9 Ideas for Creating Social Media Live Streams

For many brands and marketers, video is becoming an increasingly important part of their overall marketing strategy, especially when it comes to working on social media. And it’s not hard to see why.

We humans are visual beings and right now we crave and want to see videos. A third of all Internet activity is directed to watching videos. Using persuasive content video as a marketing tactic helps grab attention, encourages engagement, and in some cases gives you the opportunity to achieve a better position on social media channels. difficult for marketers and brands with little manpower, time or budget. What’s the solution? Live broadcasts!

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated on his Facebook page: “Live is like having a TV camera in your pocket. Anyone with a phone can now broadcast anything to anyone in the world. … This is a big shift in how we communicate and that will create new opportunities for people to come together.”

The beauty of live streaming is that it is rawer and more honest than professional video. It can help you engage, engage, entertain and build relationships with your target audience in a more natural way. With that said, below are nine ideas for using live streaming in your social media marketing strategies, as well as some examples of companies in action.

Share what’s happening at your event in real time

Hosting an event provides the perfect backdrop for live video on social media. Not only do events like this give you a lot of great content to share, but it’s also a great way to engage your audience and make them feel like they’re there too.

Live broadcast example

Tease with a new product or product/service in progress

Want to create some buzz about a new product that’s in the works or coming out soon? Live streaming can be a great way to get information about what’s coming out. Before a product launch, tease customers with live streams about when and what you’re going to do, so people know when they need to tune in to your product.

Make a live presentation of a new product or special promotion

People love the feeling of being given the exclusive right to something new. Therefore, using live streams gives people a chance to get a first look at a new product or service and is a great way to get them thinking about your product and actively discussing it.

In my opinion, this tactic works very well for many independent sales consultants for brands such as Herbalife, LulaRoe, Scentsy and LipSense. As with any business, these consultants want to attract new clients as well as maintain their existing base. Therefore, giving your audience an exclusive look at new products through live broadcasts is a great way to spark and keep buyers interested in a product.

You probably know at least one or two of your social media contacts who run this type of business. Check out some of their live streams to get a feel for what they do and how they interact with the audience and get inspired by it.

Again, as mentioned above, to keep people interested in the upcoming event before it happens, tease them ahead of time with live streams on social media.

Invite people to take a look behind the scenes

Another great way to engage and engage your audience is to invite them to look behind the curtain of your product or company, where outsiders usually can’t get to.

Before you start, brainstorm your options for where you will let people go and why they should be interested in what they see. After all, you want to see real views on your video, so you need to make sure you’re showing something worthwhile.

Here’s a great example from Donuts Dunkin. June 3rd of this year was National Donut Day, and Dunkin’ Donuts gave their audience a sneak peek at a “top-secret” test of their cuisine in honor of the holiday.

Run a contest or campaign

Contests and social media campaigns are a great way to get attention and active participation from your audience. The live stream element adds eye contact and greater engagement to the competition.

Use live streaming throughout the contest or campaign to encourage people to enter by showing them some of the contest results you already have. As the competition draws to a close, use the livestream to create even more excitement and draw in all remaining entrants. After the end of the competition, announce the winners in real time.

Conduct question-and-answer conversations with your audience

One of the best ways to get to know your audience better, as well as build a stronger relationship with them, is to have meaningful conversations. This can be done by conducting conversations in the format of “question – answer” live.

I suggest choosing a topic for your audience in advance and preparing answers to a few frequently asked questions. Start the video by answering exactly these questions, and then answer questions from those watching the video.

Benefit Cosmetics regularly features product launches, beauty tips and tricks, and questions from the audience via Facebook Live. The video below was part of their Tricky Advice live stream where the hosts sipped cocktails while offering their grooming tips and answers to questions.

Interviewing an opinion leader in your field

Involving influencers in your field in the implementation of your social media marketing strategy is a fantastic way to build credibility with your brand and also reach new audiences. Take your social media content to the next level by conducting live interviews with influencers in your field.

If you choose to go down this path, make sure you have strong relationships and rapport with the influencers you invite. You need to make sure that the video shows personal contact with the influencer. Also, do a few rehearsals for your questions before you start. This will make both of you feel more comfortable when the live interview begins.

Provide your audience with how-tos or product trials

Videos with detailed instructions for use are dominant in the world of social media. While most of the videos you see around you are professional and staged, live streaming can be a great help as it shows viewers exactly how your product works in real time.

Here’s a great example from IBM. In this video, IBMer Ryan Anderson opens up his home lab to the public to show how technology can be used to build or hack software.

Show your employees

Your team is the face of your company. Therefore, presenting your employees through live broadcasts can be a great way to further personalize your brand.

Introduce your audience to your new and long-serving employees to show who, behind the scenes, provides them with a great product or service. I advise you to keep these videos light and entertaining. Avoid overly complex and boring lines like “I love working here because…”. The whole point of such videos is to show people that your company is a rock cut by close-knit people working for you.

Facebook Live for Business

Recommendations for Facebook Live from Margarita Zaremskaya, ex-SMM specialist at MAVR

Facebook Live is one of the strongest content out there today, getting the highest organic reach of any other type of content. Live broadcasting allows you to have a direct dialogue with your subscribers, share your knowledge and experience in real time.

A few tips for live streaming:

• Prepare a broadcast plan before broadcasting so that your dialogue with the viewer looks systematic and interesting (not tasteless).
• Write an effective headline. Since this is the only thing they see when deciding whether to participate or not.
• Your viewer should hear your voice clearly, check the sound quality of your microphone, don’t forget about the picture quality, you should set up at least two video angles.
• Be active with your audience. Respond to comments during the live broadcast and after it, so you can gain even more trust and loyalty to your company.
• Choose the most suitable time and duration of broadcasts. Facebook recommends a broadcast of about 5 minutes, but each business is different.
• End the broadcast with some kind of call. For example, subscribe to a page, read the information on a website or blog, send a private message in case of questions.
• If the video is streaming from your business page, don’t forget to create a video ad from your live stream to increase your reach through Ads Manager.

The most popular categories for Facebook Live:

• Product demonstration. You can demonstrate both a new product and a bestseller.
• Backstage moments. For example, the life of your office.
• Questions and answers. These can be FAQ questions, as well as the opportunity for broadcast participants to ask additional questions live.
• Practical advice. Here you can broadcast thematic tips, life hacks and recommendations.
• History of success. You can interview satisfied customers.
• Last news. You can broadcast news, where it will talk about interesting events that took place in your company.

What do you think? Have you launched Facebook Live yet?

Forward for new victories, gentlemen, marketers, make your changes to the marketing plan, get high-quality organic coverage, and new potential customers for your business.

Instagram Live for Business

Recommendations for Instagram Live from Anna Kravtsova, assistant ex-SMM specialist at MAVR

Instagram has long captured a huge audience and continues to come up with new features to grow your business. Today we will talk about a new feature – Instagram Live!

Why do you need Instagram Live?

Shooting video online has become much more convenient. No need to maintain a separate Periscope page and post photos on Instagram at the same time. In a very simple way, Instagram Live raises your video to the top.

Since Instagram shows posts in accordance with your actions (likes, comments, reposts), all subscribers see online broadcasts. Another plus is that the notification of the start of the broadcast comes to the smartphones of all subscribers who have not turned off this feature in their settings.

How to use Instagram Live for business?

Let’s take a look at some of the new features:

1. Great opportunity to launch a new product
2. We answer and show live (subscribers can ask questions and likes online, and after the broadcast is over, the statistics of those who viewed the record are visible.)
3. Filming behind the scenes of production (rehearsals, sewing a new collection or just gatherings)
4. Filming interviews with designers, celebrities, experts and opinion leaders
5. We introduce subscribers to company employees
6. Congratulations subscribers
7. We conduct social surveys and competitions
8. We advertise goods by barter

You should always remember that the video disappears immediately after the broadcast. To gather CC around you, you need to go online systematically. For example, every day at a certain time. At the same time, the topics of the online broadcast should be of interest to your audience.

Live communication brings together and increases the level of trust.

Be on the same wavelength with your subscribers and always at the top of the feed!