8 Tips for Creating Engaging Live Video on Social Media
A live video on Facebook or Instagram is a high-engagement way to build rapport with your audience and demonstrate relatability and personality. It can be intimidating at first but I promise: Once you get started, you’ll find that creating engaging live video on social media is an effective and fun way to connect with your audience.
What is a “Live”?
Lives are just what you might expect: Broadcasts on your social media channels that are visible as you’re doing them—live! Planned video content, in contrast (such as IGTV episodes or YouTube videos), are instructional or entertaining but are not meant to create conversation with the viewer.
Lives are. They’re all about people tuning in and commenting in the moment. They’re participatory.
What happens on a Live?
A Live can be anything your viewers would like and that encourages them to engage with you. Think about what would be fun, entertaining, informational or instructive in your niche and that will highlight your place within it.
You could do a live reading or performance, an exciting in-the-moment situation such as an event, a live Q&A, a guided tutorial, an interactive tour—anything that will help people feel part of your work.
An effective approach is to develop a recurring show that’s linked to your business. One business owner I followed did a new tip on caring for houseplants every week. You could do the same for hair or nail care, wellness tips or coffee brewing demos. If you’re in the service industry, you could create a weekly mini-lesson on an area of expertise. If you’re a public speaker, broadcast weekly teasers of some of your most popular presentations. As always with social, the sky’s the limit!
What happens to a Live once it’s done?
You publish it! That’s right, Lives can become part of your permanent archive, giving them relevance for months and even years to come.
When the Live is over, publish it (on Facebook) or save as an IGTV (Instagram). Voila! It’s available for viewing in perpetuity.
Tips for successful Lives
Ready? Here are some tips for making your Lives smooth and successful:
Start your Live on time. Don’t wait around until people join! Often, you’ll see Live hosts “giving folks a few minutes” to tune in. This creates dead space when your Live is published and may lose viewers who get tired of waiting around. Have a game plan and begin!
Don’t start with participant questions or anything that requires audience involvement. Get out your script or cheat sheet and save interactions for later in the broadcast when you have more viewers. If you want to do a straight Q&A, gather questions from your audience beforehand and start right in.
Be approachable. Lives are meant to be a very personal connection to your brand. This is the place to dress down and talk to the camera like you’re having iced coffee with a friend. But that doesn’t mean you wing it. Lives are about casual optics but professional preparation.
Showcase your personality! Crack jokes or read a spirit-affirming quote from your favorite yogi. Whatever is most reflective of your business’s vibe.
Pay attention to comments. Viewers will often leave comments as you’re recording. Break from your plan and respond! This lets people know you see and appreciate them. If you have another staff member who can help, ask them to read the comments and vet questions for you to incorporate into your Live and answer in real time.
Forget perfection. It might feel like your presentation or interaction with the camera needs to be perfect, but it doesn’t. If you flub a word, just restate and move on. If you mis-speak, acknowledge it with a quick “oops,” correct it, shrug your shoulders and keep on going.
Add a filter. You’re able to select from a variety of fun and on-brand filters prior to going live - make sure you take full advantage of this to add an extra layer of personality, and use a ring light to ensure optimal lighting!
Write a compelling description that’s conversational and inviting. Make it more findable by tagging a location on geotags (especially if you’re promoting an event), tagging any partner accounts or friends and adding an “activity” on Facebook.
Good luck with your Live journey! For more on optimizing your presence on social, check out How to Make Stories on Instagram and Facebook in 4 Steps!
