It might not surprise you to hear me say: I love live video. And the reason is because everything changed for me when I really got strategic about using live video in my own business, and I want to help others do the same!
We are wrapping up our series of live video articles with one last Q&A. I know you all always have some great questions about live video, and I wanted to make sure I could answer as many as I could before we changed gears and focused on other aspects of social media for awhile.
These were your lingering questions…
MY AUDIENCE DOESN’T ENGAGE, WHAT DO I DO?
This is such a great question. One of the aspects that makes live video so amazing is that it gives you the opportunity to engage with your audience in real time. But what happens if no one is biting? There are a few things I want you to keep in mind.
Make sure you are overtly asking for engagement. Your audience won’t know that you want them to take action unless you ask! Start with something simple, like a one-word answer, then work your way up from there. Your goal should be to train your audience to comment, then when they get the hang of that, you can go deeper.
Be engaging! If you stare at the camera like a bump on a lot, no one will want to engage with you. Be interesting and give your audience something to respond to. They aren’t just going to answer because you ask, you really need to understand where your audience is at and then tap into that zeitgeist.
Don’t worry too much. Everybody wants engagement, but it’s not always easy to get. Try your best and if no one is engaging live, move on! Don’t draw attention to it. Sometimes it just takes awhile for you to find your people!
HOW DO I IMPROVE MY LIVE VIDEOS?
If you are already going live, it can be hard to know where to look to improve. Honestly, without seeing your videos it’s hard for me to specifically say. But, if there is one thing that I think MOST people who go live could improve on, is HAVE MORE FUN!
If you’re not having fun, then your audience definitely isn’t having fun. Which means that they probably won’t stick around. Make sure you are excited about what you are talking about, let that shine through, and don’t worry so much about what “could” go wrong.
HOW CAN I FEEL LESS ANXIOUS ABOUT GOING LIVE?
While this might not be a great selling point for live video, it might help you feel a bit less anxious. If you have never gone live before, chances are there aren’t that many people watching your live video. Having tons of people just show up would be a GREAT problem to have!
If someone is taking the time out of their day to watch your live video, they are either there to support you, or to learn from you (not heckle you).
But in all honesty, going live is a strange feeling, and it doesn’t come naturally to most of us.
I want you to picture your mom or your best friend or your amazing client on the other side of that webcam. Just pretend like you are sharing your expertise with someone that you trust, and supports you fully!
SHOULD I MAKE MY VIDEOS MORE PERSONAL OR BUSINESS?
This is one of my favourite questions! Both!
When I talk about doing a “Live Show” such as “The Art of Online Marketing” you want to be sharing valuable content with your audience. This is part of what draws people – you’ve promised that you are going to share your expertise.
However, you don’t want that video to be business only. Snore. You want that video to be entertaining, and you want to infuse your personality into it!
The title and topic are what make people show up, but those aspects are what make them stay.
Once you’ve gotten on track with the “live show” adding “life streams” always makes a great addition. This is where you show a bit more about you, behind the scenes, and you out and about. But you need to have value first!
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT LIVE VIDEO?
Lost of people try to make their videos “perfect” and in doing so completely strip all of the entertainment and personality out of them. Those videos are incredibly boring and not watched very much.
SHOULD I WAIT FOR MY AUDIENCE TO JOIN ME LIVE BEFORE GETTING STARTED?
NOOO!!!
Because live video is, well, live, your audience can tune in at any time. BUT, that video also lives on as a replay where your viewers are watching it from the beginning. If you wait for people and just stare at the screen your replay viewers will leave. But, if you get into the meat too fast, your live videos will get confused and not stay.
You need to balance both audiences with a live video show structure.
Think about when you took grade 12 English. You probably instructed to tell your audience what you are going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them. It seems redundant, but it’s not.
Your live videos should follow a similar plan: Tell your audience what you are going to talk about, tell them, then recap what you talked about.
Now, you can break all of this down even further.
When you tell your audience what you are going to talk about, this is what I call the pre-amble.
There are 3 parts to this:
- Introduce the topic of the show in one phrase;
- Introduce yourself;
- Give context around the topic.
This is what is happening while you are waiting for live viewers to show up, but it’s also information so those watching the replay aren’t watching you watch yourself, and they continue to watch.
I TENSE UP IN MY VIDEOS – HOW DO I BRING MORE ENERGY?
Relax and take a deep breath. For some reason, a lot of entrepreneurs think that there is a lineup of negative nannies out there waiting to tear everything they do to shreds. There isn’t. With (very) few exceptions, everyone who watches your videos is there to support you and learn from you.
Now, here is how you bring more energy to your live videos if you feel like they are lacking. Turn up the dial. You might feel like you are bringing energy, but that doesn’t always translate on video. Imagine that your dial on a normal day is 5, turn it up to a 9. I don’t want you to pretend to be someone else, just you after you drank an extra-large latte!
Can’t wait to see you go live!
By Denise Alison
Denise Alison is the CEO & Founder of Stratigro which empowers business owners and entrepreneurs to build relationships and connect with their potential customers on social media and through live video.
For more details on the Live Video Formula, visit my website or watch my weekly Facebook live episodes on The Art of Online Marketing every Tuesday at 9am EST or you can view on my website at Stratigro.ca/blog.