How to use Live Streaming for your Business

Let’s talk about how to use live streaming for your business and what you need to know & do before you hit that live button.

An overview of live streaming

Live streaming, is the new way of sharing your value with the world. Apart from it being very simple to use, it’s absolutely free.
Periscope Mobile app can your live stream can also be shown on Twitter
Facebook Live, you can live stream on your personal page and on a page or group at the same time
YouTube Live
Instagram live mobile app

My friend these live streaming features are going to put your business on the globe map. Look at these places as a new platform to share your business information. You could be the 1st in your niche/industry to stamp your authority on one of these platforms.

This post is here to help you understand the difference between the platforms
Help you should prepare your content to share via live streaming
Plus give you some bonus ideas on what to share if you are stuck for ideas

1: Why live streaming & your Business is a perfect match

Live streaming platforms have the internet buzzing with excitement. This new way of communicating allows you the business owner to market your business in real-time to real people, worldwide for free.

This new marketing tool of yours is going to change the way you interact with others forever. But only if you use these platforms correctly to leverage your business. The benefit will add to your business & those you add value to will be incredible.

You can now from the comfort of your home, office, workshop, studio or on the move engage with potential leads, clients & customers.

If you don’t have many followers it’s no excuse not to start. Of course, it’s nice to have regular viewers ready to jump on and watch your live streams but thanks to replays people can still get to see what you shared.

Plus the viewers who do watch you live can share the love by sharing your live stream with their followers.

However to leverage live streaming you have to do one simple but very hard thing, Get Started.

I know it’s new, it’s raw & it’s real. It’s you sitting there talking to people who know you but my not really know you. You have to put yourself out there and share who you are, what you do.

That’s a scary way to promote yourself but times are changing. We now live in a world that evolves uses the internet to connect more, its the way forward. Of course, we still continue to leverage social media platforms like before & we continue to put our content on our blogs. But now there’s a new way that can help your business all for free and that’s live streaming.

2: Preparing for your 1st or Next Business Broadcast

This is where the nerves will kick in if you’re a shy or introverted person. However, like life, there are times you just have to dig deep, truly believe you can do this & give it your best shot. Anything new is never easy until you have done it a few times. Saying that I know of big-timer Periscoper who have admitted that just before they hit that big “Start Broadcast” button they too get the nervous butterflies.

This shows you are not alone. Remember you are doing this to better serve the people who need to know about your business. They deserve to learn from you & only you can share your value your way.

3: Know Your content

At this point, you should know what you will be talking about on your live broadcast. Here are a few points to get your content prepared but not too scripted that you start reading it and become a robot on screen.

Always start with creating your scope title first then your content answers the title.

Have a good clear to the point title. This is not the time to try and be clever or witty or do a play on words. Capturing viewers’ attention is paramount, as they scroll through their live feed. You don’t want people to read your scope title & wonder what your title means or try to figure out if your scope will benefit them. The clearer your scope title is, the quicker a viewer can make a decision on whether what you are sharing will add value to them.

I would recommend using your notepad app on your device to write out your scope title ready. Check for spelling mistakes & double-check for spelling mistakes. Once you hit the “Start Broadcast or Go Live ” you cannot change your title. It becomes permanent for the duration of your live stream and for the replay 24 hours afterward.

Break down your content into bullets points. Don’t have too many, 4 – 5 is a good number especially if you are expanding each point into more detail.

There are 4 reasons why bullet points are the way to go when using Periscope.

1: You need to focus on the screen, ie: the viewers watching and listening to you. By having bullets points your eyes will not stray away from the screen for too long.

2: Bullet points keep you on track. When you feel yourself starting to ramble, your bullets points will bring you back on track.

3: You want to keep your viewers focused & engaged & not wanting to leave before you have finished because they are getting bored.

4: It helps you keep your scope down to say 15mins-ish. You don’t want a long scope until your followers are used to you. Then you can be on your scopes as long as you want. But starting out it’s all about sharing your content quickly & effectively so the viewers get the full benefit of your value.

With your content bullet points ready. Write them down on a notepad or index card an place it as close as possible to the camera.

With your live stream title ready, bullets point written down and close to your device. It’s now time to look at the screen where you will start your live stream.

4: How to engage with or without an audience

1: While sharing your content, ask your viewers to share your live stream broadcast with their followers

2: You may or may not get hearts from your viewers. Don’t worry about it, if you don’t see any hearts, focus on delivering your content.

Here are 2 things you need to avoid when it comes to hearts.

1/ is begging for hearts and 2/ using hearts as a way to share more of your content.

I recommend using the hearts feature to your own advantage. Use them as a way to work alongside your comments. Remember some viewers won’t want to comment, so using hearts will be easier for them to engage. Also if your broadcast is full, then those who can’t comment (Periscope only), only have hearts as a way of communication.

A few ways of using hearts to your advantage

When you say a question and give your answer ask the viewers to tap the screen if they understand.
Use the hearts as a soundcheck or for a bad connection check. You can say “Tap the screen if you can hear me o.k”.
Or tap the screen if I am not frozen.
Or tap the screen if you want to do a q and a session.

3: Comments are great until you have to start blocking them

As much as comments are great to have. At the time you may have viewers who are not nice, who share silly, rude, stupid & plain insulting comments. These people are called “Trolls” they do nothing else apart from jump into your live stream and try an disrupt it.

Do not let them lose your flow. As soon as you see something you don’t like, block them. To do this tap on the comment you don’t like. A window will open displaying what the person wrote and the following options: Reply, Block User, Cancel. Tap block user and they will be gone from your scope instantly. This can change from platform to platform.

5: Ways to make your live broadcast great

Is it quiet enough to broadcast?

Before anything make sure you have a quiet environment to broadcast in. Or at the very least the noise around you is at a minimum. Switching off phones, tv, and other devices is an idea.

Be seen

Having good lighting will help your viewers see you. Natural light is the best but we are not always able to use it. So having artificial light as your back up is great. That can be your room lighting, lighting stands or a ring light that many use.

Keep your Camera Steady

Set up your camera on a tripod. Yes, you can hold it either in your hand or with a selfie stick, but be warned your arm may get tired & you may begin to shake. Start as you mean to go on and invest in a tripod and have your camera set in place.

Adding your live stream Title

Firstly you will copy and paste your live stream title from your device’s notepad.
To make your title POP and stand out add some emojis.
You have a lot of emojis to chose from, but don’t use too many. If you can find emojis that represent some of your words then you could use those. For example a book review you can use the open book emoji. If travel is in your title you can use the world emoji or choose a flag.

Start Talking Straight Away

As soon as you hit the go-live button, welcome the replay viewers. Then welcome those who are coming onto your live stream. If you don’t say anything straight away, those replay viewers will be watching a video without any sound. How long do you think they will continue to watch if nothing is happening. This is why you need to welcome the replay viewers straight away.

Introduce yourself and share the title of the live stream again. This will give you a little time while allowing people to come in. But don’t wait too long, if people are in your scope start sharing your content.

You will find that you will get more replay viewers. As your video is only available for 24 hours via Instagram also tell those following you about it via your stories.

7: A few live streaming ideas to get you started

Think about what you can now share live. You can share
New products, Improved products,
Offer questions and answer sessions. These are very popular it gets your viewers to engage and you can share your knowledge
Show demonstrations – no more just for exhibitions or trade shows.
Create live demos and see what your viewers think
Create a part of your product live. Great if you are a creative | Handmade business owner

That’s just the tip of the iceberg for ideas.

8: Enjoy the experience

Remember to enjoy the process and the live stream. Yes, you will feel nervous but nothing happens until you tap the “Go Live Button”.

When you do try and enjoy the moment. Share your content like the amazing business owner you are. Let others learn from you.

It’s your time to go live to the world with your awesome content. Be calm, you can do this. I know you can!

Share in the comments if you have any more live streaming tips to share? Or if you want to live stream but you are still a bit unsure?