12 Ways to Get More Out of Live Video Marketing

There’s a reason that brands have long engaged in video marketing. From sponsoring television shows through making commercials to running YouTube channels, there are few more powerful ways to tell a story than visually. Which is why the rise of live online broadcasting has been so successful. To the appeal of video, brands can add a new sense of urgency and even audience participation. It’s a whole new world. Here’s how to get more out of it.

1. Use Third-Party Add-Ons

Although both Facebook and LinkedIn provide great platforms for live broadcast, they’ve left room for other companies to offer even more. Companies like BeLive let broadcasters match the look of their screen to their brand, make interviews and even talk shows a breeze, and even provide a way to add captions and chyrons. When you’re broadcasting as a professional, it pays to use professional tools.

2. Get the Timing Right

Although your broadcasts will stay online after they’ve been live, you want as many people watching and participating as possible when you go out. Check your stats to identify the time that your largest numbers of users are online and make sure that you’re hitting the biggest possible audience. Or alternatively, broadcast to different markets at different times to reach everyone at a time that works for them.

3. Trail the Broadcast

While live video is so easy that you can hit your broadcast button whenever you feel like it, to get a big audience, you’ll need tell people when you’re broadcasting. Choose a regular hour. Remind your audience when you’ll be live. Send out a reminder an hour or half an hour before you begin, and build excitement so that people won’t want to miss out.

4. Keep the Broadcast Focused

You can broadcast about anything that strikes you but try to stick to one subject in each broadcast. Know what topic you’re going to discuss. Know what you’re going to say about that topic. And know what problem you’re going to solve for your audience or what impression you’re going to leave. Each broadcast should put one strong idea in your audience’s head.

5. Leave Time for Questions

One of the biggest benefits of live broadcasts is that it’s participatory. Audiences can use the comments to ask questions that the broadcasters can answer in front of the camera. That’s a huge value. Answer any urgent questions that come up but be sure to leave at least a third of the total time of the broadcast to answer questions.

6. Greet Arrivals

As you’re broadcasting, you’ll be able to see the names of people joining the audience. Some will also greet you and other audience members. Greet them back. Mention their names. You might not be able to greet everyone by name but you’ll create a closer relationship and build a deeper sense of community.

7. Ask Viewers to Follow You

Most of the people who tune in to your live broadcasts will be your social media audience. But if you’re doing your marketing right, you should also find that you get plenty of new people, friends of your followers who also want to know about your services. Before you sign off, make sure that everyone watching is following you. That will give them a notification next time you’re live.

8. Go Long

There’s something to be said for short, snappy videos like one-minute tips from CEOs, or five-minute product reviews. But when you’re broadcasting live, you need to allow time for the audience to build. People will come in late. They’ll leave early. They’ll only see the notification after the broadcast has started and might only be able to tune in when they’ve finished whatever it is they’re doing at the time. There’s no ideal length for a live video but to get the most out of it, you’ll want to aim for at least ten minutes and no more than an hour.

9. Use Your Space

You don’t need a dedicated studio to broadcast a live video but do think about what your audience will see around you. When politicians Skype into news broadcasts they often make sure that they’re seen surrounded by biographies of world leaders. Authors put their own books in the background. Before you hit the broadcast button, look around you, and ask yourself what your room says about you. Make sure that it shows what you do and how you do it.

10. Create a Content Plan

A live broadcast shouldn’t be a one-off. It should be one of a series that together turns your audience into a community and your brand into a leader. Before you begin broadcasting, make a list of between five and ten topics that you could discuss during your broadcasts. Just making the list will force you to think about what you’re going to say and help you to segue from one video to the next.

11. Interview Your Friends and Colleagues

One easy format for a live broadcast is an interview. BeLive, for example, lets you broadcast a split screen. Audiences see both you and the person you’re talking to, just like a live show. Although interviews mean that you have to share the screen time, they bring benefits. The person you’ll be interviewing will give your audience some new content and new insight. You’ll have to give less content of your own. And best of all, when your interviewees market the broadcast to their audiences, you get to meet a whole group of new customers.

12. Use the Sign Off

Finally, before you’re done, thank everyone for tuning in. Use the sign-off to remind people to sign up for notifications. And tell them exactly when you’ll be broadcasting next.