Facebook Live Video for Business—Social Media on Steroids

Why You Need to Consider Facebook Live Video

Facebook Live video is beyond filming cats, puppies, and babies. It’s for business social media marketing success. It’s your opportunity to build connections with your target audience by personalizing your brand to viewers. These live broadcasts have the power to humanize your company, products, and services.

Facebook Live is not just uploading a slick commercial you’ve produced or importing an existing video from YouTube. When you turn on your camera, your audience can be part of the show—They can make comments while your respond to them in real-time. Viewers feel like they are part of an exclusive club, because they are the only ones who get to interact with you.

Think of yourself as a celebrity in your field. Everyone wants to have a one-on-one with a celebrity, and filming live broadcasts gives fans this special opportunity. Capitalize on this social media marketing strategy.

Focus on subjects that interest your customer base. Experiment with different topics to discover what resonates with them. Peak their curiosity with subjects that surprise and delight. Yes, even in technical fields, this is possible by showing enthusiasm for your brand.

As soon as you begin filming, you’ll see everyone who is joining your session. Welcome your audience by their name and location. You are having a private conversation with your viewers, so there’s no need to create a script. Answer questions and respond to comments during the session, at your convenience. You can always go back and edit your video after the broadcast.

Here’s how to make your live broadcast go viral:

1. Choose a “public audience” and a title. Keep in mind that your video stream title is used for Facebook notifications.

2. Send your followers a reminder to subscribe and tune in to your live broadcast. The more viewers who join your live video stream, the higher your video appears in the news feed, and the more friends and business page fans will see the listing and join in.

3. After the broadcast, perform any necessary editing and post the video onto your business page. Post the videos as your page, not as you, so that the video appears in the news feeds of your business page followers.

4. As in all social media marketing, consistency is the key to success. Regular broadcasting has the power to transform you into an online expert for your industry.

Stuck for ideas for topics? Try these:

• Product demos—Take your viewer behind-the-scenes of your factory, or show how a product is produced, from the initial concept to the final result. Demo how to assemble your product from the box and how to set it up for first time use. Show viewers how to measure size and place orders for products, too.

Reveal different applications for your products, and make sure to include how one product can work in conjunction with others in your product line. Exude excitement, and your excitement will be infectious to your viewers.

• Service demos—Invite your viewers to see how your customer service reps and your technical consultants manage support calls. Show them in the field—Take your camera where your reps go. Film video vignettes, featuring a “Day in the Life” of each service provider, giving your demos a human touch.

• Tour of the facility—Provide a virtual tour of your showroom floor, your warehouse, your think tank, your loading dock, and even the delivery truck. Open the door and welcome your audience to your company. Show them how it ticks.

• Teach and train—Pick an interesting topic about your product, service, or business industry, and then teach one thing about it. Field questions, and then set up another training session. Regularly occurring sessions that are broadcast at the same time daily or weekly will steadily build your audience size and your online reputation.

• Breaking news—Turn on your camera to report new information. Sample topics may include new government regulations or product recalls. Reporting industry news in a timely fashion, along with your thoughts and advice, pegs you as an expert and strengthens your brand.

News is also about what your company is doing. Film up-to-the-minute information about your new product launches and employee awards.

• Live events—Share everything from your preparation for attending an event, to what you’ll be doing there, to how customers can find you there (particularly when you are convention exhibitor or speaker).

Be your viewers’ eyes and ears at the event—Walk around and film the action. Demonstrate why you are at the event and what you are doing there. Show off your displays and demos, and interview presenters and visitors.

Keep your viewers involved—Ask them what they’d like to see at the event and answer questions as they flow in.

• Interviews—Interview the movers and shakers in your industry. What advice can they give to your viewers? Also turn to your employees and ask them how they personally use your company’s products and services. Then turn to your viewers and invite them to ask questions of the interviewee, too. You get to field questions and use only the most interesting ones.

Ask your customers how they put your products and services to use and turn their responses into testimonials. Remember—You can always edit after the live stream.

• Q&A sessions—Here, the audience takes a turn at asking you questions. Choose the topic and answer questions that are can provide value to your viewers. Mention the names of questioners, thanking them for their participation. Don’t bother responding to silly, off-topic, or abusive questions, but definitely answer questions that may be of a delicate nature or feel uncomfortable. Answer the tough questions to impress upon viewers that your company is honest and transparent.

Plan the session topic ahead of time, encouraging subscribers to prepare their questions before the broadcast. After the broadcast, post some of the best Q&As on your blog, using your blog as means to spread the word about your live video stream.

Facebook Live video marketing, like all online social media marketing, requires consistency and a steady flow of new ideas that make your company stand out above your competition. It takes an understanding of hashtags and much more. Here at Moore than SEO, we’ll create an entire social media management strategy as a plan for action. Read up on Facebook marketing for business, and then contact us for a complimentary consultation at (559) 765-6651.