Live videos are a fairly new, yet strong, tool for you to leverage on social media to engage with your audience. They give users a rare look into what you or your organization is directly involved in, which allows for the strengthening of relationships between your brand and audiences. Here are three tips to follow to properly use the live video feature on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and stand out in newsfeeds across each platform.
- Good timing is essential to entice users to open and watch the video from beginning to end. If you start too early, or during an intermission, they will get bored and won’t want to spend time watching the rest of the video. Don’t start recording too soon before the “climax” of the video. For example, if you are doing a live broadcast of a photoshoot, don’t go live while you’re still setting up equipment. There must be anticipation leading to the climax of the event being covered, or else users won’t waste their time waiting.
- Social media users’ attention spans are short, so make sure your video properly grabs their attention quickly. During live videos, most users are not going to wait around more than a few seconds to find out the purpose of the video. Ensure that the reason for the live video is apparent, which isn’t hard to do. This can be done in the body of the post, verbally, or made obvious by what’s being recorded. However you choose to do this, make sure it’s easy for your audience to grasp.
- The best way to ensure your audiences stick around for the duration of the live video is to interact and engage with them! To get them to participate, ask for questions or their insight to spark conversation, and respond to them. Making this an interactive experience between you and your following is an effective, unique way to build rapport, grow your following, and increase brand loyalty.
Keep these 3 tips below in mind when using the live video feature on social media, whether it be Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or the next big social platform to ensure that your live videos stand out in saturated news feeds and, most importantly, users look forward to them.
