How To Use Live Video For Your Business
Here’s the deal friends… if you haven’t hopped on the live video train, it’s time. Live video is the absolute best way to increase your engagement on both Facebook and Instagram and can enable you to reach 30-50% of your audience with very little effort! Increased engagement means more of the right eyes on your content. More eyes on your content means more followers who will fall in love with your awesomeness. More followers in love with you means more people who trust you enough to hand over their dollars as paying clients. That sounds nice doesn’t it?
But, let’s be honest, live video is scary. I know hopping on live feels a little crazy, like I’m asking you to stand up naked in front of your entire high school, but hear me out for a second! Live video is truly the future of social media marketing. It is heavily favored in the algorithms, which means, hopping on live will get you in front of way more people than any static post ever will!
Why is live video so powerful?
One of the most important things we can leverage, as creative entrepreneurs, is the know-like-trust factor. If you’re pricing yourself for profit, chances are working with you isn’t exactly going to be an impulse buy. The Target dollar bins? Those are an impulse buy. You are not.
Before we can convince people to part with their precious dollar bills, they’ve got to believe that investing with us is less of a risk and more of a reward. You wouldn’t buy a new fridge without doing a little bit of research or investigating the manufacturer, right? Well, your clients are the same way! They want to know more about you before they’re able to make a decision to work with you.
Lucky for you, live video is the most effective way to build real, authentic relationships with your followers. It allows them to get to see and hear you, in all of your glorious sparkliness. You’re able to position yourself as both an expert who knows what’s up, and a real person who has kids in the background and a real passion for the message you’re sharing.
Live video helps you build your know-like-trust factor with followers because it gives them a far better glimpse into who you are, than any static post or blog could… and that means more engagement and more bookings. Live video is your best bet for getting in front followers and building a long-lasting relationship with them.
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So, I’ve convinced you that live video is the way to go.
Cool. Now what? Where do you start?
What Should You Talk about in Your Live Videos?
This is probably the most common question I’m asked in relation to live video. And, my answer is always the same: listen to your audience. If you pay attention, you’ll notice common questions being asked and themes developing in conversations. Those are the exact things you turn into live video content. Start a note on your phone or post-in on your desk, jot down ideas as they organically appear, and before you know it – you’ll have a whole list of live streaming topics!
Grab a pen and paper right now and make a list of things people ask you about regularly. I am guessing that you can come up with at least 5 different things you could do live videos about, today! Use this list as a guide to coming up with more video topics. Don’t be afraid to include new things you’re learning and exciting changes in your business – you never know what may excite your audience! There are so many things that seem completely basic to us, BUT are totally interesting and needed by our followers and clients. Don’t assume that just because something seems obvious to you, that it’s obvious to your followers.
DISCLAIMER: It’s okay to sometimes hop on and share something you’re excited about so people are regularly reminded that you are totally normal and have more going on in your life than just your business! You want more of your videos to be adding value to your client’s lives – but fun is ok too!
How long should my live video be?
Unless you are doing a longer tutorial, most live videos should run between 5 and 10 minutes. If you go under 5 minutes, your friends and followers don’t have enough time to find you and start watching. Ten minutes gives people plenty of time to find you without being too long, which means you will likely keep your audience watching most of your video. But, if you find people hopping on and off, don’t freak out. That is totally normal.
FUN FACT: Historically speaking, more than 50% of your views will actually happen on the replay – so don’t forget to address those viewers while you’re live with a quick little, “hey replay viewers! So happy you’re here!”
How can I be sure that my videos will be seen?
Live video is thrown into people’s feeds much more often than any other type of content. However, if you want to make sure that you are getting the best possible reach with your live videos, you’ll want to encourage engagement during your live broadcast and later on during the replay.
· Teach your viewers how to use the platform. If you’ve watched any of my Facebook Live videos, then you’ve heard me explain to my viewers how and why to give a thumbs up, heart, or smiley face. I do this for two reasons. One, it teaches my followers how to engage while using the platform. Two, it increases my engagement rate. The more likes, hearts and smiley faces I get, the more engagement the FB algorithm sees, and the more likely people are to stumble across my video in their feeds! You can do this on other platforms as well. Whatever platform you are using, be sure to educate your people on how to best watch your videos!
· Have a fabulous title. Your broadcast title is SO SO important! It needs to be compelling, something that will make your followers stop scrolling and pay attention. Your title needs to tell viewers what they are going to miss if they don’t participate. You can try something like, “5 Tips for having an amazing urban senior session.” or “Check out my behind-the-scenes footage of this sunset beach session.” Make it too irresistible to pass up. Your clients have busy lives – if they don’t think your video is going to add value to their lives – they won’t watch. This is absolutely crucial to your success!
· Ask your viewers to participate. There are several ways to get your audience to participate. Ask them to provide feedback on whether they can relate to something you are talking about, ask them to share any questions they might have, and ask them to let you know how they are feeling about a certain topic. If you are looking for some more ways to increase your engagement while going live, check out this sparkly post I wrote a while back specific to FB live video.
Alright, let’s keep it real here for a second…is all of this kind of freaking you out a bit? Well then, congratulations my little sparkle, you are totally NORMAL! We are all afraid no one will watch, no one will respond, or everyone will think we are totally lame. But the truth is, the more you get on live video to practice, the more comfortable you will feel. Have a plan going into each broadcast, share valuable information that your audience can use and keep things real! People are so OVER seeing highly curated feeds; they want to see REAL LIFE!! They want to know who you are before they invest in what you do. Going live allows you to get to the heart of your followers by showing them the real you. That’s how you build a thriving business full of clients who will love you for life!
Need more tips and tricks to leverage social media to grow your business? Grab my social media freebie! I’ll show you easy ways to increase your engagement, fine-tune your Instagram bio, and get the most out of your Facebook page!
xoxo,
Cyrissa
Cyrissa owns Immerse Photography and is a business coach at Sparkle Society; known for her contagious energy and social media savviness! With a Master’s in Art Education, experience on the CreativeLive stage, nationally published work, and thousands of sparkly photographers in her online communities, she is well prepared to help YOU shine online! Get ready to be encouraged, educated, and empowered to make strategic and informed decisions for your business!