How To Engaging Facebook Live Events

 

To create really engaging Facebook Live events there are things that you need to do prior to the event, during the event and after the event.

 You will provide your brand with a well deserved boost if you create engaging events and all it requires is some thought and a following a few simple steps. Unfortunately, there are many examples of poor Facebook Live videos around. 

These videos look like they were an afterthought or a business just going through the motions. They are boring and uninspiring. We don’t want you to create these kinds of events so follow the steps below and produce engaging events instead. 

1. Create your Event around what your Audience wants

 The more that you know your audience the better. They will willingly tell you what they want in terms of content for your next Facebook Live event if you ask them. When you are able to create a Facebook Live event that helps people to solve the problems that they have then your audience will love it. Engaging Facebook Live events are exciting for the audience. If you really want to excite your audience then ask them to choose the topic of your next event. You can ask them directly, run surveys and polls and create the theme of your event around common questions that your audience has about the niche.

 2. Schedule your Event and Promote it first 

You want to build up as much anticipation for your Facebook Live event as you can. So we recommend that you schedule your event for the following week and then use the time before to promote as hard as possible. If you create an informative video for YouTube or write a great blog post then you will publish first and then promote. But it doesn’t work that way with Facebook Live. You want to get as many people to view the live event as you can so promotion before it happens is the best approach. You can create posts on Facebook about your upcoming event and then boost these post so that you extend your reach to people that are not your followers yet. This is inexpensive to do and can be highly effective. Target your audience specifically and make your post really appealing and you will get good results. We recommend that with each post you make about your upcoming event you share something different about it with your audience. Don’t just use the same message over and over again. Talk about some valuable information that you will share and include different tips in each post. Don’t just use Facebook to tell the world about your next Facebook Live event. If you have other social channels then use these to get people excited about it. Send emails out to your email list telling them about your event. Publish posts on your blog about it. Utilize every channel that you have available.

 3. Prepare your Environment 

The main difference between Facebook Live events and live streaming on YouTube is that Facebook is seen as more “easy going”. A YouTube live event tends to be a lot more serious. Despite this, you want to eliminate as many distractions as you can to create the most engaging Facebook Live events. We suggest that you forget about the “easy going” reputation that Facebook Live events have and try to create the most professional production that you can. After all, this is your business and your brand and you do not want it to be a shambles. More people are going to watch a live event than they are a standard video so put your best foot forward. Check your environment before you start recording. Are there things in your environment that could distract your viewers? How good is the lighting? What does the audio sound like? You can do a test recording to check for all of these things and then make any subsequent changes. Broadcasting against a plain background can work well. If you have a background that has a lot of clutter in it then your audience can be very distracted by this. So keep it minimal. You want your viewers to concentrate on you and what you have to say. 

4. Timing is everything 

If you conduct your Facebook Live broadcast at the wrong time then you will seriously reduce the number of viewers. You need to do your homework on where your audience are located and determine the best time for your event. If you schedule your Facebook Live event for a time where most of your audience are working then you will get dismal viewing figures. The figures will be even worse if you hold your event when your audience are normally sleeping. Facebook Live is a global tool that you can use to boost your brand no matter where you are located in the world. If you live in Europe and your target market is North America then you may have to make sacrifices. You may have to run events that are late in the day for you but are timed well for your audience. Remember it is about them and not you. 

5. Keep Updating your Audience

 Now we are into tips for engaging Facebook Live videos during the event. One thing that you always need to bear in mind is that people can join your event at any time. Not everyone is going to be there from the start, so you need to make announcements at different times during your event so that everyone is up to date. So you can say things like “welcome if you have recently joined us. We are talking about XYZ at the moment and before that we discussed ABC”. You get the idea. It’s always a good idea to share an agenda for your event with your viewers so they know what to expect. This will help to keep them viewing your event for the longest possible time.

 6. Interaction is King 

We have mentioned the fact that you need a good level of interaction in your Facebook Live events a few times in this guide and the reason for this is that it is so important for a truly engaging event. A lot of people that attend Facebook Live events want to interact with the host so don’t deprive them of this. You want to give your audience the feeling that your event is really a two-way conversation with you and your business. People leave comments on a Facebook Live event more than ten times more than normal videos. Make sure that all of the comments are visible live with your event. When others see these comments they will be more inclined to share their own thoughts. You will probably need some help here. Comments can come in thick and fast and if you have someone assisting you they can make you aware of the most common themes etc. Respond to comments as fast as you can. An alternative to this is to have a session at the end where you will address them. This is the same as a question and answer session which can be very effective. People want to know that you take their opinions seriously and responding to their comments is the best way to do this. Give some shoutouts with your event. When your event finishes the recording will be available and you can bring attention to this by sharing a post thanking all those that attended your event for example. Try asking people for even more comments and questions about your event. They will feel good about this and it will help to boost engagement.

 7. Use your Events to Build Relationships 

Don’t use your Facebook Live events as one long series of advertisements. There are different ways that you can promote your products and services using Facebook Live and we will cover these in the next chapter. Focus on developing a strong relationship with your audience. Some of the viewers to your live events will not have heard of you or your brand before. So you need to take the opportunity of building trust with them. You need to treat each event like you are trying to make a good first impression.

 8. Promote your Video after the event 

Take every opportunity that you can to promote your recorded event video to those that did not attend live. Make a post on your website about it and use other channels to get the word out. If you have a YouTube channel then you can post the video there as well. Don’t go overboard with this. Most people have a Facebook account but not everyone has and you may find this is the case with some of your list subscribers for example. That is why adding your video to YouTube where anyone can watch it is important.

 9. What can you do better?

 When your event is over go through your recording to see how well you performed. Did you come across in a friendly way? What mistakes did you make? Did anything go wrong?

 You can always do things better the next time around. Use the metrics available within Facebook to see how many people attended the event and what your reach was. Facebook has a lot of insightful metrics that we encourage you to use after your events. Learn about all of them and use them regularly. In the next chapter we will discuss how you can use Facebook Live to drive leads and sales… 

You can use Facebook Live to drive leads for your business and generate sales. While this is certainly possible, you need to use the right approach for success. So we have some great tips for you here so that you can maximize the number of leads that you generate from your Facebook Live events and the number of sales too.

 1. Use Promotions and Discounts

during your Events This may seem obvious to you, but it is amazing how many businesses that host Facebook Live events forget to talk about their promotions and discount offers. Live videos are a great way to generate leads and make sales so you must include these things in your events. You don’t want to go crazy with this. Just mention your promotions and discount offers now and again. Maybe you have a free offer that will really benefit your audience. Warm your viewers up about this at the start of your event and then share the details half way through and again at the end. Discount offers are really powerful and a lot of people that attend a Facebook Live event from a business will be expecting this. So don’t disappoint them and be clear about what the discount is and how viewers can obtain it.

 2. Use Prompts for Lead Generation

 You need a good sales funnel setup to support your Facebook Live event. Then you need to steer your viewers into your funnel. You want to capture their email address so that they join your list so offer the download of something valuable for free for example. Tell your event viewers what you are going to cover in your video. 

The most effective Facebook Live events share value at the start and then pitch a related offer after this. You want your audience to stick around for the pitch so make this as exciting as possible for them. Tell them that it will solve a specific problem and it is worth hanging on for. 

The use of prompts as you lead up to your pitch is usually very effective. 

You want your viewers to interact with you so ask them a question like “if you are excited then let us know in the comments” or “if you want to know more about our products then please type “yes please” in the comments”. After the event you can follow up directly with those that responded to your prompts. 

You know that they are interested so the follow up will be pretty easy. Be sure to follow up as soon after the event as possible when the leads are the hottest. 

3. Demonstrate your Products or Services

 Nothing sells a product or service better than a live demonstration. So take the opportunity that Facebook Live offers you to do this. When your audience sees what your product or service can do for them they will be a lot more likely to want to know more or make a purchase right away. Plan your demonstration in advance. What features of the product or service do you want to highlight? What will have the biggest impact on the audience? How will your product or service save time and / or money? 

Only demonstrate one of your products or services live at each event. Don’t try to demonstrate your whole range! We recommend that you provide value in your event first by explaining how your audience can overcome a specific problem that they have. 

Then demonstrate your product or service showing them how they can solve their problem a lot more easily and save time and possibly money. So for example if you sell products or services that help people generate traffic to their website you can show them some manual ways to drive traffic first and point out how time consuming these methods are. Then you can introduce and demonstrate your product or service which automates the methods and saves time. 

4. Strong Call to Action

 You need to tell your event viewers what you want them to do. The best way to achieve this is with strong calls to action during your event and afterwards. Never assume that someone watching your event will know instinctively what you want them to do. Spell it out with a persuasive call to action. Add your call to action to the event recording post as well. Make a comment that reminds people about it. It will not take a lot of time to set this up and it is worth it because you are likely to generate more leads.

 5. Ask your Viewers to Share your Event

 If your audience is enjoying your live event then they will be happy to share it with people that they know. A few of them will just do this instinctively, but it is always best to ask them to share your event during your presentation. This can really extend the reach of your Facebook Live marketing campaign. Make your audience part of your marketing team. You could provide an incentive for sharing your event such as a discount or free download for example. In the next chapter we will share the best practices that you need to follow to get the most out of Facebook Live for your business…

 Here are the 8 best practices that we strongly recommend that you follow to create the very best Facebook Live events to promote your business. You can really enhance your brand and drive a lot of leads and sales from Facebook Live events. We believe that if you follow these best practices you will have the maximum chance of success.

 1. Understand what Facebook Live is

 It is important that you understand what the Facebook Live platform is and how you can use it to give your brand a boost and increase leads and sales for your business. Facebook users are much more likely to view a live event than they are a prerecorded video or a standard post containing text and images. You can use Facebook Live on a computer or mobile device.

 2. Benefits of Facebook Live 

You need to be aware of the benefits of using Facebook Live in your marketing strategy. Facebook is the largest social media platform by a long way and has billions of users. When you use Facebook Live the right way you can establish a very good connection with your audience. There are some great analytics as well.

 3. Get Started the right way with Facebook

Live It is essential that you take your Facebook Live events seriously. This starts by making an investment in the right webcam and microphone to produce high quality events. Make sure that your WiFi signal is strong before you record. You need to plan your Facebook Live events and it is better to schedule them in advance so you have time to promote them. 

4. Use Proven ways to create a Great Facebook Live

Event There are things that you need to do before, during and after your Facebook Live event to get the best results. Prior to recording your live event you need to ensure that you use the right lighting. Create a few practice recordings so that you can check everything. During your event be as human as possible and smile often. Learn to smile when you are speaking so that you come across well. Be sure to ask your audience to interact with you and always learn from any mistakes. Always use strong calls to action in your events. After your event you need to promote your recording. Add captions to it so that more people will view it. Consider boosting your recording post to extend your reach. Create a custom thumbnail for your recording that entices users to view it.

 5. Keep up to date with New Features 

Facebook is continuously updating their Facebook Live platform to make it better for their users. They are always adding new features and it is important that you are aware of these. In 2020 they added a useful trimming feature, extended the recording duration and introduced the Watch Party feature.

 6. Use Good Content Ideas If your Facebook 

Live event contains good content then you will get more viewers and higher levels of engagement. You can create “how to” events, product launches, interview experts, demonstrate your products and services and run question and answer sessions. 

7. Create Engaging Facebook Live Events 

Engaging Facebook Live events are the most successful. Find out what your audience wants and create events around this. Make sure that your environment is right for your event and schedule it at the best times. Update your audience regularly during your event and persuade them to interact with you. Review your events afterwards to see what you can do better.

 8. Drive Leads and Sales with Facebook

Live Use tactics to drive more leads and sales during your Facebook Live events. Tell your audience about any promotions and discount offers. Set up a sales funnel and then use prompts during your event to drive viewers to it. Always include a strong call to action in your events. Ask your audience to share your event. If you have read this guide from start to finish you will have a good understanding of how you can use Facebook Live for the benefit of your business

. It is important that you do not just jump onto the platform without knowing what you are doing. Now it is over to you. While reading this guide will make you a bit smarter, only by taking action will you be able to leverage the Facebook Live platform to enhance your brand and drive more leads and sales. We hope that you found this guide to be informative and useful. Get started today with your Facebook Live marketing. We wish you every success promoting your business on the world’s largest social platform