When it comes to live streaming, one of the most accessible and mainstream platforms has to be Facebook live. But why would your business start live streaming and how do you actually go about it?

1. Unique Content

Live video guarantees unique content because of its unpredictability. We recommend planning content beforehand so it doesn’t go off-piste, however, the raw, unedited nature of Facebook Live Streaming means you’ll always get views.

2. A Cheaper Way Of Creating Video

Compared to posted and edited videos, Facebook live is much cheaper and natural. This means you can instantly create organic videos and save them to your page to encourage engagement. All you need is a phone and internet connection to get started.

Although these won’t be as good as edited videos with full production crew it is a great place to get started.

3. Builds a Buzz Around New Products

Facebook Live can be a great way to reward fans of your page by giving them exclusive, never before seen content. Live videos are raw and unedited, leaving viewers not knowing what to expect. Create a buss around new products by first teasing Facebook followers with a live video.

4. Allows More Direct Communication With Your Audience

One of the most important aspects of Facebook Live is that viewers can comment immediately on videos and you can answer these questions in your live video. This is a much more personable approach to content. Think about Q&A sessions, product reviews and event coverage that you can create via Facebook Live.

5. A Way To Better Market Events

If you’re holding an event Facebook Live can be a great way to draw traffic and remind customers that you’re up and running and that they can come down.

Promote your events to the community with a simple Facebook Live video to show viewers what they’re missing out on.

6. Increase Facebook Traffic

Facebook Live is also a great way of drawing audiences to your Facebook page. Every time you go live fans of your page are notified and sent a direct link to watch. This is, effectively free promotion for your event. Facebook recently said that Facebook Live videos can drive ten times more comments because of the real-time aspect of the video.

7. Gives You An Insight Into Real-Time Engagement

Finally, live video is immediate and gives you direct answers to engagement questions. Live Streaming gives people the benefit of seeing real-time engagement to test new content and engagement rates. When you start your video make sure to track your results and metrics to determine what your audience likes about your videos. Analyse things like:

• How many comments did we get and when?
• What sections of the video got the most attention from viewers?
• How many comments were actually left after the video had ended?
• Did Facebook Live perform better than normal videos you post?
• Did you get any new followers because of the Facebook Live video?

This week the Image Matters event team will be undertaking a live streaming project themselves. Keep an eye out on our page to see more of this exciting opportunity to live stream!