How To Use Facebook Live For Brands

Facebook is known for prioritizing new forms of content; the current favourite is Facebook Live. In a world in which social networks are constantly competing for our attention, the content they favour is meticulously selected to please us.

Launched in 2016, and rapidly integrated as part of Livescale’s partners, this live video broadcasting tool has become central to the marketing strategy of many brands. It is considered the ideal tool to communicate a brand’s story and build a sincere relationship with fans and subscribers. Video content has long been preferred by Facebook, but since its implementation, live video content receives a better ranking than pre-recorded video content and therefore appears higher in users’ newsfeeds. In the first versions, it was only possible to broadcast on Facebook Live from a device using iOS or Android, but following a review, you can now do so with any software or video equipment in order to deliver professional videos. Here is a short guide on how to use Facebook Live for brands.

How it works

Facebook’s live streaming tool is very easy to use, but it has several settings and analytic components that need to be understood and mastered for an optimal experience.

Once you’ve granted Facebook access to your camera and microphone, you can adjust your audience’s geolocation: select the gender, age, and location of users who will be allowed to watch your live video content. Unlike other platforms such as Periscope, you can write a description of your video that will be displayed above the frame.

Good to know:

• The live video will always be square regardless of the angle
• The live video can last up to 90 minutes
• The live video’s sound is cut off until viewers manually turn it on
• The is a 5 to 7-second delay between capturing the video and the content displayed on the users newsfeed

Analytics

Like any other video content on Facebook, the platform’s metrics allow you to analyze the watch time, the number of unique viewers and the total number of views. Facebook Live’s performance analysis has many other advantages: not only is it possible to view the evolution of all your video data in real-time but you can also know the maximum number of spectators, reactions, comments and shares at a given moment. This tool allows you to identify the best moments of the live video and adjust the scenario for next time. For Facebook, sound activation and/or a shift into full screen indicates that spectators like the video.

Tips and Tricks

1. Catchy title and description
2. Introduce yourself more than once during the live video
3. Visually interesting the WHOLE way through (not just at the beginning, your audience will grow)
4. Present different angles of view, keep it interesting
5. Encourage your audience to engage with your live video
6. Interact with your audience: call them by their names
7. Block uncanny users by clicking on their profile picture
8. Add lenses, filters, writing and drawings to your video frame

Facebook can easily detect copyrighted content and has automated takedowns: if you’re not careful, you risk losing the ability to post and a fine going up to $150,000

It is crucial to follow up on your audience’s insight and comments. Have a community manager answer the live chat while the video is running and don’t forget to respond to all remaining questions once the live is over!

Most important of all, live video is the perfect format to let loose, connect and show your audience that you are human. Have fun with it, and enjoy those little moments of spontaneity and improvisation.

Security

It is very difficult for large social networks to efficiently manage and control live content. Whether it is the tragic event at Christchurch in New Zealand earlier this year, or in Trois-Rivières last month, where one man stabbed another during a discussion on Facebook Live, certain users make inappropriate use of the platform and propagate ideas unsuitable for the general public. Following several incidents compromising the security of Facebook’s Live audience, the social network revised its security measures, setting up a “one-strike” policy. Hope this guide on how to use Facebook Live for brands was useful. Hope this short guide on how to use Facebook Live for brands was helpful.