Facebook Live Stream – Your Secret Weapon For Epic Content

The Facts.

Marketing has become more than billboards, flyers, and 30 second TV commercials that cost on average $350,000 to create and air.  

What social media platform have you and your company been missing out on that could save you thousands, and make you millions? It’s a simple tool in Facebook called Live Stream.

How did this content creating tool that is right under our noses and in everyone’s hands slip our mind? Why aren’t we utilizing the hidden features of Facebook to create intentional content?

We often assume creating original content is inevitably time-consuming and expensive, but Facebook’s Live Streaming feature has the potential to change all of that.

Facebook’s live streaming feature allows you to broadcast video instantaneously to your Facebook followers. Followers can comment on the video and ask you questions in real time, and the video will remain in your feed.

Why is this important? “According to Cisco, by 2019 global consumer Internet video traffic will account for 80 percent of all consumer Internet traffic. If you are looking to stay at the top of customers minds, you would be surprised that 80 percent of users recall a video ad they viewed in the past 30 days.”

From Convinced and Convert, they found that audiences are 10 times more likely to engage with video content than text-only blogs or social posts.

To understand why you are doing your company and brand a disservice by not utilizing video as a whole, but specifically Facebook, you have to see the stats.

Currently in 2018:

• Facebook has over 8 billion video views on average per day
• Facebook users watch over 100 million hours of video each day

How do I get started?

All these stats show that Facebook’s live stream feature is a major strategy that you should be implementing in order to gain the attention of potential customers, but not everyone knows how. Many believe you have to hire an expensive company to come in which can be lot of time and money wasted when you have talent right inside your office and the technology readily available.

The first question any client asks when considering whether to stream video is, ‘What would I talk about?’

Content

Think about what you would want to see in a video. Viewers like to see real behind the scenes action and day to day activities. Think more honest and authentic, and less posed and robotic.

Some basic ideas to get you started:

• Answer frequently asked questions — take advantage of your expertise and make a video
• Interview one of your employees about what they love about their job
• Explain a trend in your industry and what customers should know
• Give an update on an ongoing project or expansion

Avoid basic sales pitches/commercials. People are inundated with marketing and will not watch a video that is just trying to sell them something. Facebook live streaming is perfect for building your company’s brand, establishing yourself as an expert and helping clients and potential clients feel like they can come to you with their needs.

You want to keep things relaxed enough so those in front of the camera are able to be themselves. At the end of the day, viewers know the difference between a fake smile and a genuine one.

What Do I Need To Stream A Professional Video?

Sound

• In order to cancel a lot of the background noise we suggest purchasing a microphone that can attach to the iPhone headphone input.

Lighting

• Using natural light as much as possible is almost just as good as having ring lights and a personal studio. Using apps like iMovie can help you add special effects in the absence of natural light as well https://www.apple.com/imovie/

Script

• When beginning your video content journey, outlining a simple script will help you and whoever is joining you in the video to remember mentioning your website URL, your business hours, and other important details.

Background

• Choose a background for your video that is a solid color, maybe a few interesting items in the back on shelving (items could be your own product you sell, or if a brand is sponsoring you or partnering with you, it could be their product in the back)

Placement of iPhone

• You will want a tripod to help steady the camera because you will not want a shaky video for viewers to watch on live stream or to playback later. Here are a couple options below that we suggest:
  • Daisen Octopus is compact, convenient, and bends/rotates 360 degrees. This can hold either an iPhone or a digital camera. https://www.amazon.com/DAISEN-Octopus-Universal-Smartphone-4326573160/dp/B01JYV46HS?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_1
  • FotoPro Phone Tripod adjusts to 39.5 inches and can stand on its own, or 10.2 inches which will fit nicely on a countertop or desk space. This tripod can be controlled using Bluetooth which is the biggest draw. https://www.amazon.com/Fotopro-Aluminum-Bluetooth-Control-Samsung/dp/B01MTMS8GN?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2

Optimize for mobile

• Ensuring your videos are optimized for mobile is also huge since people are 5 times more likely to watch Facebook videos on their phone rather than on desktop.

Captions

• A surprising statistic is that 85 percent of people are watching videos with the sound off, so using captions is a must since it increases video views by 12 percent. Live videos have been growing in popularity over the past year or two and statistics show that 20 percent of videos on Facebook are Live Streams” (goo.gl/rruQTJ).

Going Live & how to handle the stress!

When you click to go live on Facebook streaming, it will automatically send out a notification to all your followers that you have started a live video.

Keep things interesting and engaging by answering questions, and responding to those viewers leaving comments as you talk. Having a few people in the background able to keep up with this and answer back. This is crucial because you don’t want viewers getting bored and clicking out because you aren’t engaging with them enough.

Now start creating content today!