Why Your Business Should Try Facebook Live
If you think Facebook is best meant for birthday reminders and adorable cat videos, you may be missing out on a simple, affordable and effective tool to market your business. Just ask Chewbacca Mom, whose viral Facebook Live video received more than 150 million views and earned her nearly half a million dollars in gifts, scholarships for her kids and talk show appearances.
According to Stephanie Abrams Cartin and Courtney Spritzer, co-founders of Socialfly, a New York-based social media and “influencer” marketing agency, Facebook is home to the largest active digital audience in the world. And the only equipment you need to use it is your Smartphone, making Facebook Live a cost-effective option. “Using an iPhone camera is one of the easiest ways to begin broadcasting on Facebook, which makes the feature ideal for small businesses,” says Cartin.
A relatively new medium – Facebook only began allowing its users to stream live last year – Facebook Live is no longer just a tool for those seeking their 15 minutes of fame; it’s increasingly become popular among news organizations and businesses looking to reach new customers. And with video one of today’s most popular trends in social marketing, businesses that want to remain competitive are adding video production and streaming to their marketing strategies.
So how should you use Facebook Live to get the best results for your business? Here are a few ideas:
- Bring your brand to your audience. Give potential customers the taste and feel of your business by hosting a live event where you guide virtual shoppers on a tour of your store or organization .The live chat ability means you can answer questions as they’re asked and engage with your viewers in real time.
- Offer live classes online. If you sell products, host a class on how to use them. If you offer services – web design, for example – host a class on how to set up a website. The ideas are limited only by your imagination, and you’re offering something of real value to your customers.
- Shine a spotlight on your staff. Even in these technological times, showing your human side still goes a long way with customers. Each month, showcase a different employee. Have them talk about their position with the company and show your audience what they do every day. Showing off your staff sends a message that you value your employees, and it also tells your employees – and potentially future employees – you care about your people.
- Provide live customer service. Facebook Live lets you get personal, enabling you to provide customer support that’s a step above a help phone or going online. If your customer is having an issue, you can provide support through Facebook Live and help solve the problem in real time.
Another benefit of Facebook Live: it can take less time to broadcast a live video than it does to write and post a blog or even answer emails from your customers. And your live broadcast can live on after you stream it, because you can record it, edit it and save your live video on your website just like any other video. You can also add a trackable link to the description in the post so future viewers are directed to the site of your next live broadcast.
If you haven’t used Facebook Live and you’re not sure how to get started, here
are some step-by-step instructions.
And, just for fun, here are some adorable baby goats.
forbes.com/sites/kateharrison/2016/12/12/get-your-brand-on-facebook-live-now/#25d8db7523e3
socialmediaexaminer.com/6-ways-to-use-facebook-live-video-for-your-business/
convinceandconvert.com/social-media-strategy/facebook-live-for-business/