Facebook Live Tips

Live shows have always excited us. May it be the Saturday night Live or the Late Night with Seth Meyers, people love watching shows in real-time. Other than Television it wasn’t possible to go live until recently, thanks to Facebook. In 2016, Facebook launched its Live feature, and the world went crazy. Celebrity influencers and marketers alike, all knew Facebook Live videos had incredible potential. However, not everyone knew how to use it for the better.

Even though Facebook Live video launched in 2016, it is still going strong in 2021. In a way, the pandemic has pushed people into using more virtual meetings. From live concerts to seminars, Facebook live streaming has become 4 times more than the last year, and that’s saying something.

Why use Facebook live?

Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world. It has over 2 billion users. Facebook isn’t so popular among teens, but every second person you know who is an adult must have a Facebook account. That is how it is. With such a huge audience, do you really wanna miss out on it? Here are the reasons why you should start using Facebook live right now, for your audience.

More engagement

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Facebook Live videos, attract more audience than videos that are not live. The engagement is 3X higher than normal videos/ posts. The audience loves a Facebook live broadcast. It is the curiosity of human beings that drives us to watch videos in real-time. According to Adweek, Facebook live broadcasts receive 5 times more engagement than a normal image post. So, if you want to reach more people and drive engagement, then use Facebook live.

Build audience connection

We know the face behind Apple, we know the face behind Tesla. It is a proven fact that when you show yourself to the audience, you can connect more. Most of the brands are hidden behind a strict professional exterior. Being professional isn’t bad, but you also need to humanize your brand. By using Facebook Live video, you are interacting with your customers. You are building a relationship with customers. It shows that you and your brand are not robots. You get a chance to connect to your existent customer base, as well as the potential clients. Going live on Facebook lets you build trust and leads to improved customer loyalty.

Share industry related information

On Facebook and Instagram, you can see many influencers and celebrities who go live. They do so to interact with people, share sponsored ads, and share information. The best way to build a loyal customer base is to stop pushing your brand on people’s faces. Rather, try to be the first source of information when it comes to your industry. Use Facebook live to keep your followers informed on industry news. Share authentic information without being overly sales-based, to gain the trust of your customers.

Answer queries in one go

Another reason to go live on Facebook is to cater to your audiences’ questions. You may have the best Customer support in the world, but still Facebook live can help you. The best thing about Facebook Live is it lets you answer questions in real-time. It means the viewers do not have to wait to get the answer, or for you to”Get back” to them. This is an opportunity to engage with viewers when they’re most interested. Offeo went live on Facebook with Instagram’s Global Creative Product Lead. The live stream was incredibly successful, and by the end of it, a lot of viewers got the answers to their questions.

Showcase your company culture

Do you think people live to see the same old type of videos? Absolutely not. The more quirky and different but is, the more the video will blow up. Facebook live is a great way to show off what happens in your company. Don’t just go live with the company head and a chosen few staring at the screen, but you can also stroll around the office show the people watching how your company works. Wistia does an amazing job of creating live company culture videos.

Host events

Facebook live has another mind-blowing advantage. You can host events online for people who can’t physically attend the event. This trend is catching on with many brands. There are real-life events, but hosting these events live on Facebook means giving the audience some advantages. Facebook users and customers who weren’t able to attend the event in person could still get value out of events. It may be a product launch, a seminar, or a Q&A, live streaming can bring the event to the user.

Many brands may think that Facebook is too saturated, but Facebook Live is a sweet spot that you can exploit to increase your reach, build brand loyalty and establish lasting customer relationships.

How to go live on Facebook?

We know there are too many reasons to use Facebook live videos. But the big question is how to go live? Anyone who spends a lot of time on the internet and social media would know how to go live. There are easy ways in which you can go live, on your smartphone or your desktop

Facebook Live video on Mobile

Anyone worth their salt who operates social media knows how to go live, but if you are one of the quiet ones who has never used Facebook live, these are the simple steps you need to follow to get started.

• Login to your Facebook account on the app
• The News Feed will appear. After that tap on the left side of the search bar on the Camera 📷 sign. If you haven’t ever opened it before Facebook will ask for permission to access mobile device’s camera and microphone in order to go live.

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• Another way to go live is to tap on the “Status bar”, that says ,” What’s on your mind? , then select the “Go Live” option from the menu
• When Facebook asks for the permission give it access to your camera and microphone when prompted. This access allows you to change the positions of your camera when on live.
• Once you give the app permission,you will see something like this

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• Switch to “Live” option on the left side of the bottom of your camera screen.
• Tap on the “Live” option in the screen and do not worry you won’t go live as soon as you click the option. There are other things you need to settle before you go live.
• Privacy and posting settings : In the picture below you can see the Facebook live screen. On the top left corner you can see the

•  “Only me” and “Post, Story” settings. The live video is set to Only me privacy, meaning when you stream nobody sees it except you. You can change the settings by clicking on the drop down arrow beside it. For posting setting also you can do the same, you can stream the video and still post it as a normal feed video and story. Anyone who wants to try out the Live feature first before going live,can use the “Only me” option. That way you can do a live trial and nobody will see you. You can also access live setting by clicking on the bubble with three dots on the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

You can manage the privacy as you see fit from the Live settings

• Description: Description is like a Heading + gist of what your video is about. It is like the Inshorts version of your Facebook live video. It informs the viewers what to expect from the broadcasting. A description appears at the top of the live video when Facebook users view it. It is very much like a Facebook photo caption that appears above the post.

• Tags and Locations : On the right side of the screen you can see “Tag friends” option and “Location” option. You can tag more people in the video or relevant users, to increase your discoverability. You can also add a location, of where you are going live from.

• Camera options : If this is your first video and you don’t know then, you can change the camera orientations. Choose whether you want front-facing camera lens, or your rear-facing camera. It is just like when you click a picture. Choose the camera orientation that suits you and move ahead.
• Filters and other things : Facebook doesn’t leave you to your own devices. The magic wand at the left side of the screen offers many options to add fun to your Facebook live videos. On the left of the blue “Start Live Video” there is a magic wand. Tap on it and you will get to choose if you want to add lenses to your face, change the filter of the camera, or write or draw to make the video more fun and entertaining.

These 5 features need to be settled before you go live on your Facebook page.

– Privacy and Posting Settings

– Description

– Tags and location

– Camera orientation

– Filters and lenses

Once you have completed adjusting the settings, and you feel sure you are ready

• Click the blue “Start Live Video” button to start live streaming on your mobile device. You can be live for upto 4 hours from mobile device. But on desktop you can live stream for upto eight hours
• After you are done with the streaming click on “Finish” at the end.

You can save the video to your camera roll, and you also have the option to share it as a post-it story. While being live you may get many viewers, but posting it on the Facebook news feed will also be helpful for people who weren’t able to attend the live.

Facebook Live on Desktop

Going live from your Facebook profile on a mobile device is spontaneous. You can do so with it without little to no planning. But if you want to arrange a professional event through Facebook, then using a desktop is better. Recently we organized a Live event with The Global Creative Lead for Instagram, and we used desktop. It is a better choice for static filming. Moreover, you can go live on Facebook for up to eight hours on a desktop. Here is how you can do it.

• If you are an admin of your brand page or have your own Facebook profile, all you have to do is open it.
• Then tap on the “Write something” option , or hover above it

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• Click on “See all” and you will a lot of more options coming up.
• Select “Start a live video”

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• Description : Once you click on Start a live video, you will be guided to another section – “Create a post”. You will have to describe the nature of your video in the space below. Your description should be brief, compelling and catchy enough to draw live viewers in.

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• Click on “Next”. Now Facebook will ask the permission of your desktop computer to access the camera for live streams. It only ads for permission once, before you start broadcasting.
• Click on “Allow” to give Facebook access to use your camera and microphone.
• Make sure your video view/ preview and description are on point before going live
• Note : If you are using an external device to broadcast live you can connect it.

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• On the bottom right side of the screen you will see a blue “Click here”. Click on that link to connect or broadcast through an external device.

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• After that, when you are all set up, Facebook will show you a countdown timer, as shown above.
• Once you are broadcasting live what you do is up to you. When you are done with the live stream ,click on “Finish” and you are done. You can share it on news feed like traditional videos.

NOTE – You can also use streaming software to go live on Facebook. This software is called “an encoder” or “encoding software,”, that allows you to go live right from the software because it is integrated with Facebook. Most of them are free and open-source. It is better to do your research and choose a streaming software that suits your use. BeLive, Bluejeans and Vmix are some of the software you can use.

How to track performance of your Facebook live video?

When you start your journey to get fitter, you make a point to track your progress, or what’s the use of exercising, right,? Similarly, if you are posting videos, you must track their performance. Many Surveys imply that Facebook live videos work way better than traditional videos. But how do you know your compelling description, and excellent talking point, and incredible presentation are working? You can try out the Video Analytics on your Facebook business page.

How to get there?

Open Facebook business page, on the left-hand side of the “home page” you will see a series of options – home, about, videos, events, photos, etc.

• Click on the “Insights” button on top of the screen,

• And then tap on “Videos”

• You will be directed to the Video Analytics page. Scroll  down to the “Top Videos” section
• You can choose a video from the top videos that are displayed or select any video from the video library as shown in the image

After choosing the video, you will get the information on it, in Facebook metrics. The metrics for pre-recorded videos on Facebook are similar to that of Facebook live, with a few details changed We have mentioned a few tips to help you out –

• For pre-recorded videos Facebook shows metrics like minutes viewed, unique viewers, video views, 10-second views, average % completion, and a breakdown of reactions, comments, and shares.
• You can analyze the details and determine whether your strategy worked.
• For live videos, Facebook analytics has the above mentioned metrics like minutes viewed, comments shares etc. But on top of that it also lets you analyze plus peak live viewers, total views, average watch time, people reached, and the demographic. These numbers show you how well your video performed.
• Other than the number of views,new viewers and demographic,you can also learn how the video worked over time. Analytics not only shows you numbers, but also graphs of how the video progresses through time.

Facebook live should be part of any business page’s ad campaign. It may not directly promote your brand but live content has power, unlike traditional videos. These videos grab the audience’s attention, forge a bond with them, and help you to interact with prospective customers. If going live is not a part of your Facebook marketing strategy yet, start incorporating it into your plans now.

Facebook live tips

Use natural light and an impressive background

This may be the most basic live tips you may get anywhere but it is nonetheless useful. Many businesses plan their content to the T before going live. But in all the preparation try to forget about how to present the video. Facebook live is also a video content you produce so it should be of optimal quality. Do not get around doing live broadcasts with shaky screens and ugly backgrounds. Your Facebook friends do not want to see that.

• Face the window, let the sun light in (but not too bright).
• Do not face the same direction as the light, it results in shadows. And your screen may look like this

• Wear lenses instead of glasses when going live, because glasses can have an additional glare, that’s disconcerting to the viewers.
• Add an impressive background for your video if you are going to stay still( but it is not highly recommended).
• Move around and keep changing backgrounds if you can. The whole point of being live is to be spontaneous so move around but prevent shaky camera.

Repeat the introductions and recap

Live streaming on social media is tricky, you do not have a static number of participants in the video. More people are joining you throughout. So make a point of re-introducing yourself to the viewers again and again.

• Start with an introduction, answer these questions -” who are you?”, “Why are you going live”. Introduction and intention must be made clear since the beginning.
• As the video progresses you can reintroduce yourself to the viewers and recap the details, that have been given until that moment.
• Even if you are 20 minutes into the video, keep introducing yourself. New viewers will keep coming and they should be caught up with the video or they may just leave.

Engaging video and interactive communication

The reason why live broadcast is different from normal videos is that it is in real-time. It gives viewers the chance to connect with you and the brand. How do make more engaging videos and interact with people?

• Do not sit still as mentioned before,unless absolutely necessary. Keep moving around from time to time. It makes the video visually attractive.
• Videos with higher engagement show at the top of people’s news feeds.
• Facebook monitored the signs of more engagement like turning on the audio, switching to full-screen mode, or enabling high definition.
• After creating visually appealing videos for audience,next step is to interact with them.
• Answer the questions and comments that pop up in the screen from viewers. Interact as much as you can. Call your commenters by name, it gives a personal feel. They are gonna love it.

• Get personal if you can. People love to see the human side of your business. Behind the scenes interest s everyone. So get chatty with people. Share stories, and be real.
• Embrace the platform. Connect with audience as much as you want. Live in the moment. But do not forget the end goal of the video.

Do not be afraid to be spontaneous in the videos, the real spontaneous action is what makes live videos different from scripted, edited, or otherwise pre-recorded videos.

Finish the video with a bang

Signing off with pizzazz makes a lasting impression on the viewers. While the broadcast time can be anywhere between 10 minutes to 8 hours, it is always nice to have longer videos. How do you finish off with style?

• At the end of the live video, you can recap the important points, repeat the intention of the video. Then you can thank the amazing audience, all the while keep smiling.
• The sign off should also be actionable. You can ask the viewers to like your page, or turn on live notifications for live videos. They can also share it.
• You can also ask them to follow on to your website if they want a particular product or service you talked about in the video.
• Another nice top to follow during ending the live broadcast is to keep a suspense, and disclose it at the end. It creates an excitement in the users and disclosing a surprise will keep them coming. The surprise can be gift card, discount code or goodies. It’s a great way to sign off from live events.
• Cross promote the videos on other social media platforms. Share the video on YouTube or as a blog post. Make sure it reaches maximum number of views.

The ultimate goal of business pages when they do a live post is to increase reach and draw more viewers in. Facebook live video has so much potential if a brand knows how to use it right. These Facebook live tips are meant to help you get started. Once you begin going live regularly, it will become a habit.

Conclusion

The good news about Facebook live is it is easy to use. Anyone who wants to go live can go live. As we sign off this is the last tip we give, if you are too shy to go live on the first try, try going live with the “Only me” privacy setting. You can test the waters and get a hang of it.

Facebook is a great platform to kick off your business. Live videos do the trick, but if you want an extra boost, Facebook ads can also be a game-changer. Here is how you can Make Facebook ads with Offeo That are better than Canvas. Scale up your brand by winning the audience with thumb-stopping content. Try Offeo now!

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