We are live on Facebook!

You may have heard these five words a few times over the course of the past few months – We are live on Facebook!

If you were sleeping under a rock, you might need us to inform you that Facebook now lets you broadcast live to all of your friends or to all of the fans that like your business page.

Facebook Live allows brands to build an audience and engage directly with them in real time which can be very beneficial for businesses, if done right! Facebook Live can be a great marketing tool for your business, but you should follow a few best practices before venturing into live broadcast land.

Plan your broadcast! Don’t just go live to go live. Actually write a script or at least think about what your message is before hitting that live button.

Plan your visuals! What are you going to show your audience? Take a lesson from Patrick and don’t go live and point the camera forward as you are walking. This can be sickening to viewers as the camera/phone and your hand can be unsteady. If you plan to move the camera or shot invest in a phone/camera stabilizer.

Plan the length of your broadcast! It takes time to build a Facebook live audience. Broadcasters should plan to be live on Facebook for no less than 3 minutes. Facebook suggests live broadcasts last for at least 10 minutes.

Engage with the people that have tuned in to watch you live! Viewers love for broadcasters to give them a shout out on Facebook live.

Shout outs are good but Q&As are better! If your business is one where fans may have questions they need to ask an expert, then plan live Q&As and promote them ahead of time to provide real value to your audience and increase engagement.

No editing ability! Remember, you cannot edit a Facebook live video, so remember to be a good steward of your brand and image. Don’t say or show anything you wouldn’t say or show your grandmother!

To see the official Facebook Live Best Practices by Facebook visit this link: https://www.facebook.com/facebookmedia/best-practices/live