Live streaming video was the major break through in social media for businesses in 2016, and 2017 will bring even more opportunities and features to brands who are leveraging this medium to connect with their audience. Orlando video content marketing is the future.

We know that businesses are getting crazy reach with Facebook Live, but many still have yet to catch on to this great new feature. If you haven’t yet braved the waters of Facebook Live, here are several ideas on how to get started. 

 

Behind the Scenes Videos

Behind the scenes content always works great on social media. People love to feel like they are getting a peek behind the curtain and VIP access to your business.

It also increases the transparency of your business, which is an attractive characteristic especially to Millennials. Think about what it takes to run your business or produce your content, and where you can give your audience an inside look.

Question and Answer Sessions

The great thing about Facebook Live is that unlike standard video, it is a completely interactive medium between you and your audience. This makes it the perfect forum for question and answer sessions.

Whether it’s a Q&A with an executive or popular face of the company, or a Q&A about a certain product or service, you can build a great relationship with your audience through a Q&A session. 

One thing to note: whether you are doing a devoted Q&A session or not, it is always best to acknowledge your viewers comments on your Facebook Live video and answer their questions if possible. Providing a Q&A time at the end of all of your videos is a great idea. 

Product Demonstrations and Announcements

Remember the old vacuum salesmen who would go door to door to demonstrate how their product worked? Think of Facebook Live as a less annoying, more effective version of that technique.

How would you like to be able to go into the homes of your audience and demonstrate how your product works, and answer each of their questions and comments along the way?

Facebook Live offers unparalleled access to your audience that you can use to give them a first hand experience with your product. 

Event Videos

Live event videos are always a great idea and a big draw for audiences. You can live stream conferences, banquets and galas, sales events, product reveals, the list goes on and on.

Make your audience feel like they are a part of what your business is doing, even if they can’t be there in person. It will help build your relationship with them and maybe even entice them to be a part of your events in the future. 

Give Tours

Especially if you are a business that deals in real estate or tourism, or facilities that your customers frequent on a regular basis like a gym or spa, giving live tours on Facebook is a great way to break down the barrier between your business and your audience, and allow them to feel more familiar and comfortable with your business.

If you are in real estate, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be doing live house tours of your listings. It gives your listings way more exposure than photos and a description ever will on Facebook, and allows you to answer questions and provide custom tours to viewers on the spot. 

Webinars

Believe it or not, Facebook Live is actually a great place to host a webinar. You can pre-schedule a time to host the webinar, and there is even the option for a waiting room where people who log in early can wait for the webinar to start.

Webinars are a great way to provide value to your audience through teaching and training, which increases your authority on the content, and allows you to reach more people. 

Brainstorm more ideas…

If there was a television show about your business, what would be on it? If a news channel in town were to do a feature on your business, what would it be about?

 

Facebook Live Best Practices

• A good time frame for a Facebook Live video, unless you are doing a webinar or event, is 5-20 minutes. You want to provide a little bit of time at the beginning of the video for people to join in, but not too much time to where your first viewers get bored and stop viewing.

• Broadcast at a time when your followers are most likely to be online. You can figure out the best time by checking the Insights section on your Facebook page.

• Work with a professional to improve audio and video quality, especially if you are live streaming a major event or webinar. A professional can make sure the background and shot framing adds to your live stream instead of distracting the viewer, test the live stream ahead of time to eliminate flaws and address connection issues, and use professional equipment for professional sound and video quality. Talking Head Studio is one of the few production companies in the Central Florida area that produces Facebook Live videos. Learn more about these services here.

• Interact with viewers who are commenting. Address them by name and read their comment or question so that everyone can be involved. This will not only help to grow your relationship with your audience and bring in more repeat viewers, it will also alert you to any issues people might be having with hearing or viewing the broadcast.

• Introduce yourself and the people in the video. Don’t assume that your viewers know who you are!

• Tell people ahead of time when you will be going live, and schedule your live broadcast so that more people will tune in.

• Entertain, educate, inspire, or motivate with your live videos. Make sure that whatever your live video content is, it provides value to your viewers.

 

Facebook Live can be an intimidating platform, but arming yourself with the tools and techniques needed to be successful will help launch you ahead of the competition when using this feature in the coming year.