online marketing

 Once you have committed to using Facebook Live as a great marketing tool for your business and brand it is very important that you use it in the most effective way to maximize your chances of generating leads and making sales. People that watch your Facebook Live events are going to judge you on how well you come across and the quality of the video. So we have some tips for you to follow here to provide the best Facebook Live event that you can. These tips are easy to follow and implement so please use them all.

1. Natural Lighting

If your face is not clear on your Facebook Live video then you will drive people away. There have been a lot of Facebook Live videos published where the lighting was clearly wrong and the host was out of focus or the light was just too bright. One of the biggest mistakes that people make with their Facebook Live recordings is that they position themselves with their back to a window. When you do this the sunlight coming in from the window will dominate the video image which you want to avoid at all costs. So the first tip here is to face the window if you are recording during the daytime as the natural light will really enhance the video image. You as the host will be clear on the video which is what you want. If you are a glasses wearer then consider taking these off as they can cause a distracting glare.

2. Create as many Practice Recordings

as you need This is especially important if you have never hosted a live streaming event before. When you create practice videos you can go over them afterwards and see what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. You can check the quality of the video for lighting. If there are shadows or too much brightness or darkness you can change your environment to improve these aspects. Also check that the audio is crisp and clear. Are you too loud or too quiet? It can be quite daunting to watch yourself presenting for the first time but after a while you will get over this. Check to see if your video flows nicely and that you come across as friendly. With practice videos you can iron out the bumps before you go live.

3. Record Horizontally with Mobile

If you are going to use a mobile device to record your Facebook Live event then we strongly recommend that you record horizontally. Those vertically recorded videos just don’t look good and you need to remember that your viewers will have to put up with this for however long your event lasts. Horizontally recorded videos look much better in a Facebook feed. The other thing that you can do with your mobile device is to add a nice filter and use other tools to enhance the video quality. If you have the option of using a desktop or laptop with a high quality web cam and microphone instead of a mobile device we will always recommend that you do this.

4. Be Human Don’t miss

out on the opportunity to form a great human connection with your Facebook Live events. Tell your audience some interesting things about your life and try to keep the event on a personal level as much as you can. Make sure that any personal details you reveal are positive. Nobody is going to want to listen to you complaining about how bad your life is (unless you are doing this for comedic effect). Your audience have enough problems of their own to deal with let alone listening to yours.

5. Smiling is a Must If

you have a miserable or too serious face on when you make your Facebook Live recordings then you will drive people away faster than you can believe. You need to smile as much as possible when you are on camera as this will make your audience feel happy about watching you. Learn to speak with a smile too. If your speech is unfriendly or monotone then people will become bored very quickly and probably leave. You want to energize your viewers with your personality and inspire them. If it is relevant, tell your audience how you overcame specific obstacles and give them the confidence that they can do it too.

6. Ask for Interaction

Always bear in mind that Facebook loves posts that have a lot of views, comments, likes and shares and will prioritize these in news feeds. Facebook has tweaked their algorithm to recognize content that is popular and help you to make it even more popular for free. So ask your viewers to interact with you. Ask your viewers to ask questions in the comments section and also ask them to like and share your event. You can drive more interaction by having a competition or a giveaway where your audience needs to make comments to win. As you are making your presentation, ask your audience questions. This helps you to check that they are understanding your message and also gives your interactivity a good boost. Make it as simple as possible for viewers to respond. Don’t ask questions that require a long answer.

7. Put your Mistakes to good use

You are going to make mistakes recording a live event. As you become more experienced you will probably make fewer mistakes but they are going to happen. If you get a bit tongue tied then don’t fall to pieces! Laugh at this with your audience and move on. People watching a live event are not expecting perfection. In fact some of them look forward to the mistakes because they provide a fun break. So you need to learn to embrace your Facebook Live mistakes and keep going with your presentation no matter what has happened. When you make a mistake it underlines the fact that you are human just like your viewers. Nobody is going to hate you for making mistakes. Mistakes can add personality to your event so accept them and keep going.

8. Get help with Questions If you are expecting high viewing numbers with your event then you should line up some help with the questions you will receive. It can be very tough trying to make your presentation and having to read and answer questions as you are doing this. So we recommend that you have another person read the comments and reply to them. Obviously this person needs to know what they are talking about so that they can answer any questions correctly. When your audience asks a question, be sure to call them out by their first name. This will help you to created an even stronger connection with your audience. The people that ask the questions will feel good that you called them out and it will encourage others to ask questions too.

9. Have a Call to Action at

the end It is essential that you ask your Facebook Live viewers to do something at the end of your event. So think about what you want your viewers to do once your event is over. Do you want them to join your email list or check out an offer that you have at the moment? Whatever you want them to do be sure and tell them. If you don’t tell them what to do then the likelihood is that they will do nothing. You can add a link under your video so tell them to click on this and take the necessary action. Always thank your viewers for watching your live event at the end.

10. Add a Custom Thumbnail

When you add a compelling thumbnail to your Facebook Live event you should persuade more people to attend. Once your event goes live your thumbnail is the most prominent thing that people will see. After your live event your recorded video will appear on your Facebook page. You can then edit this post and this is the time to add your compelling thumbnail. Facebook will choose an image from your event if you don’t do this which will probably not be as compelling as you would want it to be.

11. Add Captions to your Event

Video If you add captions to your event video then you should attract a lot more viewers. Sometimes people will see your video in their newsfeed but it will not be convenient for them to watch as it is late at night or they are outside in a noisy environment. A lot of people tend to watch Facebook videos without sound these days so providing captions is a must. You can create your own SRT file for your captions or you can have Facebook generate them automatically. Always check that your captions match what is being said in your event video.

12. Pin your Video

Post By pinning your event video post you can make it appear at the top of your Facebook page. This is a good way to get more eyeballs on your video and people to watch the recording. Visitors to your page are always going to see what is on top so take advantage of this.

13. Consider Boosting your Event

Video If you are happy with the way that things turned out with your Facebook Live event you can pay for a post boost once the recording is on your Facebook page. You will be able to specify your audience using a number of different factors such as age range, gender, location, interests and more. Get an embed link for your recorded event video and use this on your website or blog and other social media accounts to drive more traffic to it. Never believe that after you have recorded your live event that your work is done. It has only just started.

14. Use Facebook

Analytics A few days after your event you need to check out the insights on Facebook for your event video to see how well it did or didn’t do. You will see all of the usual video metrics such as number of unique views, comments, likes shares, average time watched and so on. As this was a Facebook Live video there will be additional metrics as well such as the peak number of views, average view time, the reach of the video and demographic information.

Use all of this information to make improvements in your next Facebook Live event. In the next chapter we will discuss the new Facebook Live features for 2020… Facebook are always looking for ways to improve their features to help businesses and in 2020 there were a number of new features added to Facebook Live. Here are the exciting features that they have added: The Trimming Feature With the trimming feature you will be able to edit the start and the end of your live event recorded video. Quite often the start of live events have empty sections that you don’t want to appear in the recorded video. Users of Facebook Live requested that they could add a “standby page” and this has now appeared.

The start of your event video is critical. If there is nothing going on then some viewers are likely to leave. It will irritate those that remain and they could start to lose interest in your event. So use the new trim feature so that you can make the start of your event videos better and to cut away any worthless footage at the end. Duration now Extended This is a new feature that may not be of any consequence to you at all but we wanted to make you aware of it. The maximum duration time for a Facebook Live event has been extended from four hours to eight hours. Facebook made this change in response to some broadcasters that needed it such as those that use Facebook Live for sporting events, news events and so on. It is extremely unlikely that you will want to create an event anywhere near 8 hours long for your business and brand. In fact we strongly recommend that you do not make your events too long.

Watch Parties This is definitely a new feature that you should take note of. People usually like to watch a video together with family and friends and now you can use this feature for your Facebook Live events. Studies by Facebook have shown that when people watch a video with family and friends they are likely to leave a comment by up to 8 times more than they would if they were watching a Facebook video alone. You can now schedule a watch party from your Facebook page prior to your Facebook Live event starting.

An announcement post is generated when you use this feature and your audience can opt-in to receive a notification about when your party (your event) starts. Facebook has also added some useful new metrics for watch parties. You can now see the minutes viewed and there is also a unique 60s views metric. This reveals the number of unique viewers that have watched a minimum of 60 seconds of the watch party.

So take advantage of the new watch party feature for your Facebook Live events. In the next chapter we will discuss content ideas for your Facebook Live events… Now that you know Facebook Live can be a great tool for promoting your business and your brand how will you use it? Coming up with new content ideas for Facebook Live isn’t always easy so in this chapter we have some great ideas for you so that you can create some awesome live events and market your business.

1. The How To Event T

here are always many searches online for “how to” type videos. People like to watch a video to learn how to do something and you can give your audience what it wants by creating Facebook Live events around known problems and provide the answers that they need. When you create a live event video that really helps your audience they will certainly appreciate it. Not only are you likely to receive a lot of positive comments and likes, but a lot of the viewers will share your event video with their followers. People will often watch a good how to video more than once. They may not have got all of the information that they needed from the first viewing and need to go back and watch it again. So think about the how to videos that you can create using Facebook Live to keep your audience happy and make them share with others.

2. New Product Launches

A lot of businesses successfully use Facebook Live to announce the launch of a new product or service. You can get the news out about your new launch very quickly with live video. Create a live event to let your audience know that your new product or service is coming soon. Be sure to build up anticipation and excitement during the event. As soon as your product or service is ready create a Facebook Live event around it. Invite all of the people that attended your first event so that you will maximize your chances of making sales. Make sure that you answer any questions that viewers have in both events.

3. Expert Interviews

If there are experts in your niche that will be willing to participate in an interview with you then you can make this a Facebook Live event. This kind of event is usually advantageous to you as well as the expert. Ask the expert to notify all of his followers (including their email list and on other social accounts) when the vent is taking place and what will be discussed. Your expert will know people that you don’t and vice versa. When you are just starting out you will benefit more, but over time this will even itself out.

4. Product or Service

Demonstrations This will work well for a lot of niches. Let’s say that you sell a software product, you can use Facebook Live to demonstrate the different features of your product. Maybe you have added new features and want to get the word out about these fast. Facebook Live is the ideal way to do this. Demonstrating the features of a product or service is going to help you to sell more of it. People do not always pay attention to product features and when you enlighten them with a Facebook Live event you have a higher chance of converting them. 5. Ask Me Anything or Q&A This is a great idea for Facebook Live content once you have established your brand.

People really like these kinds of live events and they will usually have high levels of interaction. A live questions and answers session always goes down well. You can structure these events around specific problems that your audience has. For example they might want to know how they can generate more traffic to their website. So create a live event that will answer questions from your audience around this. By carefully choosing your subjects you can keep your audience focused and get higher levels of engagement. In the next chapter we will discuss how you can create the most engaging Facebook Live events