Facebook live video has been a huge driving force for our business. Find out why it’s so important and tips for using these videos to engage with your Facebook live viewers.
Hey, Y’all! If you have been following us for any length of time, you’ve likely seen one of our Facebook Lives where we show a variety of tutorials as well as some of the fun tools we use when making wreaths.
Making our Facebook Live videos has allowed us to connect with our audience members and really engage with people on a deeper level than blog posts allow.
It shouldn’t be a surprise by now that live video marketing is one of the hottest marketing trends, especially on social media. In fact, reaching new followers and staying connected with existing ones are the top two goals of Facebook Live streaming.
As a Craftpreneur, it’s essential to connect with your readers because it builds trust with your audience and allows you to help them even more…both of which go a long way toward turning your audience members into repeat customers.
But in order to get them to watch your videos long enough to make that connection, you need to get them engaged and keep them that way so they don’t turn your video off.
Today I’m going to share tips and tricks for keeping your audience engaged during your live “how-to” videos so that they get the most out of what you’re sharing, stay for the entire video, and become loyal repeat customers.
What Is Viewer Engagement?
Can you keep an audience? In other words, do you have what it takes to make sure people actually stay to watch your message once you begin speaking?
If you are thinking of Facebook Live as a one-way street, you’ve been thinking about it totally wrong.
The whole purpose of streaming live versus sticking up a pre-recorded video is to spark a conversation and make your stream a place where viewers can interact with you. I want my audience chiming in and feeling super engaged for the entire live!
Sound hard? It’s not. There are several different ways you can do this. I’ll walk you through each one.
Types of Engaging Facebook Live Video Broadcasts
These tips will also help you increase the number of viewers on your Facebook Live Videos.
Live Teaching
We do these a lot. As crafters, we tend to be very visual people, so naturally, we learn best from watching people do something rather than just reading about it.
The majority of our Facebook Live channel is exactly this – videos teaching our audience how to re-create a wreath that we’ve made or even a business model that has worked for us.
Answer Audience FAQs
Do you have a tangible product or a service that can seem confusing? If you have a social media follower who is having a hard time figuring out how to use your product or service, use it as an opportunity to go live!
Rather than sit and type out a response to their Facebook post or their emailed question, jump on live video and give them a detailed, helpful answer. Just make sure to get them a link to the video in case they missed it live!
Chances are if someone has asked a question, there are dozens of others who are wondering the same thing.
Giveaways or Contests
There are so many different ways you can run a contest or giveaway. You can ask questions and give people who answer it correctly free products or gift certificates. You can also give items out to people who share your live or tag friends.
Even small items like $5 gift cards to a coffee shop can generate some good buzz. People love coffee, y’all!
You can even do a giveaway for a big-ticket item like a wreath to help build your Facebook page—the bigger the prize, the bigger the draw might be.
Tips for Engaging Your Facebook Live Video Viewers
How do you engage the audience in a video? Here are several tips you can use to encourage engagement during a live video.
Be Engaged
Lesson number one: your audience will not be engaged unless YOU are.
Begin your live videos by briefly welcoming viewers. This is an easy way to pass the time while you’re waiting for people to hop on. Plus, who doesn’t like to hear their name being called out? Your viewers will tune in a little bit longer because they feel noticed and can interact with you in real-time. Make sure you balance these welcomes with details about the video’s content.
I recommend starting the video with basic information about the video, as people are joining in. Explain what the video will be about and what people can expect to learn. Sprinkle in a few welcomes such as “Hi Liz, thanks for joining today. It’s great to see you.” You don’t need to welcome everyone or spend a long time with greetings.
Asking people where they’re from is an easy icebreaker. You can do that by saying where you are broadcasting from and asking your viewers where they are tuning in from. Mention a few as you see them pop up in the comments.
You can (and should) repeat this process several times throughout your video because people pop into the video at different times.
Be Entertaining
Want to make sure you stick in someone’s mind and keep them watching? Entertain them! People are trained to remember good memories, jokes, and funny stories, so sprinkle plenty of these in.
If you keep someone entertained, you’ll have them asking questions, leaving comments, wanting more interaction and sharing their fun experience with friends and family!
Meaningful, Educational Comments
Remind viewers that the live video is an easy time to get one-on-one answers for all their questions. Direct viewers to ask questions in the comments, and you’ll find that eliciting these meaningful questions will spark viewer engagement significantly.
This is the time to answer questions and explain things thoroughly to make sure your audience members feel heard. One thing I always tell entrepreneurs about Facebook Live videos is don’t be afraid to “show your secrets”. Think of it this way: if you give someone some helpful info for free, they are much more likely to spend money on a product you sell. They already know you provide really helpful content, so they feel confident purchasing!
Tags and Shares
Getting on Facebook Live and interacting with your audience is essential for engaging your current fans and pulling in new ones. To spread the word about your Facebook Live video, ask viewers to tag friends in the comments and share the video stream. Many people will share the broadcast because it’s an easy, one-click action.
Always Be Closing
I call this ABC for short and it’s a crucial element of live videos. Remember, if your ultimate goal is to sell something, whether it’s a product, yourself, or your services, keep your end goal in mind and make sure to take action that will lead to that goal! Always be closing, y’all.
Have You Tried Facebook Live Video?
Please comment below! Have you ever tried using Facebook Live video to reach your audience?
If you need any help with centerpiece-making, bow-making, wreath-making, or crafting in general, be sure to check out more of our tutorials on How to Make Wreaths.
We would love to see your beautiful wreaths! Please share with us over at the How To Make Wreaths Facebook Group.
Want to get more coaching to propel your crafting business? Check out our Business Coaching Group – Damon’s Inner Circle!
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