How to Effectively Use Facebook Live
If you want to keep up with the digital marketing industry you have to keep up with the platforms. On April 6, Facebook launched Facebook Live.
When you initiate a Facebook Live, your audience receives a push notification. Due to its novelty, the public is very much interested in checking it out, making it a valuable weapon in your social media arsenal.
Facebook Live launched over five months ago, so if you haven’t tried it yet – sorry to say – but you’re already behind.
Don’t fret. Here’s how to effectively us Facebook Live and implement it into your digital marketing strategy like a true professional.
Make it interesting
If you want your audience to watch, you need to go Live with content your audience actually cares about.
How: Go to your Page Insights → Posts and take a gander at the type of content getting the most engagement. Make sure to look at content posted at various times so that your data isn’t skewed by peak hours.
Make it pretty
Unless you are making an address or an announcement, fluid video is crucial.
How: Have a steady hand and move the camera around. Keep in mind the last frame of your Live will be the thumbnail – THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT. The thumbnail is the image people first see on their newsfeed.
Understand the metrics
People spend 3x longer watching video that is currently live than “was Live.” Why? Well, I don’t know but Facebook saw this and updated their algorithm so live video was placed higher on News Feed.
“We’re making a small update to News Feed so that Facebook Live videos are more likely to appear higher in News Feed when those videos are actually live, compared to after they are no longer live.” –Vibhi Kantso, Facebook Product Manager.
Streaming at the right moment is key. When is live primetime? It’s around the same time as the peak times on your page.
How: Go to Insights → Posts then look at time chart to see when your fans are most engaged. Go Live at those times.
Look out for updates
How: Just keep an eye out. Up until today, I had no idea you could add a filter or write on the screen with a paintbrush tool. The paintbrush tool is only available for iOS devices, for now. If you’re an Android-user, like me, we have something Apple-users don’t: the ability to select a specific audience.
If you follow these guidelines, you’ll end up with a well-produced Facebook Live post that your audience will actually care about. Tell a story, capture something interesting, be exciting and you just might end up with 1000s of views.
- A digital marketing tip from Your Brand Voice
