5 Tips To Maximize Your Facebook Live Potential

Most people cringe at the thought of speaking on a live video – it can be intimidating for even the most social individual. When Facebook rolled out their Facebook Live video platform, many of my clients balked at the idea of hopping in front of the camera:

“I hate the way I look on camera.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“What if I say the wrong thing?”

“Can’t you do this for me instead?”

“It takes too long to put this all together.”

Sound familiar?

Facebook Live not only offers an exponentially greater reach for your business, it’s also a more personal way for you to connect to your customers, referral partners, and community. Here are a few tips to help you overcome your fears of live video and find success.

Facebook Live Tip #1: Confidence is Key

When it comes to live video, many people start to feel self-conscious. This is natural – after all, you can’t stop and edit a Facebook Live video, what you see is what you get. However, it’s important to note that this is actually a good thing, and lends an element of authenticity to your brand.

While you cannot change your appearance, there are a few things you can do to feel confident while filming. I offer the following tips to my Facebook Live star clients:

• Get a good night’s sleep
• Sit up straight
• Wear natural makeup – don’t go overboard
• Wear solid colors against a clean background with limited distractions
• Have your talking points ready
• SMILE!
• Look directly at the camera while speaking, just like you were having coffee with a friend.

I often encourage my clients to practice their videos before going live – just once – to get a feel for the topic. This often helps to alleviate the initial recording jitters and lets you get down to business like a pro.

Facebook Live Tip #2: Be Prepared

While the video is live, that doesn’t mean you need to be “off the cuff.” There are many things you can do to keep yourself focused, and your video crisp.

You’ll want to write out your talking points and have them in front of you for easy access. Don’t write out a whole script, just the key points you need to hit. If you write out a whole script, your video will appear stiff, and you’ll be too tempted just to read off of the page. Your video should be effortlessly conversational. Imagine that you’re being interviewed by a reporter – and go from there.

Clear out the background of your video – you need to be the focus, not the clutter on your desk. It’s okay to have pictures on the wall, but don’t let them outshine you! You’ll also want to ensure that your recording space is quiet – so don’t forget to turn off your phone while recording!

Facebook Live Tip #3: Be Real

With live video, you are speaking conversationally – and you want to be true to who you are. You’re providing a point of view that makes you unique. At the same time, go off topic and you can end up in trouble. If you do say something you regret – or if it is taken the wrong way, you can’t just erase the video and have it all go away. Success in live videos for business is all about balance.

One way to avoid saying the wrong thing is to be prepared. Use your talking points to keep yourself on point and away from any “rabbit trails.” Your talking points can also help you provide context for your content. This alleviates a great deal of the risk of something being misconstrued because you have practiced explaining your view.

If you do say something that gets twisted or taken out of context, issue a follow up video explaining your stance. Don’t wait. You shouldn’t apologize for having an opinion – but understand that you can alienate a segment of your audience if you are not up front and transparent.

Facebook Live Tip #4: Be You

If you are doing live videos as part of your digital marketing strategy – you need to maintain a specific spokesperson for those videos. Ideally, that’s you!

Today’s consumer is more attracted to brands and businesses with a human cause or mission behind them. Nobody can convey this better than the person who started that business!

An effective digital marketing consultant can help you prepare, film, and track your results – but you need to remain the face of the company. After all, what happens if your marketing manager leaves, or you decide to end the contract with your consultant?

Protect your brand, and commit to taking charge of your live videos.

Facebook Live Tip #5: Promote & Track

Schedule your Facebook Live videos in advance, don’t just film randomly. This allows you to create a promotions calendar around your videos. Let your followers know when you are going live, what you are going to be discussing, and what value that will bring to them. Creating that anticipation can go a long way to maximizing your results.

Once you’ve completed your video, it will be instantly archived by Facebook – meaning you can reference and repost as needed. It also means that you can go through your comments from your audience. Don’t skip this important step! Your goal is to connect with your customers, community, and referral partners – so connect away!

Finally, visit your Facebook insights to see how well your video performed. How many people did you reach? How many unique visitors did you have? How was your audience engagement? Take note of these stats, and try different times and topics in the coming weeks. Using this information, you can pinpoint what your audience wants to hear, and when they are most likely to tune in – bringing you more return on your efforts.

Still struggling with Facebook Live? Heeren Content & Strategy offers a 15% discount on all services for veteran and military spouse owned businesses. Schedule your free consultation here.

Guest Contributor: Erika Heeren is the founder of Heeren Content & Strategy. With 14 years of experience marketing and public relations, she has a professional focus on integrated media spanning 16 different industries.

Heeren works with small businesses and non-profit organizations to provide affordable, professional-quality content development, marketing, and public relations services. Her clients include local small business owners, marketing agencies, public universities, media outlets, Huffington Post-published authors, IT firms, and non-profit organizations.

A military spouse herself, Erika is an outspoken advocate for veteran and military spouse education, employment, and entrepreneurship. As a volunteer eMentor for the Military Entrepreneur Program, she works one-on-one with aspiring military-affiliated entrepreneurs to help them grow their business. She also volunteers as a digital marketing instructor with Treasure Valley SCORE.

Heeren is an award-winning writer and has been featured on NextGen Military Spouse, Veteran on the Move, Wright Stuff Radio, and Social Media Week.