How To Use Live Video For Business
Live video on social media platforms is very much the ‘in’ thing, with Instagram being the latest platform to adopt the ‘right here, right now’ approach. Forbes even included live video as ‘one of the five social media trends that will change the game in 2017‘. Naturally marketers are looking around and wondering, well can we produce live video and if so, how do we make sure it doesn’t suck!?
Well here you can find a some common mistakes and pitfalls that can occur when using Facebook Live. These tips are very transferrable across the different platforms so do check them out. But in this blog, we’re going to focus on tangible uses for live video, so you can make sure you get the content spot on.
How Can I use Live Video In My Business?
Broadcast events
There are two approaches to be had here.
In the moment promotion.
Provide your audience with a taste of what your event is all about. An example would be a 10 –15 minute walk around of the event or perhaps set up filming at a particular feature within the event, jugglers, dance performance or whatever else you have on. By dropping your audience straight into the action you can provide some social proof that, YES! This is a kick ass event or you can really shine some light on a particular feature such as a demo, stand, performance etc and give people an opportunity to see what they are missing out on. We love this approach because it screams authenticity and will build up huge amount of trust between you and your audience.
Slick and polished
Another approach would be to broadcast live with a professional set up and link it straight to your social media platform. We see this a lot with keynote speakers and the BBC even did it with Hilary Clinton’s post election speech. Why bother getting this bit done professionally? Well it’s about the content and context. Walking around and filming the event, a bit ad hock is great because it’s what we’re used to on social media anyway. But trying to ad hock a professional presentation, where the focus is truly on the content, can be a bit risky. We want good quality audio, good quality video and we don’t want to be distracted by camera shakes and people talking in the crowd. That doesn’t mean it has to be expensive. Use your phone with a good plug in mic and a tripod and you just might get away with it. But it’s always good to remember that your marketing content is a reflection of your brand. Poor quality = poor perception of brand. A great example below of a fashion show being broadcast live!
Behind the scenes
Behind the scenes live broadcasting is the classic go to content. The reason it works is because everyone likes to feel important. By providing a window of insight to otherwise closed off experiences, you will make your fans, followers, viewers etc, feel much more important. This is a great way to market based on exclusivity. It also allows you some freedom to showcase your brands personality. What are your designers like? What are your directors like? What does the insides of your office look like on a Wednesday morning? What goes on backstage, at a photoshoot, on a job? Etc. If it’s important to your brand culture and not something your audience can normally access, it’s worth showing off.
Showcase culture
Speaking of culture, live video is great for showing culture. If you’re doing something great for your employees, for your community, for an intern, get that message out there and show the world. You may be thinking, well is this then purely for vanity sake? Well not really, if you can clearly express your brand culture and that helps generate more business, inspire other companies or attract new employees, then you’ll start to see some real value beyond just being cool on Instagram. Although that is still super important, obvs. In the video below you can see Gary V holding a call in session. His personal brand is all about helping other succeed and this is further proof of that!
Showcase great customer service
Case studies are a great way of showing how awesome your product and service is. But we meet companies that all to often, just get caught up in operations and miss the great opportunities to film! This is where live broadcasting can play a massive role. Making a bespoke door for your client? Broadcast it! Having to trek to the Amazon for your client? Broadcast it! Learning how to fly a plane for your client…ok you get the point. We all have cases where we go above and beyond for our clients and if it adds value for them, then it will be worth shouting about. We’re not talking a full on sit down interview, just film it as it happens and explain what’s going on and if you have lush (confident) clients, get them involved too!
Educational
From lectures and keynotes through to sit down vlogs. Educational live videos are great because they open up a conversation. You can start with a topic and have material prepared so that you can educate your audience, but you will also have the ability to answer questions, speak about specifics and create a meaningful dialogue between you and the viewers. This has huge benefits over the usual, here’s a Vlog where I talk about ‘X’ for 10 minutes. This type of live video will help cement you as a trusted expert in your field. Great video from Benefit where not only do they teach but also engage with the audience and find out what people want to be taught!
Research/Discussion
Meaningful dialogue isn’t just about teaching, it’s about learning. Need to do some research for a product or service? Live broadcasting could be the key. Find out masses of information by discussing the topic/service/product at hand and opening up a discussion. You can trouble shoot then and there and you’ll probably learn things from your target audience. A great approach would be to film at least two people having a conversation. That way, if (especially at the beginning), the engagement from viewers is a little low, you will still be able to facilitate an interesting discussion.
Considerations
Think about where your audience is based? I mean, you can set up a bunch of phones and do FB Live, Instagram Live and Periscope all at the same time of course. But chances are, you’ve got 1 phone/camera and in fact you get all your engagement on one particular platform. If that’s the case, figure out the social channel that’s worth doing and stick to it.
Promotion can not be undervalued here. It is so important to promote your live video. Social media is a busy place, let people know that you’re going live and direct them to where they can find it. The more promotion, the better the chances for a successful and meaningful broadcast, especially if you’re doing something like the education or research videos.
Plan your content. Even an ‘ad hock, oh hey look at me doing stuff totally candid’, needs some prep. Do not leave things to chance and make sure you have a clear plan of what you want to include and what you want the video to achieve. Live video is a performance, there are no second chances so bare that in mind.
Take your time. Live broadcasts work really well when they are ‘long’. Long by today’s standard of video, so we’re talking 10 minutes plus, as a minimum. This is because it gives viewers a chance to engage and gives you a chance to build up a little steam and momentum. 10 minutes can feel like a long time so again I will refer to the point above; Plan your content.
Live broadcasting works by the magic of the internet. Yes we have moved out of the era of dial up, but it can still be super patchy. (Some of you millenials may be wondering what dial up is and if so, just know you have been SPOILT!) Poor internet connection will ruin your broadcast, so please ensure your internet connection is strong and reliable.
What platforms are there?
Facebook Live – Pretty good all rounder, Facebook loves live content so you should see really good engagement rates.
Periscope – Great for those of you with a good Twitter following. Twitter have now made it a bunch easier to go from tweeting to live broadcasting using Periscope.
Youtube – Great for longer content such as lectures and keynotes. You can also set up a link before hand and send it out which is pretty awesome.
Instagram Live – Again this is great for engagement. We know instagram has pretty awesome engagement rates anyway but in particular, if it’s showcasing culture, behind the scenes, case studies etc, Instagram is going to work well for you.
Hopefully that has sparked a few ideas for you and you can get cracking on producing some awesome live video content! Get at us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram so we can check out your live broadcasts!