Facebook Live has become the latest Facebook feature to gain popularity. With many small businesses already on Facebook, Facebook Live provides another marketing tool for small businesses to use. In this post, you’ll learn the basics of Facebook Live and how it can be used as a marketing tool to increase engagement.
What is Facebook Live?
Facebook Live is a feature on Facebook that allows you to stream and share live video on your Facebook page. Released in April 2016, Facebook Live has become increasingly popular with the general public and news organizations as a way to produce real-time interactive videos, called live streams.
Similar to Facebook posts, Facebook Live enables users to see likes, comments, and interactions from viewers in real-time. But Facebook Live isn’t just for the news. In fact, Facebook Live can be used as a creative marketing tool for your small business to increase engagement and get more customers from Facebook.
You may have seen the internet sensation known as “Chewbacca Mom,” whose Facebook Live video went viral earlier this year. The video garnered over 150 million views and Chewbacca masks flew off the shelves. Chewbacca Mom’s video is an example of how Facebook Live can quickly put an individual or business in the spotlight and be an effective marketing tool.
How to Stream Live Video on Facebook
To live stream on Facebook Live, all you need to have is the free Facebook mobile app. Viewers can check out your live stream on their computers, but you need the Facebook app to take the video. To use Facebook Live for your business, you must be on your Facebook business account. Otherwise, your Facebook Live video will be posted on your personal account.
To create a Facebook Live video, open the app on your mobile phone or tablet, click “Status” on the top left of your screen, and tap the “Facebook Live” icon (a human figure surrounded by a halo) in order to get to the “Live” screen. Write a brief description of your live video, decide who you want to share this video with, and hit “Go Live” to start live streaming your video.
Related: Facebook Marketing for Small Business Owners
While this feature live streams your video as it’s being captured, a recorded version of your live stream will be automatically uploaded to your Facebook page after you’ve finished your live stream. Once your live stream is uploaded, it will be available for people to view, like, comment, and share. This means that your video will be accessible to Facebook users who are online while you’re live streaming, and for people who go on Facebook after your broadcast is over.
Advantages of Facebook Live
Use Your Facebook Audience
Facebook Live’s increasing popularity is starting to shake up the live streaming market and become an effective tool for marketers. While Facebook Live provides many of the same features as some of its competitors like Periscope and Meerkat, the benefit of using Facebook Live is that you already have an active audience for your business’s Facebook page. Facebook Live will stream to the followers you have on Facebook and is easily shareable by businesses and individuals.
Since you already have a presence on Facebook, Facebook Live can also be an effective means of engaging your audience. Rather than waiting for people to comment on posts, Facebook Live allows people to ask you questions and interact with viewers in real-time. This means that you can engage the captive audience you already have on Facebook during your live stream. While using Facebook Live, encourage viewers to interact with you—ask them questions and have them reply in the comments, create a discussion, and answer questions your viewers have.
Create Your Brand Identity
Facebook Live provides a personal touch to marketing. As a small business, putting yourself and your employees on your social media pages helps customers connect to your business. Since you are live streaming using a camera on your mobile device and therefore need to get up close and personal to whatever you’re recording, Facebook Live also provides a very personal and real experience for viewers that can help you create genuine relationships with your audience. For more information on building relationships on Facebook, check out how to increase engagement on Facebook.
Convenience of Facebook
Another benefit of Facebook Live is its convenience. People are already checking Facebook wherever they go with their computers and mobile devices. For small businesses that are already using Facebook, Facebook Live takes no time to set up. Facebook Live is quick and easy and can help your business improve your engagement.
Facebook Live for Marketing
You can market your business in a variety of different ways with Facebook Live. Here are some ways to incorporate Facebook Live into your business’s marketing strategy:
- Broadcast and promote an event on Facebook Live
- Live stream a Q & A session about your business to answer questions about a new product or service
- Host a Facebook Live webinar to provide useful information about a topic
- Do product demonstrations or tutorials
- Broadcast a behind the scenes view of your business
- Walk through your business and introduce viewers to your team
Tracking Facebook Live
Just like with Facebook advertising, you should use the information Facebook provides to track your videos. At the end of your broadcast, Facebook will give you information you can use to analyze the success of your video. This information includes number of reactions, number of views, number of unique viewers, the average percentage of viewers who finished watching your video, and the total people you reached with your video. These statistics will help show you what went right with your live stream and what you can improve upon in the future.
Edit Your Facebook Live Video
Once your broadcast is over, your live stream is automatically published on your Facebook business page to your followers. Just like with any other Facebook post, you can go back and edit your video. When your live stream is over, edit your video and create a catchy video title, insert video tags to improve your video’s visibility, and add a call to action to the description of your post. Optimizing your post after it’s been published can help you attract more people to check out your video. If you’re unhappy with your video and don’t believe it is a strong representation of your business, you can simply delete it and create a new video.
Facebook Live for your small business is an effective video marketing tool you can add to your arsenal. Creating a live stream will help give your small business a voice and build stronger relationships with your following. Facebook Live allows you to reach your fans in an unorthodox way, and dissecting Facebook’s analytics can help you determine better ways to build your audience. There’s no better time than the present to get ahead of the curve and start using Facebook Live for your business.
Have any questions about Facebook Live you want us to answer? Let us know in the comments below!
