How to go live on Facebook - planning and delivering guide
As Facebook Live becomes a staple for reaching a wider audience and creating engagement, it is necessary to understand how it can work for you.
This guide will help you learn the best tricks that can make a big difference in how many people see your live broadcast, how they engage with it, and how it performs.
Before you go LIVE
Plan ahead what you are recording
It is essential to know what you want to do while broadcasting during Facebook Live.
Are you hosting the live on your profile, business page, groups, or event page?
Are you creating streams to discuss your product, show off knowledge of your industry, or entertain and grow Facebook audiences?
Do you know what you’re going to talk about? Do you have a script you can use?
Tip: Put your notes as close to your camera as possible, so you don’t need to break eye contact with the camera. You could use a notepad file on your computer or sticky notes stuck to a camera.
Build anticipation
Build excitement by letting people know when you'll be going live ahead of time. A one-day notice is sufficient to raise awareness.
Include a brief explanation of the content you'll be discussing in your broadcast. This will assist your followers in understanding your streaming before watching it.
Also, invite your audience to share any questions or suggestions in the comments section. This is a great approach to get your audience involved before the streaming starts.
When Tip: Pick a day and regular time you can go live each week (or more regularly, if you can do that consistently).
Hook Tip: Create an engaging title and description using keywords your audience would use to search for your topic!
Facebook Live Tools
Facebook offers many features that enable you to further connect with your viewers during your broadcasts, such as Live Polls or Featured Links.
Utilizing these tools will help increase engagement and facilitate the best possible experience for your audience. You can mix and match them to serve your stream in the best way for your business.
Poll examples: Have you learned something new from today’s video?/ Are you working from home today? (Options: Yes/No). You can select when you want your poll to appear for your viewers and you can easily share the results with them.
Tip: You can also ask your audience a question that will show up on their Live streaming e.g. What else would you like to know? / What would you like to know about live video? Alternatively, the first comment of the Live can be an icebreaker question e.g. Where they you tuning in from?
RELAX... Take it e-e-easy
Rather than focusing on yourself and being nervous about how you look or sound, focus on how what you will share will help your audience. Also, a very efficient technique to calm any nerves is deep breathing.
During your LIVE video
Once your broadcast starts, consider the following examples of what you can do during a transmission:
Give people time to join
Many viewers join the broadcast during the first couple of minutes. While you’re waiting for the audience to grow, we suggest using this time to present who’s on the show, welcome the early viewers, and go over what you plan to do.
Tip: If you’re going live for the first time, you might be in for a surprise when you press the Go Live button as the streaming will begin immediately, so make sure you’re ready to start right away.
Interact with viewers
Real-time interaction is what makes Facebook Live so powerful. Allowing people to interact by asking questions can help you have a more successful broadcast. Remind your viewers that they can ask questions in the comments section and use their names when responding to their questions or comments.
Less pitching. More dialogue.
How's your tone (sales-y or friendly)?
Get to the point
Did you know that two-thirds of video views happen after the Live? So, get straight to the hook -what are you going to talk about and why people should care!
Encourage viewers to Like and Share the video
The number of people who Like and Share a post is one of the main factors used by Facebook's algorithm to rank the post. The more likes and shares your live broadcast receives, the more it will appear in people's News Feeds.
Engage with commenters, and mention them by name
Another approach to convince Facebook to give your broadcast a better relevancy score and make it more likely to appear in people's News Feeds is to increase the number of comments.
Tip: Your audience will be excited to hear you mention their names and respond to their queries.
Keep reintroducing yourself
Take a minute to introduce yourself and what the video is about when you first start streaming. However, keep in mind that you may have no viewers when you first begin live streaming. You may only have a few watchers even after a few seconds. People will join in as they see your video on their News Feeds, but you'll need to reintroduce yourself a second, third, and even fourth time.
Make it spontaneous
What distinguishes a live video from others? The fact that it was spontaneous and engaging. People enjoy the ability to interact with others and the novelty of seeing someone in real-time when anything could happen. It's the new reality TV in many respects.
These moments distinguish the live video from scripted, edited, or otherwise pre-recorded videos. Embrace the platform. Banter is always, always good.
Don't worry about mistakes or stutters
Even if your Facebook Live doesn't go as planned, spontaneity works.
We're all human, let's face it. And when humans and technology collide, technical challenges might arise.
What's the good news? These elements help keep your broadcast human and real.
The goal is to treat the broadcast as if it were a fun discussion, so keep it light and maintain communication open with your viewers if mistakes occur.
Ending of the broadcast
Say goodbye before ending your video
Before you end your live broadcast, be sure to finish with a closing line, like "Thanks for watching" or "I'll be going live again soon."
If you already know when you’re broadcasting with Facebook Live again, mention that too and encourage people to tune in next time.
Tip: Get consistent and build a habit with your audience: go live the same day at the same time every week.
Give them more
Close with your call to action -where can people learn more (or download your lead magnet, join your group etc.) and THANK your audience!
Tip: There is usually a delay when you end the video, so smile 3 seconds longer!😂
Optimize your video
Check your title and description are going to grab attention! Add links to resources mentioned in your video, including lead magnets in the first sentence (above the "Read more.." link).
Share, share, and share
You can share the transmission on social networking channels when the transmission is complete. Look for groups similar to your topic and share your video with them. You can do Crossposting if you have access to a few Facebook Pages and the content is relevant to them.
One of the perks is that it can appear as a video of its own. Also, it increases the reach of the video. Another advantage is the possibility to download your video. Later you can use the video to upload it on other platforms like TikTok or YouTube.
Tip: You can also repurpose Your Facebook Live Videos.
Reply to everything
Keep an eye on your notifications and reply to anyone that leaves a comment - this can be happening long after you've gone live and starts conversations!
We hope this has been a helpful guide. We'll keep you posted with any new developments and tips for connecting with your audience in more cool ways.
Did you read our Technical Guide on How to Go Live on Facebook? If not, make sure to read it as it presents the most important Setup actions you need to take Before, During and After the live video. 🙌
👉 Next time you're going live, read our 2 Minute CHECKLIST for a Successful Facebook Live to make sure you don't forget anything! 😎
👉 How to Go Live on Facebook - Technical Guide
👉 How to use facebook live to engage coaching prospects cold - full free ebook
👉 How to grow your facebook group to 1000s of members - complete guide
👉 Complete guide to organic facebook marketing for coaches - ebook
👉 Organic facebook marketing content calendar - template for coaches
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