Have you braved Facebook Live yet? Facebook Live provides a great channel to engage with your target audience in real-time. It’s interactive, costs nothing, and just requires a little strategy to get it right. Below are some best practices on how to use Facebook Live for your business.

1. Be Personable

Unlike professional videos, Facebook Live don’t require fancy post-production. It means you can be authentic, which your audience loves! Facebook Live gives your audience an opportunity to look at your brand in its rawest form. In a world of perfectly shot videos and photos, it’s a smart way to stand out!  

When doing Facebook Live, be personable. Think of it as a one-on-one conversation with your audience. Relax, use humour, be open, be honest — be YOU.

2. Plan Your Facebook Live

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Planning is still key when creating Facebook Live streams. Determine a set of goals beforehand. Maybe the questions below could help:

  • What do you want to achieve after your live broadcast?
  • What are the key messages you want to convey?
  • How will you increase engagement with your audience?  

There are also some metrics that you can use to measure the success of your Facebook Live. Some of these include:

  • The number of reactions you get
  • How many leads you receive after the broadcast
  • Comments and interactions from your target audience

3. Practice, Practice, Practice

While it’s true that Facebook Live isn’t as polished as YouTube or TV videos, it doesn’t mean you don’t have to practice. Even the best social media influencers out there need to rehearse their live streams.

Consider your content thoughtfully. Remember that at the end of the day, you are still representing your brand and should still convey your brand personality, values and position. Focus on how you will be speaking and how you will deliver it. Rehearsing helps you discover which talking points are the most interesting as well as seeing technical difficulties early on. It also helps lessen nervousness! 

4. Tease Your Audience

Let your audience know at least a week in advance that you are going to do a Facebook Live and that something interesting is waiting for them. Don’t just focus on one channel. Cross-promote your teaser to reach as many audiences as you can.  

Teasing your audience builds anticipation especially if you give them something to look forward to. Collaborating with an influencer is also a great way to up those views!  

5. Keep Going — Even if you Make Mistakes

Finally, you’re live! What will you do if you accidentally use the wrong word or term? What will happen if you slip up? Just keep going. Mistakes are normal in Facebook Live streams. In fact, you can even use it to lighten up the conversation. Make a joke – an opportunity to introduce humour!

Mistakes make Facebook Live look more genuine because it’s not overly polished. So, just keep going and don’t be discouraged!

6. Engage your Audience

One of the best practices of using Facebook Live for your business is helping your audience participate throughout the stream. Create a dialogue between you and your viewers. Ask them questions. Encourage them to discuss among themselves. The comments box is there for a reason!

During your live stream, don’t leave questions unanswered. If you don’t have enough time, make sure to check out the comments section and answer any questions you may have missed. 

7. Tell a Story

Storytelling is a great way to keep your audience interested and engaged with your Facebook Live.  Captivate your audience with a strong beginning. Use this as a way to grab their attention before you get into the thick of your message. Doing this also gives enough time for the bulk of your audience to join your Facebook Live broadcast.

Your intro can be anything from a statistic, a personal story, to the reasons why you’re doing the broadcast. Seriously, it can even be about your dog! What’s important is that you’re authentic and personable.

Throughout the broadcast, don’t forget to reintroduce your topic several times and acknowledge guests who just joined. You can say something like “for those of you who have just joined us, we are talking about…”.

The ending of your Facebook Live should be a call to action, even if it’s subtle. This is critical. What you want for your audience is to take an action. You can also summarise some key takeaways, extend your thanks, and remind your audience of any upcoming schedules.

Conclusion

Facebook Live is an important tool for social media businesses. Remember these best practices when doing your next (or first) Facebook Live broadcast:

  • Be personable
  • Plan
  • Practice
  • Tease your audience
  • Embrace mistakes
  • Engage your viewers
  • End with a CTA

Need help with your social media strategy? Contact us today.