Facebook Live Streaming Tips

Absolute Live Productions has over 10 years’ experience with live streaming and creating engaging content. Since 2016, we have produced more and more streams directly to social media platforms such as Facebook, and more recently Instagram. In recent years social media live video is now more desired by audiences than other types of content with Facebook Live one of the most popular platforms. The current statistics state that  80% of potential viewers would rather watch live video from a brand than read a blog, additionally 82% prefer live video from a brand to social posts. Tubular Labs, a company that is a measurement standard for the digital video era, has shared the information that viewers spend 8X longer with live video than on-demand: 5.1 minutes for on-demand vs. 42.8 minutes for live video content.

Live is exciting, interactive and is critical in this new hyper focused era for brands to successfully compete for eyeballs in the newsfeed. 

Engage directly with your audience!

Before a social media live stream, the brand or agency should assign a designated  “comment” position. this can typically be handled by the social media director. For the live stream they would be an integral part of the chat room. This is the perfect spot to answer viewer questions, ask viewer questions, and at times even curate those questions into the stream through a talent IFB or Teleprompter.

Welcome New Viewers | Ask Them to Like and Share

Since many people will tune in after you’ve already started streaming, you want to make sure you get them up to speed. If you see a bump in viewership, welcome those viewers and recap them on what you’ve been discussing. You can’t control when your viewers join and you’ll want to use call-outs plus graphics and enhanced video to help people navigate the narrative of your stream. Additionally, Facebook’s algorithm ranks videos based on how many likes and shares they have. While you’re streaming try to find creative ways to ask your viewers to like the post and share it with friends. You can also ask your viewers to subscribe to live notifications or like your page – all building long term viewership.

Embrace The Nature of Live!

This is LIVE VIDEO! Your audience isn’t tuning in to watch something stiff and scripted. Feel free to have a little fun or be a bit spontaneous. The more authentic your connection with your audience the better. The beauty of live video is that audiences are not expecting a polished final product.

Make the Video as Visually Engaging as Possible

This may be difficult to achieve if you are shooting from your mobile device, but with a Mevo camera, you can cut to different speakers and shots, zoom in, or, if you’re streaming from a studio, bring in graphics, lower thirds, and other visuals. If people are going to stay tuned in they don’t want to look at a static image for very long. Facebook prioritizes videos that are “more engaging” and HD, so the more you can offer that makes people take a closer look, the more people you can reach.

Broadcast for at Least 10 Minutes (and Say “Goodbye” When You End)

The longer you broadcast, the more viewers and likes you can get, the more likely you will rise in the newsfeed algorithm. We recommend broadcasting for at least 30-45 minutes. You can do 30 minutes of live presentation and then about 15 minutes of Q&A. Then, like any good anchor, sign off when you wrap up and thank your viewers for watching. If you have another livestream scheduled, remind them to tune in later and subscribe to updates.

Boost Your Post

Had a great stream? Once your Facebook live stream ends you can boost it. Putting even a small amount of spend can gain you additional on-demand viewers and extend the reach of your video.