Today, everyone should be using live streams. Period. According to TechCrunch, “In November 2015, Facebook hit 8 billion video views daily, doubling its figure of 4 billion from April 2015. This means that Facebook video has seen 100% growth in only six short months. At this rate, it’s going to surpass 16 billion views by May 2016.”
You can’t ignore this new platform. So what should you do? Take advantage of it.
How you use this medium, however, is going to depend on what you sell and who you sell it to. Obviously, storytelling is important, but you can use Facebook Live for much, much more than that. Here are four ways to reach your audience using live-streaming that you may not have thought of:
1. Create a bit of mystery
Think of a way to unwrap or open something on your live stream. I couldn’t tell you why people love watching this, but they do—must be something to do with our natural curiosity.
For example, there’s a jewelry company out there that opens clams live on Facebook. Someone will pay anywhere from $60 to $200 for the pearl inside, without actually knowing what they’ll get. Then, you can tune in to watch the big reveal.
Naturally, there’s a certain level of excitement for the person who threw down cash. But the utter suspense also has plenty of other people hanging on the edge of their seats, and these little videos have started going viral.
Why did this happen? Well, there’s value in entertainment. So use this to your advantage by thinking of fun, unique ways to showcase and sell your wares via a live stream.
After all, that jewelry business wasn’t any different than every other jewelry shop that sells pearl necklaces. However, they came up with a creative way to get people intrigued about their brand and what they sell.
It goes deeper than just the mystery, though. Unveiling something live gives your community an intimate, inside perspective into your company. And when people feel like insiders, they’re more likely to notice the care and quality that goes into everything you do.
2. Share useful information
One big reason prospects don’t buy things they claim to want is because they’re not sure how these things fit into their lives. So, show them exactly how to use your product by doing a tutorial or how-to video.
Tutorials on how to style clothes, upgrade your decor, or simply use a product can be extremely helpful. I’m not proud to say it, but I watched an hour-long live stream of a magazine’s editorial staff trying a new type of curling iron. (Yup. That really happened.)
This approach works for any and all types of e-commerce businesses. You might have to get a bit creative when thinking of ways to use or style your product, but isn’t that the fun part? Instead of just telling people why your product is great, Facebook Live tutorials will let you show them instead.
3. Show them how it’s made
This is a similar concept to unwrapping, just in reverse—people love, love, love to watch as things come together. So why not share a video of your product being produced? You could even use the same approach as the jewelry business mentioned earlier—have a customer purchase a mystery item and then put it together on camera. Obviously, this won’t work for every e-commerce business, but there’s a lot of live-streaming potential in creation.
4. Answer questions in real time
Facebook Live is a unique marketing tool because it’s not only happening in real time—it’s also interactive. If someone has something to say, they simply leave a comment. You can choose to ignore those comments and just do your demonstration, or you can make them the main event.
To interact with your viewers, you could do a simple Q&A, have a special guest offer opinions, or go the extra mile and make it a forum or a round table. Whatever you choose to do, be sure to check the comments frequently and speak directly to your audience. Nothing is more engaging for a user than the ability to get your attention.
Whichever streaming approach you choose, you don’t have to wait until you have the perfect equipment, the perfect setup, or the perfect plan. The best way to find out what’s going to work for your audience is just to start putting things out there. Experimenting with Facebook Live is the perfect way to start connecting with your customers in totally new ways.
