Regardless if you are on Instagram, YouTube or Facebook, live streaming has become not only more popular but also more powerful when it comes to driving traffic and reach to your social media platforms. That’s why if you aren’t currently using live video within your business strategy, you are truly missing out. We understand that you might be petrified to actually get started! So today, we want to share with you some tips and specific strategies on how you can get overcome the fear of doing live streams and get consistent with going Live!
Live Video on Instagram
First things first, let’s talk about the power of live video. Let’s kick off with Instagram. Have you noticed that every time someone you follow goes on Live video, you will get a notification? And also, when someone is Live, they are prioritised in the story feed? Also, if you actually go Live with someone else, not only do your followers get a notification, but theirs too! That’s why you’re going to be able to increase your visibility by a whole lot when you choose to go Live.
To add onto this, more and more features and functions have been added to the Live feature, which goes to show that Instagram truly values it for their platform. It’s probably one of the most organic and engaging ways you can actually speak to your audience. For example, did you know that people can obviously live chat with you, but also the questions can be systematically filtered through so that you can have it all packaged up neatly? Not only this, new features such as pictures have also now allowed content creators to create even more engaging live streams by sharing photos, slide decks, videos and more! That really shows that Instagram is truly pushing livestream on their platform.
Live Video on Facebook
Now moving onto Facebook, you’ll also get way more reach and engagement. It is a true testament to show that Facebook truly values Live content and will boost it on people’s feeds. Not only this, but if you have a Facebook group and you go Live often in your group, it will actually boost your Facebook group to rank higher in Facebook’s algorithm. So if you have a Facebook group, personal page or business page, leveraging live video can truly give you that extra boost that you’re looking for.
Live Video on YouTube
If you are on YouTube, did you know that when you actually go Live, it will rank higher within search and the algorithm? That’s why again, if you aren’t leveraging live video right now, you are truly missing out on a really big opportunity to grow your socials.
Have we convinced you that live video will really help bring your business to the next level? But part of you is probably also nervous about actually getting started. That’s why we’re here to provide some tips and strategies on how to get started and get your feet wet!
Tip 1: Practise on Instagram Stories
The first tip is a no brainer tip and that is to make sure that you are practising on Instagram stories first, since it’s bite-sized content that don’t require a lot of time, but isn’t necessarily live. If you are nervous about going live, start with getting comfortable speaking to a camera first!
Tip 2: Create Bite-sized Content
The next tip we have is to create bite-sized content. Many people going Live for the very first time are setting really high expectations for themselves. They want to dive into creating 20 to 30 minute live streams. That can be really stressful! That’s why instead of telling yourself that you need to nail a 20-minute live stream or deliver a 30-minute presentation, what you can do is go Live for only five minutes. Tried to focus on creating very short bite-sized content pieces for your audience to just get your feet wet. As you get more confident, you can start increasing the times that you go Live!
Tip 3: Create a Formula
Now moving onto the next tip, it is to create a formula for yourself. What exactly does this mean? For example, write down some notes of what you want to say in your livestream in bullet points. Over time what you may realise is that you will start to see a pattern of how you are structuring and organising the flow of your live streams. This will create a plug and play formula for you to follow every single time you go Live.
For example, at the beginning of every live stream, give the main takeaways. This is what you are promising your audience of what they’re going to learn from your live stream. Next, share about some personal experience regardless of the theme of your livestream and tie it back to why you’re here to share this particular topic. Then, you can talk about mistakes others might be making. Following that, talk about the undesired outcomes that can come from those mistakes. And last but not least, offer a solution!
If you follow this, you will be able to create a formula for yourself that you can simply replicate for every single live stream that you do and truly streamline your content creation process!
Tip 4: Do Interviews
To help you get over the fear of doing livestream, you might consider doing interviews instead. What you’ll find is that collaborating can be less nerve wracking than doing them alone! It can really help you overcome the fear of doing live streams, as it will be easy to fall into conversation and forget that you’re even Live. Not only this, if you’re the host of the interview you will be the one asking the questions, not the one answering questions, so that takes a lot of edge off. That’s why if you are uncomfortable with Live video, try to pair up with someone else and use it as a good excuse to do interviews and network with other people!
Tip 5: Choose Unpopular Times to Go Live
Last but not least, choose unpopular times to go live. Now this might sound counterintuitive, but when you’re just starting out you might be petrified of having real people watch you in real time. That’s why you can specifically and strategically choose the times where you know people are sleeping or at work in order to do your live streams. Overtime, as you get more confident with having a small audience watching me, you can start to migrate your live streams to more popular times and gain a bigger audience. So if you’re feeling nervous, don’t make it harder on yourself and choose the times where you know that there’s not going to be that big of an audience!
So we’ve covered some ground on the tips and strategies on how you can overcome the fear of doing live streams while minimising your stress. However, live streaming is only a very small portion of your content strategy. To learn about how to utilise other forms of video to grow your business, make sure to check out more posts here!
