10 Simple (But Important) Things To Remember About Facebook Live

Facebook Live is a great way to reach people on your Facebook Page and they are wildly popular in the Facebook Newsfeed. If you've been afraid to get started, I hope that this will help you come up with ideas and set your personal best practices for streaming on Facebook Live.

Video is going to continue to be an area of focus for Facebook.

“I see video as a megatrend,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors during its fourth-quarter earnings Feb. “That's why I'm going to keep putting video first across our family of apps.”

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According to Facebook, users watch Facebook Live videos 3x longer than videos that aren’t live. In fact, Facebook made a “small update to News Feed so that Facebook Live videos are more likely to appear higher in News Feed when those videos are actually live, compared to after they are no longer live.”

Live video is more interesting and exciting when watched live vs. a replay.

From SalesForce [infographic below]:

• “Facebook has 1.1 billion daily active users. Facebook also shared in a blog post that people “spend more than three times more time watching a Facebook Live video on average compared to a video that’s no longer live.” With live video, you reach a larger audience.
• Facebook’s algorithm gives priority to live videos in the News Feed, making your video more likely to be seen by your friends and family (and other followers) than a regular status post or photograph.”

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links which means that I may make money from your purchases, but it doesn't cost anything extra for you.

1. How Do I Go Live on Facebook?

 

3. Create a Plan for your Livestream

It's imperative to have a plan and a topic for your Livestream. I host a Q&A each week, and I have a few questions ready, and I have a tip or tool to share. I outline my Livestream, so I stay on track and on topic. Rambling to yourself live is a great way to get people to unlike your Facebook Page.

Start with an introduction and say who you are with the topic of your Live video. Write out a detailed plan for your Facebook Live and practice what you're going to say in front of a mirror if you're nervous.

4. Invite a Guest

They're adding the ability to pull someone in the Livestream on Facebook Live with you, but a great way to do this now is with BeLive which is a third-party program for Facebook Live. I've had it since it was in Beta, and they've recently opened it up with some exciting features.

You can add your logo and customize your colors, as well as add a lower third with your name. I also love that you can schedule Facebook Live with BeLive. It sends you an email and a Facebook message with the link to go live at your scheduled time.

Their lowest plan starts at just $12 per month. If you're going to plan to use Facebook Live, it's well worth the money. I'm not a partner with BeLive; I just love how easy it is to use.

5. Easy-to-Use Tools for a Great Facebook Live

You don't have to purchase fancy equipment for Facebook Live. You can go live anywhere with just your phone if you want to!

These are the items that I use for my live video setup when I'm in my office.

• Diva Light Ring – great lighting matters!

• RetiCAM Tabletop Tripod – I like to put my iPhone on the tripod to read questions and comments on the Livestream.

• Logitech camera – My Macbook's camera isn't good enough for professional Livestreaming so I use this Logitech.
• Mevo Live Event Camera – Great if you have someone to help with your video. They can direct the action from an iPad or iPhone.
• Washi Tape – to mark spots for your tripod and lights

This video was filmed with the Mevo Camera, the Diva Light Ring, and someone directing the action. The video above was from my Logitech camera on my desktop.

Try using your smartphone or desktop to start and gradually build up your tech equipment over time.

6. Live Video Can Help Build your Brand

Humans love to connect with other humans. When people scroll through their Facebook feed, they'll get a notification that you've started a Facebook Live and have the opportunity to join. Or they might see you on the video on their phone!

Make sure to greet your viewers and say hello to fans you know in the Livestream. Ask questions and encourage people to leave comments or share your Livestream.

Using strong calls-to-action guides the Livestream and creates an environment where people feel comfortable commenting and engaging.

7. Ask viewers to subscribe to your live videos

You're putting in a lot of work to plan and prep for your live videos – make sure to invite people to hit the subscribe button. I need to add this to my live checklist since I forget this!

8. Host a Variety of Live Videos

There are many different ways that you could go with your planning for Facebook Live. Here are a few ideas that I had for a variety of shows:

1. Q&A
2. Show and tell
3. Product launches
4. How to use products
5. Behind-the-scenes
6. Host an interview
7. Go live at an event
8. Breaking news

9. Create a Weekly Show

Set a schedule for your Facebook Live videos so people can count on your content and look forward to seeing your show each week.

Being consistent will help build your viewership each week.

Posting on a regular basis is imperative for Facebook pages. You must stay in front of your audience to be put into the newsfeed. Check your Facebook page insights to see what times and days are most popular for your page. A great tool for checking your Facebook page is Likealyzer. It will give you suggestions for the best time to post, how many posts you share per day, and much more.

Learn more about how to be consistent on Facebook here.

10. Get More Views by Promoting After the Live Video

You can reshare your video as a new post to your page later and get more views. Or embed them into your blog posts.

Other ways to get more views:

1. Tweet the link to your Facebook Live
2. Share it on Linkedin
3. Send out an email with a highlight and invite people to watch it
4. You can download your video and edit it into bite-sized pieces to share on Instagram or upload natively to Facebook.

I hope this article inspires you to create your own Facebook Live and maybe even start a weekly show! Let me know how Facebook Live has worked for you and how you share with your audience.