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Facebook Live is the platform’s video streaming feature that allows people to broadcast live videos through their personal or professional pages. Using your laptop or your mobile device, you can share real-time videos and decide who gets to view your content.
Since its launch in 2015/2016, Facebook Live has become an effective way to engage with your audience during their relevant moments and events. It has allowed businesses to raise brand awareness, communicate brand stories, and build relationships with their customers in real-time. And since it’s known to receive 3x higher engagement than regular videos and 5x more than standard photos, more and more people are using this feature.
However, many still need to learn how to get the most out of Facebook Live. And we’re here to help. We’ll uncover 11 of the tiny tricks you can implement today to make sure that your next Facebook Live will work for you.
1. Promote Your Broadcast Before Going Live
To get your desired viewership, you have to build upinterest and excitement around your Facebook Live by informing people thatyou’ll be broadcasting. This means posting upcoming announcements on your page,sharing valuable daily updates on what your broadcast will be about, or postingsnippets of what topics you’ll be covering.
If you want to create a more audience-specific campaign, Facebook allows you to target particular events, groups, or communities. However, your promotion doesn’t have to be done exclusively on Facebook. Take advantage of your following by also promoting on your blog, email marketing campaigns, and other social media channels.
2. Make Some Preparations and Create Practice Videos
Even if Facebook Live is a more laid-back way ofinteracting with your followers, you still need to create a good impression andgive them reasons to keep coming back.
Before broadcasting, do some necessary preparations. Test out your angles, audio, lighting, and other elements around the set-up. Consider investing in equipment that will improve the overall ambiance, whether it’s to avoid shaky-cam videos or to limit background noise.
Prior to recording, try to create practice videos throughthe “Only Me” setting. This will help you get comfortable in front of thecamera and see whether or not your entire set up is at par with your standards.
Most importantly, make sure you have a good internet connection. Strong Wi-Fi signal often works best, but if that’s unavailable, a stable 4G connection will do. Keep in mind that if your connection is weak, the “Go Live” button will be greyed out and it might poorly impact your whole broadcast.
3. Choose Your Format
Depending on what you want to achieve and what will give you the best view, you have to consider how you’ll show and broadcast your video — horizontally or vertically.
Vertical videos can make you appear really close to the camera, which is ideal if you’re having an intimate or personal chat with your viewers. Horizontal frames, on the other hand, are best if you’re showcasing your surroundings and background, or if you’re interviewing other people.
In your practice videos, you can try both options tosee how you will appear to your audience and what format will best help youinteract with them.
4. Select Your Setting or Location
Good aesthetics helps boost your views and engagement. That’s why, regardless of if you're indoors or outdoors, your background should be visually pleasing and engaging to your followers. And this has to be consistent throughout the video when more people join in.
Inspire people to keep watching by moving from one area to another, not just staying in one place all through the video (especially if you’re broadcasting for longer duration). However, make sure your camera remains stable as you move.
If you choose to stick to one location, be sure to shoot your video somewhere you can take advantage of the natural light. Also, remember to face the window, so you can appear clearer in the video frame and have good lighting. Likewise, you can opt to take things outdoors, if that works best for your audience and content.
Aesthetics can make or break your live video. And having a well-planned setting and a good location will definitely help you make it!
5. Keep Viewers Up to Speed Along the Way
At the beginning of your video, you can introduce yourself (and your guests, if you have any) and what the broadcast is all about. However, keep in mind that Facebook Live allows people to join in at any time, which means that every few seconds you may have new viewers. That’s why it’s helpful to reintroduce yourself and your video a few more times to let people know what’s happening.
For example, you can use lines like:
“Hey Facebook, this is [your name] from [your company]. I’m here today with [your guest’s name] to talk about [your topic for the day]. We’re excited to have you here with us!”
And then later...
“Thank you to all of you here right now. If you’ve just joined us, let me quickly start from the top. I’m [your name] from [your company] and we’re talking about [topic]. So far, we’ve discussed [previous topics and details].”
Essentially, you have to provide context and make sure your viewers are all caught up throughout the video.
6. Keep it Natural, Spontaneous, and Personal
Facebook Live works because it’s interactive, spontaneous, and unedited by nature. It allows you to showcase your brand’s personal side by sharing experiences in real-time. Also, it enables you to connect with your viewers, not through hard-selling but by building relationships and lasting impressions.
When you’re ready to record, make sure you feel confident, pleasant, and relaxed. Bring up your energy and always speak with a smile. Similarly, when answering questions or reading comments, make sure you call viewers out by their first name. They’ll feel special and appreciated when you personally acknowledge them. Remember, an approachable and friendly vibe will keep your viewers hooked and establish stronger connections.
Keep in mind that live videos are unrehearsed and unedited, so you might experience mistakes or technical difficulties. That’s totally normal and okay. From equipment malfunction, lost train of thought, and photobombed takes to multiple stutters, you have to embrace your mishaps and keep rolling. These mistakes will make your broadcast authentic and human – and your viewers will love you for this.
7. Encourage Audience Engagement
As you know, Facebook prioritizes posts that have more comments, likes, shares, and views. So, to boost engagement during your broadcast, you can do Q&As to encourage audience participation. You can even do a live contest to keep your followers tuned in and your video interactive. Also, people might be too distracted to like or share your video while watching, so you have to explicitly tell them to do so.
You additionally have to ensure that you’re in a two-way conversation with your audience. Invite people to share their thoughts and opinions about your content. Take time to answer their questions and address their comments on air. If it becomes too hard for you, it’s smart to have another person off-cam who’ll handle the queries in text form and prompt you to respond to the most relevant ones during the broadcast.
Similarly, keep in mind that the longer you broadcast, the higher the chances for people to discover you and invite their friends to tune in. That’s why it’s recommended to go live for at least 10 minutes. Oh, and you can stay live for up to four hours. But make sure that by that time, you’re still providing relevant and valuable content to your audience.
8. Don’t Forget the Subtitles
During your broadcast, some viewers may be tuning inand out or watching without sound. To improve their viewing experience and tokeep them engaged, be sure to include subtitles in the comments section. Thisis a great way to help people keep up with what you’re talking about,especially if they tuned in late. Similarly, it will make your video moreaccessible to a larger audience.
To add subtitles, you can generate them throughFacebook itself or by uploading your own SRT file.
9. Provide a Clear and Actionable CTA
Before you end your Facebook Live, be sure to finishwith a closing line and to give a proper sign-off with actual next steps.
Similar to your other content, viewers will want toknow what to do next. Here are a few CTAs you can use:
- Encourage them to subscribe to your live video channel to receive notifications the next time you go live.
- Ask them to like your brand’s Facebook page or to share your recording on their own pages.
- Invite them to visit your page for a freebie or discount.
Whatever your CTA may be, your Facebook Live should end with clear and actionable next steps for the audience to follow.
10. Promote Your Video
Like your other content, you want as many people as possible to see your Facebook Live, even after your broadcast.
One way to do this is to add a link to the description part of the post. This way, you can direct potential viewers to your video channel, blog, website, or other channels you’re using the video to promote.
Similarly, your thumbnail is the first thing people will see after you go live, so make sure you choose one that’s compelling and custom to your video. Most often, a high-quality snippet from the broadcast itself will encourage late viewers to watch your recording. You can also choose to use an image that’s closely related to your topic, to give users an idea of what your video is about.
You can also pin your live video to put it on top ofyour newsfeed and to get more traction. This will ensure that it’s the firstthing people will see when they browse your page.
More importantly, promote your video across other social channels by providing them with a link that they can tune in to. You can even implement geo-targeting or audience segmentation to get your video closer to relevant audiences.
11. Analyze Your Numbers
As with all things marketing, you have to check howyour campaign performed to get ideas on what worked and what can be improved.
You can look into details like minutes viewed, uniqueviews, number of engagements (reactions, comments, and shares), total views,average view times, audience demographics, and many more.
From these metrics, you’ll be able to identify yourviewers’ preferences which will guide you to create strong live videos nexttime and allow you to improve your Facebook Live strategies moving forward.
Facebook Live is one compelling trend that’s here to stay. Since people’s attention can be quickly diverted, they often go for immediately-engaging, impactful, and addictive content like Facebook Live.
With these 11 tiny (and very simple) tricks, you’re well on your way to make Facebook Live work for you. Make sure to promote your video before and after going live, make the necessary technical preparations, and choose the format and setting that fits your content. Be sure to keep it genuine and authentic all throughout your broadcast, to provide excellent audience experience, and to leave viewers with actionable steps.
