Videos are everywhere: Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Instagram and more. Live video is clearly the hottest thing since Facebook and entrepreneurs and marketers in every niche are taking advantage by hosting their own live sessions.
Some of them are pretty good. They’re well attended, fun to watch, and you feel like you benefitted from attending. But, some of them feel like they’re an afterthought, put together at the last minute, and don’t really bring out the best in the host.
If you’re thinking of hosting a live video session, make sure you don’t fall into the latter slap-dash group! Here’s how to avoid that.
1) Promote, Promote, Promote
On many platforms, a live video event is just a few clicks away. You can literally plan and host a video in just a few minutes, and an impromptu event can be fun.
But with a little planning, you’ll have a much better turnout and part of that planning is promoting it in advance.
Let your private groups know about upcoming events. Email your contacts. Post a blog. You could even consider running paid ads for your upcoming video event if there’s the potential to grow your list or increase your exposure (that is if you are familiar with running ads…if you’re not, leave the ads for another time).
In short, don’t just throw a party without extending the invite to your contacts, friends and colleagues!
2) Give Your Audience a Reason to Show Up
You can offer them a free guide that helps them navigate something challenging in your industry or you can promise to share some important news that they can’t find anywhere else. Or, maybe there have been changes in laws, new developments that impact your industry, and you can share your advice on what they could do to prepare.
If you’re a ReadyToGoNewsletter customer already, take advantage of our free call-to-action free guides as a “Thank You” for attending.
If you’re a real estate agent, you can do a live home tour of a new listing, a market update event or a first time buyers Q&A event. You can offer your attendees the ‘Great Ideas for Quick, Easy Fixes That Will Help Your Home Sell’ or ‘10 Easy Steps to Buying a Home’ guide.
If you’re in the mortgage industry, you can do a live event about weekly/daily market updates, tip of the week or month, Q&A about first time buying. You can offer your attendees the ‘How to Choose a Mortgage Loan That’s Right for You’ guide.
If you’re in the insurance industry, you can do a live event about important upcoming deadlines or changes that are taking place that your contacts should be aware of. You can offer your attendees the ‘Top 10 Insurance Blunders – and How to Avoid Them’ or ‘The Dangers of Shopping for Insurance Online’ guide.
3) Interact with Your Audience
One of the biggest draws of a live video event is the opportunity to interact with the host. Your viewers want to get to know you better. Give them an opportunity to ask you questions. This could be the focus of your event even – to go over the most common questions your prospects/contacts/clients ask you in your business.
Think of a live event as less of the broadcast that it is and more of a conversation. Don’t make the mistake of ignoring your attendees. Greet them as they join you.
Take the time to chat up the audience, acknowledge their presence, and answer their questions. Even if it takes you out of the flow and you lose your place momentarily, it’s worth it to make viewers feel respected and as if they’re a part of the event rather than just a passive viewer.
Remember to check the comments later, too. If your video is available for viewing after the live event is over, encourage the conversation in the comments.
4) Repeat What Works
You have a lot of options when it comes to live video. YouTube, Facebook, Zoom and others all have their place, and we encourage you to try them out.
Try live video for different events and see which ones get the best attendance and best outcomes. In the end, you’ll want to concentrate on what is working and do more of those.
If your audience loves Facebook but can’t figure out WhatsApp, it makes no sense to broadcast on WhatsApp. The same goes for length, topic choices, and day and time of broadcast. You’ll want to test all the variables, track your results, and do more of what’s working.
Something you DO NOT need to worry about when it comes to live video is: Perfection.
No one expects you to look like a cover model or to speak like a news anchor. In fact, if you do look that perfect, it might actually negatively impact your results, simply because your audience loves to feel connected to a real person. They know they aren’t perfect, and if you can show off your imperfections, it will help create a stronger connection.
The world of marketing is always evolving and live video is one of the most genuine ways to connect with an audience. It allows for levels of personalization in social media spaces that haven’t been accessible before.
Consumer behavior changes, new technologies emerge, and old ones die out.
We need to constantly be on the lookout for new forms of reaching contacts and prospective customers and building a brand presence. Don’t be afraid to explore video and live video events so you can tap into more of what is available at your fingertips.