Going live on social media can be intimidating and bring about stage fright in even the coolest of cucumbers. However, it’s an important tool in your social toolbox, with lots of benefits that will bring value to both your business and your audience.
If you’ve been thinking about going live but are feeling hesitant, we have a few tips and reasons you should definitely hit that “live” button.
First, let’s talk about why you should choose a live video versus a prerecorded post in the first place.
- Practicing speaking without an audience on camera is a great opportunity to fine-tune your skills for when you do have a real, in-person audience. It gets easier every time.
- Giving your followers a chance to ask questions during live Q & A sessions is a great opportunity for two-way engagement and building relationships.
- When you go live, many of your followers get notified that you are doing so. Free promotion? Yes, please.
- After you’re done recording, Facebook and Instagram give you options to save your recording. This makes it easy to repurpose content into your main feed.
- Because authenticity is key when it comes to live videos, minimal budget or production is needed.
- It’s easy to collaborate with fellow content creators and tap into new audiences with Instagram’s built-in co-hosting tools.
Now that we’ve covered a few of the reasons you should go live, it’s time to think about what you are going to speak about and how to make that time valuable for your viewers so that they keep coming back for more. Here are five tips for a successful live video.
- Speak about your area of expertise so that the conversation flows naturally, the same way it does if you were speaking to someone in person.
- If you’re filming somewhere that needs a little bit of light, an inexpensive ring light can make a huge difference.
- Do a few tests runs on your phone to see if there are ways you can improve your camera presence.
- Don’t sweat small mistakes; the great thing about live video is that people anticipate hiccups.
- After you’re done, take a few minutes to watch yourself to see if there is anything you can work on for the next time. Don’t be shy about asking for feedback.
Now that you’re ready to tackle live video, the real fun begins. If you need a hand dreaming up some content ideas, we can help. Contact us for a free one-hour brainstorm session.