How to Use Facebook Live to Get Personal While Going Public

It’s been just about a year since Facebook Live was born. Since its beginning, businesses all over the world have been cashing in on this fun new feature, which allows them to broadcast video in real-time and connect with their audience, directly from a smartphone, tablet, or a computer app—with just a few simple taps or clicks.

When your own small to medium-sized business joins the growing ranks of Facebook Live corporate users, like Chevrolet, Disney, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Target, your streaming video will show up live as your friends, clients or followers scroll, and the recording will save automatically to your news feed, to be viewed or shared later. Even Santa used Facebook Live last Christmas, so viewers could track his holiday journey, according to newswhip.com.

As an infinite number of words and images are vying for everyone’s online attention, Facebook Live video is winning with increased reach, visibility, and interaction in a fresh and exciting way.

Here are 6 ways to create, share and discover with Facebook Live using its proven and newest features:

NEW for 2017…it’s easier to hang out with clients and friends

ABC News reported on May 23, 2017, that, “Facebook today unveiled ‘Live Chat with Friends’ and ‘Live With.’ Both features will add a bit of a one-on-one feel to the Facebook Live experience… Facebook has said it aims to make its user experience more interactive and recently launched augmented reality effects for its camera and Facebook Live features.”

Until now, broadcasting from a Page required a Page admin to take the driver’s seat. Many publishers and businesses used the Facebook Live API to have multiple feeds of cameras and b-roll, but now, Social Media Week says that, “Facebook is introducing a “Live Contributor for Pages” feature which allows Page admins to hand over the keys to specific individuals.”

Address blog comments and answer questions

Another way to use Facebook Live video for your business is to discuss a topic that your audience is interested in. For example, maybe you’ve written a blog post on a subject that you know your readers will have questions about. Sure, you can answer readers’ comments on your blog, but it’s much quicker (and more efficient) to schedule a Facebook Live video session where you can answer many of their questions at once. And it’s a whole lot more fun and involving, because it encourages your fans to tune in for the live video session rather than wait for a replay. Answering questions this way position you as a confident, knowledgeable, go-to resource. (Another tip: you can even turn proven, popular blog posts into live videos.)

Provide a peek behind the scenes

People love when you pull back the curtain and provide a peek behind the scenes of your business. Give them a glimpse into the daily operations and processes you follow, show them what it really takes to run your company, let them see your office, or take them along while you’re on the go.

The purpose for taking them behind the scenes is to create a casual sense of intimacy so that they have the opportunity to begin to know, like, and trust you more.

Promote your upcoming event or livestream an event

Facebook Live is a great way to announce an upcoming event. Once you’ve planned the event, create a post to let fans know you have a special announcement to make. Then, share specific details about your event on your Live video. When announcing an event on Live video, be sure to have an easy-to-remember URL that you can share with your viewers. Post this link in the video comments as well, in case viewers don’t have a chance to write it down. You can use a tool like Bitly to create a URL that you can track. You can also use Facebook Live video to stream a live event and make viewers part of the experience.

Conduct interviews

Interview people that your audience will want to learn more about or learn from, such as influencers in your field, professionals with expertise that works alongside yours, or even interview your clients. A good interview always reveals just as much about the interviewer as the interviewee, so use Facebook Live interviews to dive into some worthwhile topics, associate yourself with interesting people, show off your personality, and present yourself as relatable.

Introduce new products or services

Another way to use Facebook Live video is to give your fans a sneak peek of your products or services…maybe even before they’re announced on your website.

Want to tap into the growing audience for Facebook Live video…and increase your market reach? Simply give a shout out to the live streaming pros at Solamar.