Today we are going to address the topic of Facebook live broadcasts or rather how to do a Facebook live broadcast and integrate it into your editorial calendar.
As you know well, video content manages to trigger more attention than any beautiful photo or graphic. The reason is in its natural involvement. If you add to this the factor of co-presence, of experiencing the same moment in different parts of the world the whole thing is well amplified. That is why it is essential to know and integrate Facebook Live to the fullest extent possible into your content marketing plan.
When Twitter acquired Periscope back in 2015, broadcasting live video with a smartphone was a real novelty. But the real breakthrough came when Periscope introduced live streaming. While Twitter was the first, the real interest came when giants such as Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube incorporated the ability to broadcast live video.
In a short time Facebook managed to overtake even YouTube by establishing itself as the ruler in live streaming.
Before you begin, define the essential questions well in mind: what are the live shows for? What are the goals to be achieved? What is the target audience? How do they fit into Facebook's editorial calendar?
The first of the tips we feel like giving you for making a successful Facebook Live is to always have a lineup in sight. In this case, we particularly like Google Keep, which you can use on a tablet or smartphone.
Here are some tips for creating a good Facebook Live and boosting engagement:
- Announce a few days of the event that the live broadcast is coming so that your followers are prepared for the live broadcast at the exact time it will happen. What do the big networks do when they prepare a big event to be broadcast live? They create expectation, they run commercials to alert you and to push you to schedule it. Here, you need to do the same on social. With a cross posting job you can use Facebook profile, Twitter, LinkedIn and other solutions to alert you that that day, at that time, there will be live broadcast so your audience is prepared.
- Work with live feeds only when you have a good connection (avoid necessarily starting without having a chance to make a good live feed first). It would only be useless and counterproductive.
- Post the live show with a full description of the content, what you will do and how it will unfold. If you can aim for a surprise effect so that the viewer is left "waiting for what will happen."
- Greet followers by name and respond to live comments: this is the essential part of a successful live show. This is why we recommend creating a good lineup (as mentioned above) with perhaps the names of the participants in case more specific questions are asked among the audience following the live broadcast.
- A long live broadcast has a greater chance of engagement-this is a feature not to be underestimated. What makes live feeds unique is the fact that, even before you can tune in to the content channel, the notification immediately tells you what "is happening now!"
- Greet everyone at the beginning and end of the broadcast and thank them for being there.
- Create Facebook directs frequently so that you create an audience that can follow you constantly. Make your engagement an expected moment. Only then can you achieve success.
If you want to read a few more tips the official Facebook Live page leaves a number of interesting tips on how to best manage live broadcasts.
As for apps that will improve your work, we recommend Live Streaming Apps, which is a good starting point for managing Facebook and YouTube live streams.
If you have iOS, we highly recommend Switcher Go, which gives you the ability to add images or video clips while you are live (a real director for creating live broadcasts and qualitatively better than the others).
The instrumentation
Another essential point that changes the performance of your Facebook directs are the instrumentation. Essential, in our opinion are:
- Tripod or tripod.
- Smartphone lenses.
- Portable lights or softboxes.
- Internal or external microphones.
- Extra battery.
Two extra accessories if you really want to be on top could be bluetooth button to hold in the palm of your hands to start and stop recording and an advanced stabilizer to have a real station to broadcast your videos.
What we are sure of, given our experiences, is that if planned carefully, Facebook Live can give so much to your editorial plan.