Top 5 Best Practices For Facebook Live

Video consumption continues to be a growing trend on social media with over 100 million hours of video watched on Facebook daily. It’s no surprise that Facebook Live has proven to be an extremely successful means of obtaining high audience engagement and brand expansion. Videos are easy to produce, cost effective, and require minimal equipment. By following these best practices, you’ll be able to produce a high quality and captivating Facebook Live video. 

Plan and practice

Just because your video is going to be streaming in real time doesn’t mean you can’t create a plan of action ahead of time. Knowing what you are going to say or feature on screen will help it run smoothly. Your video should feel organic however, excessive pauses and “uhms” while you collect your thoughts is boring to watch and risks impatient viewers leaving. 

Practice just enough to feel comfortable and familiar with the flow of your video as you want the moment to be real and not scripted. If you make a mistake, don’t make a big deal out of it and simply move on. If you’re really worried, Facebook Live even lets you practice broadcasting with an “only me” privacy setting.  

Promote your video

Now that you’ve taken the time to create an awesome video, you’ll want to get the word out about it to as many people as you can. Facebook says people spend three times more time watching a Facebook Live video on average compared to one that’s no longer live. That’s a great reason to put additional ad spend towards your video, or towards a post letting people know when to tune in. Promote your upcoming video by advertising it with a unique and compelling description. You can also ask your fans to subscribe to your live videos, this way they’ll be notified the next time you go live.  

Participate with your audience

The primary goal with Facebook Live is to obtain a high number of viewers and audience engagement. One of the best ways to achieve this is by engaging with your viewers directly. Introduce yourself and make viewers feels as if they are communicating with you in person. Ask fans to post questions in the comment section and address them by name during your responses.  

Keep your content varied

Having a common theme or subject matter in your videos shouldn’t stop you from producing new and varied content each time. There are a variety of ways you can showcase your brand. Some examples include featuring a guest in your related field to provide insight on your brand or product, make a “how to” video instead of just talking about something, or change the location of your video to a place that showcases the history of your brand. Keeping content fresh will continue bringing viewers back time and time again. 

Analyze your data

After you’ve created your first Facebook Live video, you’ll want to review its performance. Facebook provides you with helpful metrics such as minutes viewed, number of people reached, and demographics of who watched your video. Reviewing data analytics will enable you to accurately assess how successful it was and gives you a starting point for what to change or do differently in future broadcasts. 

As live broadcasts continue to gain in popularity, Facebook Live provides brands and businesses with a unique way to connect with their audience. With a little bit of planning, you can create exciting content that will increase engagement and grow your fan base.