Focusing on FB LIVE? What you need to know.

Some tips from someone who has done a few.

I’ve been a fan of Facebook LIVE since it first came out. I’ve probably done hundreds of them since it launched in 2016. In fact, I’ve done enough FB LIVES that I’ve been recognized in my industry, real estate, as a leading expert. I’ve won awards from my LIVES. So I know a few things about doing them. And no it’s not as easy as just pushing the button and saying, ‘hi’. There is a science to it. There are do’s and don’ts for getting good engagement, and interest so people will watch your FB LIVE. And that is the goal, by the way, to have people watch them. Especially if you are wanting to build an audience and be recognized as an expert in your field.

So what’s the secret sauce? What are the do’s and don’ts? Well, like anything you can ask a dozen different people and get a dozen different responses. So I’m going to tell you what’s worked for me. What I’ve found annoys people. What people have told me they like. But ultimately, it’s going to come down to your audience and what they want to see from you.

The first thing you need to do when it comes to doing a FB LIVE is you’ve got to face your fear. I guarantee there are some of you reading this right now wanting advice on how to do it, but also looking for the excuse as to why you can’t do it. You’ll latch on to one piece of my advice and say, ‘Well that’s it, that’s why I can’t do one.” But it really isn’t. It’s your fear that’s holding you back. You’re afraid to confront yourself. Whether it’s your weight, your voice, your bad hairdo. You don’t want to face it. But that’s you! It’s the person other people see every day. So you need to own who you are and accept it. So what if you are little older and have a few more wrinkles and you don’t look as good as you did at 20. There’s a lot of people in that boat. Myself included. It doesn’t mean you don’t have a story to tell, advice to give, a LIVE to do! Own it, and move on!

Now you are ready. What’s the first thing you do? You hit the button and go! Ummm, NO! You need to be prepared. Have a topic in mind. Do some research on what you are going to talk about. Practice what you are going to say before you do it. One of my favorite things I do to prepare? An Instagram story. Yep, I’ll do an Instagram story on the same thing my LIVE is going to be on. I’m basically doing a dry run of what I want to say and showcase during my LIVE. And guess what, by doing Instagram stories beforehand you now have content for that platform. You’re killing to social media birds with one stone!

You should never go LIVE for LIVE sake. I have a simple rule. I call it the “E”ase of doing videos. You want to Educate, Entertain, Engage and do it all with Energy. In other words, give your audience something they want to tune into every time because they will come to expect it of you.

So what makes an entertaining video? Well showcasing something interesting is entertaining. Interviewing someone with a great story is another. Having fun, trying something new on camera, all entertaining. Think about it like this, what would you tune into to watch? If it sounds boring to you, and you wouldn’t watch it, then odds are no one else will either.

Engage. Engage. Engage. Your audience has come to see you! Say hi! Thank them for joining you. If you know them, give them a little shout out! People love to be acknowledged. And then go back after your FB LIVE and engage again. Respond to their comments. Send them a message. In other words, build your relationship with your audience. If you build it, they will come. And they will come back again next time too.

Energy. Now this one can be tricky. You may seem super silly at first, but you’ve got to have some energy in front of that camera. Be excited. Be over the top. And for goodness sake, please smile! If you are standing there scared to death, you are going to look just like that. So take a deep breath. Put a smile on your face. Listen to some pump up music beforehand and then go for it! People think I’m the perkiest person in the world, and I’m here to tell you, my husband would disagree with them. But when that camera goes on, I’m on! Energy makes a huge difference when it comes to doing a video.

So how long do you have to keep up this high energy, entertaining, and engaging video? Not long. People tend to think they need to go LIVE for a long period of time. Here’s the thing, if you don’t have a lot to say, get in, say hello, say what you need to say, engage with some comments and get out. Experts in the social media world are now saying 6 minutes or less for a FB LIVE is best. So don’t worry about going on for a half hour. I guarantee your subject is not that interesting and people will tune out. Short and sweet for the win.

But everybody is going to be watching! What if I mess up? Ok, first up. The whole world is not tuning in unless you’ve got something really good going on like an interview with a superstar. The first time you go LIVE you’ll be lucky if a few people tune in and count on one of those three being someone related to you. So set your nerves to the side regarding the world watching. Now, I’m going, to be honest, you probably are going to mess up. Whether it’s something you say, the camera doesn’t cooperate, you lose internet connection, something will go wrong. It’s not going to be perfect. You will find you could have done it better. But you see that’s the glory of going LIVE. It’s not supposed to be perfect. People will tune in to see something go wrong. You need to, also, realize, you are not perfect. Don’t overanalyze yourself. Otherwise, you will never post anything again. Have fun with the mistakes. Own them. It makes you real.

Things to keep in mind to make a good LIVE video. Lightning. If you start in the dark, you shall remain in the dark. So make sure your audience can see you. You can’t lighten it up later. So turn on the lights, open the blinds and go into the light.

Keep it steady. I’ve watched so many LIVES where the videos are shaky. So shaky in fact it looks like the host may be struggling with a withdraw of some kind. And it’s perfectly natural. Maybe you're nervous. Maybe you're trying to walk and talk at the same time. But this is such an easy fix. Get yourself something to stabilize the video. Whether it’s a cheap tripod, selfie stick, or friend to hold the camera for you. This will make a huge difference in your video quality!

Audio. We need to be able to hear you. Invest in microphone that plugs into your phone. You can get one for under $50.00. Make sure when you are doing your LIVE there’s no background noise, like a busy road, music, anything that might take over your audio. Because if your audience can’t hear, they are likely not to watch. I mean, would you?

Get going with the video. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I tune into a LIVE and the person says, ‘Oh I’m waiting for more people to show up.’ Seriously? Who are you Oprah? You got my attention, let’s hear what you have to say. So do your intro, thank people for joining you, and start the show.

Now for a few don’ts when it comes to doing LIVE. Again, I’ve done all these things, so it comes from my own experience. And it also comes down to what your audience responds to. If it works for you then go ahead, but always be self-aware. Monitor your posts and be indifferent. Are you seeing an increase in your views? Are your videos getting shared organically by people in your audience? These are keys to how your videos are doing.

First, don’t do a LIVE and tag 99 people just to get your views up. (In fact, please just stop tagging 99 people in any post on FB it drives people crazy.) Now it’s perfectly acceptable to tag someone who is in the video. If you are interviewing someone, tag them. A business being featured? Tag them. Maybe you spoke of a friend in the video, that’s an acceptable tag. But over tagging? Let’s just not do that. Agreed?

Second, oversharing. It’s one thing when your audience is so excited by your content that they share it out. In fact, that’s the goal. Although, asking your audience to share your video is getting to be harder to do. FB is actually listening and if they hear you say the phrase, “Share this out.” It tends to lower it in the algorithm. FB wants the shares to be organic. And yes, there are reasons for you to share it to certain groups, however, try not to spam share, just to get your views up. And if you are going to share to groups, be strategic. Share to a few groups one day. Share to a few more another day. The best way to get your views up? Responding to comments in your video. Starting conversations in those comments. FB will view that as great engagement and push it further for more of your audience to see.

And finally, you’ve got to be honest with yourself. If you’ve been doing LIVES for a while, and you’re not seeing engagement, your views aren’t growing, then this may not be the forum for you to tell your story. That’s ok. Find your craft. Not everyone is meant to be in front of the camera. But you should at least try it, especially if you are looking to grow your business awareness in 2019.

I hope this helped you with your FB LIVE hangups and questions. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go do one. My audience awaits!

Sue “Pinky” Benson is the host of ‘Pinky Knows Naples’ an online show. She is also a national social media speaker and trainer. She is the two-time winner of the BombBomb Video Real Estate Influencer award (2017 & 2018) and is a Florida Registered REALTOR with RE/MAX Realty Team. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Southwest Florida, think pink and give her a call at 727.410.1591 or go to PinkyKnowsNaples.com