5 Winning Practices for Facebook LIVE!

It's always best to win over a viewer with flair but in this over saturated online presence using social media it's becoming harder and harder to stand out from the crowd. Smart social media content producers make it a habit to think forward and try new ideas. Here are 5 ways that have proven successful for my online presence and may give you the boost you're looking for: 

1. Don't go LIVE just to go LIVE! Have a purpose and don't overuse this feature. You don't want the shine to wear off after only a few days so be sure to select high traffic times and water-cooler type topics. An "everyday at 4pm" LIVE session gets redundant. 

2. Lead with a teaser or catchy headline when going live. There is a descriptor headline Facebook asks you to edit before using the LIVE feature...use it to your advantage. Promote an event you are appearing at, offer a Q&A session.

3. Don't always go solo. Make your LIVE session interactive with other people to keep viewers engaged and watching longer. Introduce a surprise guest or feature a new product!

4. Promote your LIVE session. Let your viewers know when you'll be going live and why they should join you. This gives more people a chance to find you and share with their friends that you'll be live.

5. Interact with your audience. Acknowledge their remarks and answer as many questions as possible. Don't be afraid to ask them questions! They can now give you a "thumbs up" to agree or use any other emoticon to respond and you'll easily see them float across the screen.

BONUS.... 1 more for good measure! I have found that choosing your preferred thumbnail isn't as easy as you might think. Make sure that when you begin your LIVE session you make it a "beauty" shot and that the background is relevant to your storytelling.