It’s an understatement that social media is an invaluable tool to marketing your company. Having an online presence in today’s world is essential, and depending on your market, it can be the best option in reaching your target audience.
One of the most popular platforms is Facebook. Currently, it generates 8 billion video views a day. One feature that showed tremendous growth the past year, and helped increase Facebook video views by 94%, is Facebook Live.
We recently attended a Facebook Live event hosted by the American Advertising Federation. Here’s a rundown on what we learned.
Facebook Live Serves More Purposes Than One
People often correlate Facebook Live with their personal experience; friends ranting about politics or showing off new purchases. But Facebook Live can be used for more than just fluff.
For instance, it’s obviously great for broadcasting live events, promotions, and sweepstakes. If you’re using Facebook to promote one of these, your followers are going to be interested in the turn out. Why not show them live? If they weren’t able to make it to the event, they’ll have the next best thing, a front row seat.
Another useful strategy brands are using is to show off products. If you have a production line, show off how your products are made. Have a new product coming out? Facebook Live can be the perfect tool to introduce your customers to it.
What You’ll Need To Execute
There’s a variety of products that can make your Facebook Live video a success. But here are a few ingredients that can make or break the experience.
With all video, lighting is critical. If your audience can’t see what you’re shooting, then what’s the point. Don’t shoot in the complete dark and make sure the sun isn’t blinding everyone viewing.
Another important aspect is audio. Nothing is worse than creating a video and the audio is distorted or non-existent. Make sure your sound levels are up to par. If needed, run a test to make sure.
The most important aspect to Facebook Live is the ability to connect to Wi-Fi. If you’re in a rural area or a large open space, be sure you’re able to go live before the actual event. This gives you ample time to find another solution. The last thing you want is for everything to go perfectly but your phone isn’t able to broadcast.
Get Connected With Your Audience
They say size doesn’t matter and for Facebook Live that’s true. If your audience is small, going live will give you the opportunity to engage one-on-one with your audience. Get personal, show your personality, and let your audience know you care. Obviously a large viewing allows you to get your message out with incredible reach. If possible, you should still try your best to address some of the questions or comments made. It’s important that your audience doesn’t just feel like they’re watching a video. Going live is an experience.
Overall, Facebook Live is an excellent platform for your branding. The social media giant is rewarding users who use video by giving them higher priority in viewers’ feeds. You can thank the competition with YouTube. Facebook’s algorithms push you to the top, and combined with notifications alerting your followers that you’ve gone live, there is a good chance they’ll jump on your content.