Have you noticed how comfortable people are now with taking selfies in public? While most of us are guilty of taking selfies, it always seemed like something to be ashamed of just a few years ago. An so we tried to sneak them here and there, hoping that no one caught us taking pictures of ourselves in public. Going Live on Facebook, Periscope, or YouTube can feel the same way for many of us. It can be akward at first, but that doesn’t mean that the world doesn’t love watching!
Live streaming is quickly becoming a normal activity and it will only continue to grow. We have seen Snapchat grow with small businesses (some of you are struggling, so watch this video), which is the next step towards live streaming. Both are fairly raw mediums, but Snapchats can always be edited, deleted, or reshot. How many of us are guilty of taking 20 Snaps until we get it “perfect”? Live streaming can be scary to many small businesses because it opens us up to a brand new level of vulnerability.
Live Streaming Your Small Business
Like many evolutions in marketing, the early adopters are often the biggest winners. Here are 7 ways that you can live stream from your local business with confidence and effectiveness.
- Prepare: We’ve seen plenty of really awkward live streams from small businesses… like, a lot. It typically comes down to the fact that the only thing they have prepared is mustering up the confidence to actually live stream. They end up skipping over the preparation it requires to create content worthy of sharing.
- Be Spontaneous: Okay, so there are always exceptions to the rules (preparing). If something amazing is happening in the moment, go live! If a customer shares a touching story, see if you can capture it live and share it with your followers. There are moments worth capturing in real time, and as long as you can share with confidence that the content will benefit your brand, go for it!
- Pump It Up: If you’re putting in the work for a successful live stream for your small business, you can’t skip out on promoting your big moment. Let your customers and followers know that you’re going live so they can etch out time to watch you. This can be a great way to push a promotion or contest.
- Be Personable: Great live streams are typically fueled by engaging personalities. You don’t need to have the biggest voice in the room, but you do need to be able to keep people active in your live stream. If you’re not the right person to lead it, find the team member at your business that is capable of pulling people into a conversation.
- Engage with Your Guests: Remember why people are on social media in the first place; they’re looking for human to human interaction. If you’re live streaming, engaging your audience not only makes the experience more intimate for your followers, but it keeps people watching for longer. Answer questions, call specific people out with praise, and remember to say thank you!
- Add Value: The quickest way to be tuned out is to waste the time of your followers. Make sure that you’re adding value through education, edification, or entertainment. If you can add value to someone’s day, then you’re opening up opportunities for referrals, repeat business, or that first time customer. The worst thing that can happen is that the person doesn’t become a customer, but they left feeling as if time spent with you was well spent (and that’s a great feeling).
- Save, Reuse, and Repeat: At the end of your live stream, you always have the option to save your stream to your camera roll or your profile. In nearly every situation, you want to save a copy of your live stream so that you can reuse that content on a later date. Facebook Live will notify your followers that they missed you while you were live streaming, and gives them the chance to watch the rerun.
Are you thinking about adding live streaming to your marketing tool belt? We would love to hear from you! Ask any questions or contact us for more information.
