Going Live!
Recently, social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook have introduced a "live" feature, meaning anyone's able to record themselves in real time for all of their followers to see. Twitter also has their own feature powered by Periscope. Instagram does this great thing where they save your live videos for 24 hours just like a normal Instagram story. And on Facebook and Twitter the live video will be seen as a post on your timeline, so if someone misses it they're able to go back and look at the video.
Reasons Why You Should Jump on the Bandwagon
1. You’re able to live stream an event happening in real time! For example, if the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is in town, take advantage of showing viewers at home what's going on. Give them an inside look without them having to leave the couch! Perhaps incorporate interviews with vendors and describe whats going on giving the audience a good idea of the atmosphere.
2. Tease a product’s release and have a big reveal on live. Create a raffle to win and release the winner. The tease doesn't even have to be a product. It could be the teasing of a new edition to the team, or a new client!
3. All of your followers get a notification when you're live and you get bumped to the front of the stories line on Instagram and Facebook! Use that to your advantage so people'll tune in.
Some Dos & Don'ts
1. Do have a plan and know what you're about to say. Practice, practice, practice! Just hitting the "live" button on a whim, stuttering, losing your words or just not knowing what to say next could be detrimental to viewership.
2. Don't forget to tell everyone when you are going to go live! Give your followers a heads up so they'll know when to tune in, and maybe at a time when you know people won't be sleeping, or commuting to work. Tease it on your Instagram story, or with a Twitter or Facebook post!
3. Don't make it too long! Keep it short and interesting. Nowadays most people have short attention spans. You don't want to lose your audience right when you're about to get to the point!
