What Can Facebook Live Do For Your Brand?

As we all know by now, video is the most popular and engaging form of content to the 2.2 billion Facebook users. In 2017, video content was considered the top priority for marketers and it’s safe to say this trend forecasts no signs for change in 2018. That’s why any smart marketer knows that Facebook Live is an essential streaming platform for brands looking to engage with an online audience and bring new users to their brand.    

What is Facebook Live?

Facebook Live is a simple-use feature available on smartphone or browser, to broadcast live to followers and friends. No matter the size of your business, Facebook Live is a key feature for brands looking to utilize a cost-efficient video strategy. This is an opportunity to share with your audience what you’re doing, while you’re doing it!

Why Should Your Brand Use Facebook Live?

There are countless brand-boosting benefits to using Facebook Live. Not only is it more authentic, but it creates a deeper connection with your brand and its followers. With Live, you can easily produce fresh content in an instant, so you never bore your audience. This simple feature is an opportunity for direct feedback from the audience you work so hard analyzing and defining through alternative measures.

Related: Facebook Video: Best Practices in the Age of Mobile

That’s why we believe the most beneficial factor for a brand utilizing Facebook Live is the ability to hold a genuine conversation with your viewers. Facebook provides you real-time engagement metrics throughout the live stream, so you can track your viewers, likes, reactions, shares and comments. What’s awesome about Live is the ability to create an authentic dialogue with your viewers through Q&A, contests, live polls, and other viewer-driven content where the audience decides the outcome. By answering questions in real time throughout the video, you keep your viewers engaged and more likely to stick around.

Why else should you use Live? Because everyone enjoys a little element of surprise. So, what better way to keep your followers engaged than with an unedited approach to content that gives your business an authentic feel. Going live is an opportunity to generate excitement about your brand, giving a consistent and ritual experience to encourage users to come back for more. Facebook Live is a great branding element to transpire that feeling of really living in the moment.

When to Use Facebook Live?

The best time to go Live is when you’re seeking direct participation from your viewer. All you have to do is listen to your viewers and answer their questions. Why? This encourages viewer engagement by keeping them involved because no one likes to listen to a talking head for up to 4 hours! By reaching out to viewers with questions or thoughts you can indirectly portray a genuine sense of commitment to your viewers, which we believe definitely goes a long way in business.  

Going Live is great for on-the-spot content. This can be circumstances like company culture, outings or events, and other instances such as small wins for employees or the brand. Live stream during current events or in places that viewers might otherwise not be able to attend is an opportunity for engagement and transparency with your viewers. Giving them an insider look to a brand is always exciting.

Finally, a great branding element with live can be found through use of your brand’s influencers. They can demonstrate new product how-to’s, attend exciting élite events, and most importantly provide genuine approval of your brand through unedited content.

Insider Tips  

We learned from our friends over at Facebook that their algorithm ranks Live video’s higher than any other forms of content on the newsfeed. It is also proven that Live drives more traffic to your page than standard video content. So, if you think you’ve got something important to say, it might be best that you do it with Live. While it does take a bit more guts to post raw content, the payoff is definitely going to be worth it.

If you’re not feeling so confident about Live, here is a great structure for users looking to tap into video marketing on Facebook: How to Structure Your Facebook Videos and Other Helpful Tips

Finally, never let your content go stale on your Facebook page. You must continuously update your video to keep your audience engaged. A useful tool is to schedule your live streams. Having a schedule allows you to generate buzz about your next Live video in the one that you make today. Always let your audience know what to expect next. You have to be sure they know what’s coming next and when, so they aren’t left in the dark about all the great happenings with your brand.

Now that you’ve learned about this unedited cost-efficient content strategy and the positive impact it has on user engagement, we have provided a list of simple steps on the basis of Facebook Live below!

How to Use Facebook Live

Step 1: Open Facebook on your mobile phone or desktop.

Step 2: Locate the “status” box on your screen’s Facebook homepage. Find and tap the “Live Video” button.

Step 3: Check in to the location of where are you are streaming.

Step 4: Tag any friends you are with (it would be smart to tag your brand influencer featured in the live video at this step!)

Step 5: Choose the audience you would like to broadcast your video to. This is your privacy level.

Step 6: Add a short description of your plans for the Live video. Be sure to include the most important keywords in the first sentence!

Step 7: Go Live!

Step 8: Throughout the video, you can switch your phone camera between front and back camera. You can also add filters and write your own comments, on iOS you can even draw on the screen to highlight where you want your viewers’ attention to go.

*Be sure to check your responses in comments, likes, and audience size throughout your live stream to keep your viewers interested and engaged!