tips for live video broadcasts from michelle carvill

if you listened to our recent podcast interview called ‘get social’, you may well recognise this week’s guest. when michelle carvill and ciaran caught up to talk about her book “get social, they also talked about all sorts of other things, and one of them was michelle’s experience working with facebook live broadcasts. it’s always great when you get to meet up with other marketers who have learned how to make a new medium work for them through actually experimenting and using it.

it’s not a medium ciaran has played with much, so he asked michelle to share her learning and tips for the medium. with so many social media platforms now including the ability to broadcast live to your audience, we thought you might all enjoy her top tips, so we’ve compiled them into an episode.

we’ve also included a summary of michelle’s tips in the show notes so if you don’t always look there, be sure to take a look at this episode.

live video top tips for marketers using facebook live

• watch others live broadcasts to get a good idea of both what works well, what doesn’t and refine your thoughts on how you might conduct your own broadcasts in light of that learning.
• don’t make it too polished. the more authentic the better. people will forgive, er and ums, but get the tech sorted.
• create a consistent introduction and ensure you have a solid internet connection and good sound and lighting.
• give people time to come on.
• check people can hear you / your guest before you get going and get confirmation before you continue.
• share what you’re going to be talking about.
• encourage engagement throughout the broadcast.
  just asking simple y/ n questions and asking participants to type y/n in the comments section of the feed is all you need to get that two-way engagement flowing.
• flip your screen if using whiteboard/writing and post it on the screen – if using a phone.
• film landscape not portrait for facebook live.
• get some kit to offer to help hold your camera and position it well like a gooseneck / portable stand for your camera/ phone/tablet.
• don’t keep stopping to say ‘hi’ when people join. avoid constantly shouting out to those that have joined halfway through. it really destroys the flow of what you are presenting.
• revisit the key topic and keep your broadcast focussed.
• drive engagement. ask for shares and encourage watch backs by posting out links.
• ten to fifteen minutes seem to work well for the facebook algorithm to work its magic on your live broadcast – don’t make your broadcasts too long, but you want to be broadcasting long enough for people to join and for you to get your content across well.

useful links
view some of michelle’s live broadcasts

john lesure t mobile ceo facebook channel video’s – slow cooker sunday

download episode 195