It was very intriguing when Periscope, Blab, Google+, Hangouts and Meerkat offered live video streaming to users because the marketing opportunities that come with this tool are endless.  Now Facebook has followed suit and with it our clients have been given the key to success because there's an existing audience to engage with, and what better way to do it than to go live!

Facebook first made this feature available to verified public figures and has steadily released it to the rest of us since.  It is now available to some iPhone users but not yet to android users.

Facebook Live allows you to broadcast events, vlogs and even arbitrary every day banter and the best part is that your viewers can react and comment in the moment.  The Facebook reactor buttons allow viewers to tell broadcasters what they think of their content (Like, Love, Haha, Yay, Wow, Sad and Angry) and the comments stream gives them the opportunity to interact with the vlogger by asking questions or giving their thought.  This tool now allows a viewer to get what they want (provided the vlogger sees and responds to their comments and questions) and it helps the broadcaster to better customise their content to the wants and needs of the viewer, in the moment. You can't ask for much better engagement than that!

Start incorporating live video into your social media strategy now if it is available to you.  If the Facebook Live tool isn't available to you yet then start with some of the other tools in the meantime (mentioned above).  Here are some tips for your consideration before you start your first broadcast:

 

  1. Make sure your description and headline draws your audience in and then stick to it.
  2. Your content needs to be focused, don't babble.  There's plenty of time to create posts about a variety of topics, so keep your current topic in front of you and answer relevant questions and comments.
  3. Make sure your audio is not interfered with by surrounding noise or wind.  Also make sure you speak clearly so that your viewers can hear your content with ease.  You don't want them to be distracted.
  4. Use the button on the top right hand corner of your screen to toggle between front and back cameras.  While you're broadcasting you may want to show your audience your surroundings or focus on what it is you are doing, but in order to connect with your audience you should show them your face. 
  5. Viewers like to be acknowledged and mentioned during live video streaming especially if the viewing audience is large, so when you're responding to comments, questions and suggestions make an effort to mention their names and thank them for their feedback.
  6. Don't fight with trolls.  While you may want to discourage or address negative feedback and commentary in your live video you need to be careful.  Don't respond to profanity or viewers who are deliberately trying to disrupt your flow.  Be positive and proactive, address comments and questions that you think will benefit your larger audience.
  7. Mention your call to action.  Do you have one?  What is the purpose of your post?  Tell your viewers what you want them to do and use the Facebook CTA options to follow through after publishing for later viewing.
  8. Don't broadcast for the sake of broadcasting.  If there's nothing to talk about don't broadcast.  You should try to have valuable content lined up on a regular basis so that your viewers know when to log in, but don't have them log in for nothing.  They won't come back.

Take a look at these Facebook links to better acquaint yourself with this new brilliant tool!

We hope this post has given you some insight into yet another remarkable social media tool for you to use to engage with your customers and your online audience.

Contact JoziTown Projects if you'd like us to create a social media strategy for your business.

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