How to Use Facebook Live in 6 Easy Steps

How to Use Facebook Live in 6 Easy Steps Every business needs to incorporate social media into their marketing strategy—regardless of the size of the company or the industry.

But, social media is about much more than just writing status updates and posting pictures.

Today, businesses must be prepared to try new tactics such as livestreaming on Facebook Live.

Livestreaming gives businesses the opportunity to create a genuine connection with their audience in ways that other social media platforms don’t allow.

How can your business master the art of live streaming? Here are six tips to help you successfully use Facebook Live.

6 Steps to Rock Livestreaming on Facebook Live

1. Tease What’s Coming

If you’re planning on livestreaming, make sure you let your followers know ahead of time so they know when to tune in.

Schedule posts on Facebook (and all of your other social media channels as well) to maximize the traffic on your page. If you don’t let followers know ahead of time, your livestreaming event will not be viewed by as many people.

2. Plan Ahead

Livestreaming should not be looked at as a spur of the moment marketing tactic—in fact, it requires careful planning to ensure everything runs smoothly.

First, it’s important to check the equipment you will be using so you know there won’t be any technological issues once you start to film. Then, meet with anyone who is experienced with livestreaming and go through what you will be doing once the camera is on.

Even though livestreaming should feel natural and authentic, have a rough plan. You should have a clear idea of who you will be talking to, what you will be talking about and where you will be traveling with the camera.

If you don’t take the time to plan ahead, followers will probably be able to tell how unprepared you are.

3. Keep Viewers Informed

At the beginning of your livestream, introduce yourself and talk about what you will be discussing during the broadcast.

For example, if you are taking viewers behind the scenes to see how products are manufactured, this should be mentioned when you begin filming.

It’s also important to remember viewers will be tuning in throughout the broadcast—not just in the beginning. To catch everyone up to speed, make sure you repeat your introduction a number of times so that people who are just starting to watch will know what’s going on.

Facebook livestreaming

4. Engage Your Audience

Facebook Live allows the broadcaster to see comments from viewers in real time.

If you’re broadcasting on Facebook Live, use this to your advantage and engage with your audience. Have someone standing by to keep track of the comments that are coming in and if you start to get questions from your audience, answer them live on the air.

Make sure to mention which Facebook user’s question you are answering so he or she can get a special shout out and pay attention for your answer.

Answering your fan’s questions or concerns will keep them engaged while you are broadcasting and will make them feel as if you’re interested and listening to what they have to say.

5. Edit The Video After It’s Done

After you have finished streaming, Facebook will save the video on your page so people who missed the live version will be able to play it later.

Once the post is on your page, click “edit post” in the top right corner.

Here, you will have the ability to add a title and description for your video so followers know whether they are interested in watching after the live broadcast. You can also choose a thumbnail image from your video which will appear when users visit your site.

This may not seem important–but adding these small details will make your video more attractive to people who are scrolling through Facebook later.

6. Engage With Fans After The Live Video

You should do your best to answer questions and talk to fans during the live broadcast, but it’s probably going to be impossible to address every comment live.

If there are comments or questions that were not addressed during the broadcast, engage with these people after the video has been shot.

For example, if a fan submitted a question but you didn’t have time to get to it while doing your live broadcast, answer it via a Facebook reply instead. Or, reply to the fan and tell him or her to tune into next week’s broadcast for a chance to ask the question again.

Follow these tips and you will be ready for lights, camera and action on Facebook Live!

Nick Rojas is a self-taught, serial entrepreneur who’s enjoyed success working with and consulting for startups. Using his journalism training, Nick writes for publications such as Entrepreneur, TechCrunch, and Yahoo. He concentrates on teaching small and medium-sized enterprises on how best to manage their social media marketing and define their branding objectives.