8 tips for using Facebook Live for businesses
Here are 8 tips to grow your business with Facebook Live.
1. Absolutely unique content
As we know, one of the major new features of social media content is live video streaming. At the end of 2011, Snapchat came out of the woods with something entirely new by providing live video sharing. From there, services such as Periscope or, less popular, developed live content, taking mobile video to a whole new level.
Brands and companies using these tools must be able to provide entirely new and unique content to their viewers, as indicated in the title. And now that Facebook Live is widely, if not completely, used around the world, companies must take advantage of the wave before it is too late and there are deserters.
Recent research has shown that about 80% of Internet users have reported watching more live content in the last 2 years than before. The audience is already there and knows what a brand has to offer, but they must use social media to promote new content all the time.
By using Facebook Live in your content strategy, you provide your audience with an unparalleled source of instant, real-time content. Companies are still trying to figure out how to use Snapchat to get the most out of it, but with Facebook Live, you can produce the famous “unique content” as soon as the feed is launched.
The most difficult thing will be to find the content that will interest your audience. So plan your live video as you would for anything else. Live has the advantage of providing unedited and unfiltered content. This does not mean that brands or companies must start a live video without an action plan.
2. A cost-effective video strategy
No matter who you are or where you come from, brands are always looking for cost-effective strategies when it comes to using social media marketing. And with the influx of videos, it becomes much more difficult to stick to the budget and provide beautiful content that will attract the attention of your followers.
Facebook Live takes some of this stress away. Indeed, most users appreciate the “live” and unedited format of live videos. No need for a high-end camera, set or editing and special effects skills. Facebook Live is live, it’s live, it’s live.
All you need is a smartphone to post content to your Facebook Live feed. On the other hand, don’t let your limited budget weaken the quality of content. So even if the recording has to be profitable, you still have to give content that viewers will want to watch.
Another thing: Facebook Live is not suitable for all types of visual content on your company page. In other words, know how to keep mystery. Don’t reveal everything about a product, service or company news with Facebook Live. Instead, use live video to highlight your earnings, successes, team outings, employees or other on-site content.
3. More excitement around product launches
To complete the previous point, Facebook Live can be used for many, but not all, special events. One particular event that has been most successful with Facebook Live for companies is probably the release of products or offers.
Live videos are raw and often unedited, which means that as a viewer, you don’t know what to expect. This emotion is excellent to evoke the excitement around a new product or service.
If you shoot your Live videos correctly, customers will come back to see updates or get more information. You can also clearly tell the target that the video can be in the form of a talk show. Thus, the live show leaves even more room for error or provokes amusing and above all unscripted conversations.
The experience of the new live videos excites and encourages users to come back for more. We all know how difficult it can be to build awareness via Facebook, but anything that helps create a consistent audience will prove useful.
4. Have a better connection with your audience
One of Facebook Live’s strengths for businesses is undoubtedly its personal approach to your content. Many brands use Facebook Live as a quick question-and-answer session with no big production behind the content.
For example, a marketing company will sometimes post videos on Facebook with instant answers to questions on a specific topic. The expert will answer questions and provide advice and updates on the situation in real time for viewers.
This not only makes it an excellent source of news, but also a place where anyone can get answers to their questions. According to a survey, only 1 in 10 social messages receive a response.
Even more telling is that 90% of millennia and 79% of baby boomers say that answering questions about social media is cool instead of boring. You must therefore make the effort to respond and engage with your audience.
5. Increase awareness around community events
As mentioned above, Facebook is an excellent network to promote community events and other discussions. If you are looking to use Facebook Live, you could start by promoting a community event.
Some brands even offer online courses and promote them in live videos. Promoting events, gatherings or groups can be difficult for brands because of constant updates. This means that users can see ads and other visuals that continue to ask them to register. However, Facebook Live does provide opportunities to discuss upcoming events with others to engage them.
Real-time videos create a deeper connection between brands and users, which means you can directly and more effectively address upcoming events. Try using Facebook Live to increase awareness of special events, especially if your advertising opportunities are limited.
6. Take advantage of it because it’s free
In such a busy world, where we are constantly surrounded by brands and logos, advertising and marketing are a plus. With billions spent each year building customer relationships, Facebook Live is a refreshing and inexpensive way to connect with an audience.
According to a recent study, 30% of spectators who watch a live broadcast of an event will buy a ticket to attend the event the following year. Take Coachella for example – in 2011, it took three days for the festival to sell all its tickets and, in the same year, Coachella used Facebook Live to broadcast its events. The following year, tickets were sold in 3 hours.
So Facebook Live offers many advantages, but as with all social media and live events in particular, there are points to watch for.
7. Increase traffic to your Facebook pages
Another advantage of Facebook Live is that it is a source of traffic for your Page. Facebook live videos simply lead to more engagement and if you promote your content well, it could encourage users to come back.
In fact, Facebook Live videos are more engaging than standard video content. Facebook recently said that live videos can generate ten times more comments, due to the real-time connection between users.
One of the best ways to generate traffic to a specific site is to continuously publish new and updated content. For example, Apple uses Facebook Live to broadcast last-minute news on the channel. Without anything new, your Page quickly becomes obsolete and dissuades customers from chasing information.
This is how Facebook Live can come into play. Try to create a continuous stream of content on Facebook with live videos. The more users you attract, the more traffic you create to your Facebook pages.
8. See the commitment in real time and keep it
Finally, Facebook Live allows you to see the engagement in real time. To find out if a specific content item will perform or not, Facebook Live could be an excellent test point.
As you start, track your live video engagement measures on Facebook by noting preferences, reactions, sharing, mentions and comments. Facebook Insights provides this information after your feed, but displaying the data in real time will help your content strategy.
For example, you could ask questions such as:
- How does Live compare to other Facebook content?
- Have there been enough comments to get a real question and answer session?
- Did users like one section of your video more than another?
- Did anyone make any comments after the end of the video?
- How many new followers have you won since you started using Live?
Although all these questions are important, tracking these statistics on native platforms takes a long time. Fortunately, with Sprout Social, our Facebook management tools allow users to track multiple pages and all your content, to ensure that you are aware of what works and what needs to be improved.
Whether it’s planning content, reviewing Facebook analytics or tracking feedback, your company can do it all with Sprout. Make sure your Facebook Live strategy is effective and evaluate your efforts today! To know more about social media marketing and their strategies, call us on or contact us here.