How to Use Facebook Live for Your Business

Live video is no longer like ‘Wayne’s World’ with Wayne and Garth on a public access channel in Aurora. Facebook, YouTube, and many others have opened the idea of live video up to everyone. As with any new technology, many brands, small and large, are confused about how to use Facebook live grow their business. Live video is not a new idea. It has been around since 1928, when the radio company RCA broadcast a live one act play. Live video online isn’t as new as you might think, either. It started to gain popularity in the mid 2000’s. More recently, Facebook has been pushing live video as a part of their ‘video first’ strategy. Brands that are looking for a way to stand out should seriously consider creating a live video strategy. As with any new social media tool, early adopters are rewarded. One example of this is, the longer your brand waits to start using live video, the harder it will be to find an audience. In monetary terms: the more it will cost to find an audience. Another benefit for those who take advantage of live video now is that, at the moment, it doesn’t have to be professional looking. It just needs to be watchable. This expectation will change as live video becomes more popular. It is good to know the rules of good framing and audio before you even turn your camera on. If you are moving the camera around, consider using a stabilizer to keep the camera steady if you are standing in one place

Facebook is giving more organic reach with live video than with a typical post; which is probably currently getting 2% reach. Facebook says that live video has benefits over other types of video because, according to their research, people are 10 times more likely to comment on a live Facebook video than on a regular video. This is important because everything your brand does should be about engaging your audience. Comments are proof that people are paying attention. Facebook recommends that you broadcast for at least 10 minutes so your audience has time to find your content.

Many people I talk to don’t want to be on any type of video at all. The idea of live video terrifies them. They should be terrified. As easy as going live has become, to do it without a plan is a social suicide mission. Other brands shut down the idea because of legal concerns. These can often be overcome with some pre-planning. No matter what kind of content you want to create, you should always have a plan for what you are going to say do and show before you go live. This will give the viewer a better experience. You need to think like a TV broadcaster. Live video is a great opportunity to show some of the following:

Behind the scenes
To tease new product
Do Q&A
Interview a customer or client
Take questions from the viewers

There are two types of live content:

Real time live – which goes live as things happen.

Episodic live video – which goes live on a schedule. They key to this type of content is going live the save day and time each week. This is important to building an audience.

The easiest way is to use your phone to go live. You can also use your desktop computer. If you use your computer you may need additional software such as Open Broadcast Software. It gives you more options for going live and is a free open source software. You can also give permission to contributors so they can go live on your page. Whenever possible, use a wired internet connection. This will give you more peace of mind that your video is going out over the internet and that you are giving the live video host the best possible signal you can.

Make sure you have a plan for how you will repurpose your live broadcast. You may want to turn it into a podcast or cut it into smaller clips to use on another social media site. I hope this inspires you to use Facebook live as a way to grow your business.

Still not sure? We offer consulting services for brands to help them on their Facebook live video journey.