The dynamics of social media engagement are changing once again with the addition of livestreaming and apps like Snapchat.
In 2016 we'll see more brands become completely personal and transparent with their followers and customers through live posts. These followers and customers are craving social connectivity with the brands they love and support.
Which brings me to why Facebook Live is going to be such an important piece of any business's strategic social marketing plan. And why I dub it as HOTTER than HOT!
The addition of livestreaming on Facebook makes it easier to reach consumers and promote your brand, in a more personal and unique way than ever before. Let's make sure you're using it to it's full potential.
Engagement
What makes Facebook Live the most powerful choice? To start with, your audience is already on Facebook {unless your target market is teens}. This means that when you go live, they are already there to tune in and watch. They don't have to locate a special link or download another app with only one purpose. Everything they need is already right there.
Viewers can chat it up with you in the comments section while they are watching you live. This allows you to talk and answer questions directly on video in real time. They can also easily share with their friends who are conveniently located on Facebook too!
Unlike some other livestreaming sites and apps where the chat disappears after the live session ends, on a Facebook Live video the chat dialog stays visible. The chat dialog only disappears if you decide to delete the video entirely.
Notifications
Forget about being in someone's newsfeed when they are mindlessly scrolling through posts. Instead, grab their attention with a PUSH notification. By being included in their list of notifications, your message is much more likely to capture their attention.
When you go LIVE, your subscriber's phone and notifications light up to let them know. Forget those algorithm changes, you're commanding and rocking their attention the minute you go LIVE.
Embedding
Reuse your videos from Facebook and place them on your website or blog. This is easily done by using the embed feature that is on any Facebook video.
Weekly or daily vlogging can be challenging if you're limited on time. And outsourcing the editing might not be an option if your funds are limited. Livestreaming can be a very quick and easy way to create daily or weekly vlogs.
Granted, those edited videos are always perfectly sliced together to keep our attention, livestreaming works differently. It's real life, in real time!
Now, not every livestream will be embed-worthy. For those topics that might be, map out the content you want to cover. Treat it just like any other blog post or informational video that you would present and share with your audience.
Create Your Own Livestream Show
Get creative, your options are endless! If you can dream it up, you can make it happen. Want your own show? Create one using Facebook Live.
- Set a time of day and week that you'll be live.
- Give it a name.
- Let your followers know.
- Show up.
- Make it happen.
It doesn't have to be hard or complicated. Social media is giving you a platform to express yourself and your brand. Take Advantage of it!
Connect with your followers in a personal setting that they've never experienced before by using Facebook Live.
{ BONUS TIP }
As long as your post is set to PUBLIC, you can share the link to your livestream from your Personal Profile on your Facebook Page while you're LIVE! OR after the event is over.