You can practice on Facebook Live to make sure you get everything right. Do this by going to Live video settings and restrict the video to “Only Me.”
Don’t forget to smile for the camera.
2. Interact with your viewers
Don’t just blabber your way to the end of the stream. Engage with your audience. Every one in a while, take a break from what you’re saying and converse with your viewers. Answer and ask questions to keep things lively.
Also, call out your commenters by name when talking to them.
Get a colleague to monitor the comment section and direct the questions to you. Remember, Facebook Live was made to promote one-on-one interactions. Don’t host one-sided streams.
3. Optimize the live stream title and description
Try your best, and make sure that the stream’s title is related to something trendy. However, keep it short and simple.
It needs to be interesting and eye-catching like:
“Be Popular on Facebook – The Best Facebook Live Practices For Your Business”
In the description, make sure that you clearly state what the Live stream will be all about. Again, keep it interesting and straight to the point.
4. Promote your streams
Make sure you spread the word days before the actual streaming day. Do this by promoting and sharing the stream on your other social media platforms. You can also build the hype by posting interesting posts about the Live stream.
After streaming, you can also promote the video using Facebook’s ad campaigns.
5. Analyze your Facebook insights
At first, figuring out what your audience wants will be slightly difficult. Post all kinds of streams and go through your analytics to figure out the content that the majority of your audience prefers.
Conclusion
Facebook Live can easily make popularize your brand on Facebook. All you need is the right content and practices to get you started.
Remember, just like any other social media marketing effort, consistency is key with Facebook Live. The more you stream, the more views and followers you’ll get.
