Live streaming is a powerful tool you can use to build the audience around your brand, which can help you stand out from your competitors in the market. Facebook Live has quickly established itself as one of the most useful live streaming marketing tools for businesses. After settling into the digital landscape, a lot of lessons have been learnt about how to use Facebook Live effectively.
Download your Livestream Cheatsheet here.
An important thing to bear in mind: Facebook Live abides by the underlying rule of all content marketing strategies. That is, it has to provide genuine value to your audience, otherwise it will not be effective.
How does Facebook Live stand out from pre-recorded content?
A lot of people may wonder about the benefits of hosting a Facebook Live stream over preparing well designed video content. Both of these practices can be hugely effective for businesses, but they are also very different to each other.
Live streaming adds a sense of immediacy, interactivity, personality and excitement to video which can’t be replicated in prepared and edited content. Pre-recorded video allows you to do more things and provide a more polished product than live streaming. The best way to think about it is thus: live streaming turns video into an event, rather than just content.
One feature that makes Facebook Live particularly useful is the fact that you can save your live streams for future viewing. This means that your great live content isn’t gone to the ether.
Use Facebook Live to host online webinars
One Facebook Live strategy that has proven particularly effective is the hosting of online webinars. Think of webinars as online conferences, with expert speakers and valuable information. These are becoming increasingly popular, as audiences flock to learn from industry thought leaders.
Within webinars, you can host native advertising; alternatively, just use them as an inbound marketing tool which draws viewers to your social media. Being on a platform as heavily used as Facebook, your streams can quickly go viral.
Facebook Live is a great tool for hosting webinars, particularly due to the fact that it integrates easily with Facebook marketing campaigns and your existing audience. A great feature in Facebook Live’s interface is the “Invite” button, which you should encourage viewers to use. This allows you to quickly grow your audience.
If a webinar is particularly well received, you can save it for viewing after the event on your social media page.
Conduct interactive Q&A sessions
The true power of live streaming is the ability to engage your audience in genuine discussion, which is a hugely valuable marketing tool. Dialogue between you and your customers will help foster brand loyalty and enhance your conversion rate.
There are two different ways you can utilise Question and Answer sessions. They can simply be between you and your fans. Alternatively, you can host an exciting guest who will be answering your audience’s questions.
The first option allows you to help build loyalty and answer genuine questions your market may have about your business. This is a great way to enhance the relationship you have with them and encourage them to purchase from you in the future. Bear in mind, not all businesses will have an audience who actually cares about this; are you one of them?
The second option can be great publicity for your business, leveraging the brand equity of your guest. If you can convert some of their fans into your’s, a simple Facebook Live Q&A can go a long way! This is a great option for businesses who may not be able to sustain a popular Q&A on their own.
Enhance off-line event coverage
Using Facebook Live is a great way to add an online dimension to your existing events. You can provide coverage of areas that not everybody will be able to see while at your event, such as the backstage workings. You can create more event related content, such as interviews with speakers or other personalities. If you are hosting any event, providing a great online streaming experience to complement is vital.
Streaming your event will also open it up to a much wider audience than merely the people who can physically attend. This is a great way to harness more value out of your investment in the event. By streaming key activities, you can broadcast your event to anyone interested on the internet. Not only is this a great opportunity to spread your message, but this can also be used as a point to leverage more investment from sponsors.
Download your Livestream Cheatsheet here.
