Social Trend: Now is the time to go live

We’re all in this together, but in a time of self-isolation and social distancing, people can begin to feel disconnected. This is a great time to bond with your podcast community and continue to grow your listenership through open, honest conversation.

Drive listens by being present across multiple platforms. You can expand and strengthen your audience through your social presence, using alternate platforms to continue engaging with your listeners between and beyond the podcast.

One way to build your community is through live video. “Going live” gives fans a direct line to you and can help you foster an authentic and responsive connection with your listeners. However, it’s always good to have a structure in place to ensure your live session is productive and positive for all parties.

The end goal is to increase awareness of your podcast and build affinity with your community.

Why go live?

When you go live on Instagram, your account is prioritised in Stories and a push notification is shared with all of your followers. If you go live with another person the push notification is shared with their followers, too.

Being visible across platforms is a great way of reminding listeners to come back to you and revisit the podcast. This serves as a virtual event to bring your community together and is exclusive to those who are present as it doesn’t exist after the fact.

Before you go live

What’s your hook? Use this to do something outside your regular format. It’s bonus content that should support and complement your podcast, and drive new fans to want to hear more — so decide the format and topic ahead of time. This might include:

• A follow-up or deep-dive into a previous successful episode
• Background to how your podcast got started
• Tips on creating a podcast
• Q&A for fan response and acknowledgment
• Tutorials to showcase your passion for your subject — things like creating a DIY facemask, sharing life hacks or cooking up your favourite recipes

Give your followers advanced warning. This can be across all of your social platforms and you can use this to source ideas for your live

• Make sure you give a time and a platform
• Mention the live at the end of your podcast and ask for question and topic submissions from your listeners

If you’re less comfortable talking alone on camera, consider bringing a friend. They can act as your co-host or guest, and help create a more conversational feel

• Going live with someone else will also boost your reach as their followers will be notified, too

How do I set up a live?

Just like preparing for your podcast you should create a structure to follow — but don’t be afraid to go off-script.

From a technical standpoint, it’s pretty straightforward. When you open the app, tap the camera in the top left of the screen. Scroll to ‘live’ and press the ‘broadcast’ button. You’re now live.

• To invite a friend, select the below button and find their name.

• You can pin a comment with a key question or rule by tapping the comment.
• You can turn comments off by selecting the three ellipses and selecting “turn off commenting”
• When you’re finished, you can save the video to your camera roll, share to stories or exit.

If you’re not an Instagram user, uncomfortable on camera, or have a more responsive audience on other platforms, this format can still be replicated in other ways:

• Create a bonus podcast episode
• Reddit AMA
• Twitter Hashtag Q&A (e.g. #AMAMyDadWroteA)
• Ask for questions and respond on an Instagram feed post
• IGTV — keep the format, without the live element

If you’d like support with any of the above outputs, please speak to your Acast content team contact, who will be happy to accommodate.