No stone should remain unturned when it comes to finding ways to stand out in your industry. The digital world presents ample opportunity to claim your business’s rightful place in the professional world, especially on social media. Establishing your presence on social media can take many forms, but livestreaming is increasing in popularity.
It is crucial to use your time wisely when livestreaminng. There should be a combination of marketing, selling, socializing, educating, and entertaining happening in each. Additionally, there should be a central purpose for each livestream.
As valuable as livestreaming is to any business, many struggle to leverage it effectively. Fortunately, there are things you can do to ensure you’re genuinely connecting with your audience and maintaining a positive brand image while going live.
Here are some basic rules for livestreaming for your author business:
Polish Your Personal Brand
Your personal brand is already so important to the strength of your social media presence in general. When you’re clear about who you are and what you stand for, you attract an audience with similar values that’s more likely to engage with your brand. As a result, this engagement and connection will extend to your livestreams.
Marketing yourself and your brand in this digital age means offering a consistent brand experience across all of your digital platforms, social media included. Additionally, a polished personal brand ensures viewers know what to expect in your livestreams in terms of professionalism, the level of interaction they’ll receive, and the messaging you’ll use.
Take some time to analyze your personal brand:
- Is what you stand for communicated to your audience clearly?
- What are your values and brand goals?
- Why did you start your business?
- What experience do you want the people who engage with your brand to have?
Choose the Best Platform
Millions of people make daily use of multiple social media platforms. Because of this, you may feel pressured to create as many social media profiles as possible to ensure you’re reaching as many people as possible. But this is counterproductive. You’ll spend way too much time posting and not enough on building lasting relationships.
Choose one or two social media platforms with livestreaming capabilities to grow your presence on. The most popular social media platforms that offer livestreaming features are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. Whatever platform you choose, each has its own livestreaming pros and cons.
For example, starting a live on Instagram is simple but can only be done on a mobile device. Facebook offers the option to livestream on a mobile device or desktop computer, but it’s more socially focused. While going live on LinkedIn gives you access to a more professional audience, you have to apply and be approved by the platform to access the livestreaming feature.
Ultimately, whichever platform you choose, ensure you’re comfortable navigating all the features, your profile is current, and that your target audience is active on it.
Create an Outline to Guide Each Live
Freezing up on a live is anyone’s worst nightmare. It can make you look like an amateur, which will ultimately turn them off from viewing your lives in the future. Creating an outline to guide each livestream can help you remain poised and professional. If your mind does go blank, you can quickly refer to your outline and move the conversation forward with your viewers.
A day or two before you go live, create an outline that details what you’re going to talk about. Your outline should include how much time you’re going to spend on each topic and factor in time for questions at some point.
Also, you want to ensure the purpose of the live is clear and what action you want viewers to take is communicated throughout.
Get Really Good at Promotion
Many people dream of having thousands of viewers flocking to their livestreams but are unrealistic about the work it takes to get there. People don’t go from five viewers on their first live to 1,000 viewers consistently without solid promotion.
None of your followers will know you’re doing a live if you don’t tell them. The best ways to promote livestreams to your audience will depend on their communication preferences and media choices.
All in all, however you go about promoting your livestreams, ensure you do it well in advance of the date of the livestream and include all of the critical information at the forefront.
Connect Your Physical and Digital Worlds
Suppose you’re relying entirely on in-person interactions and physical marketing techniques to bring people to your business. In that case, you’re missing a huge opportunity to further connect with your audience online.
If you want to stay relevant in this increasingly digital world, your physical business must be complemented by and connected to a digital presence. When we talk specifically about livestreaming on social media, you can share what you’re doing offline with your online audience and vice versa. For example, livestream an in-person event you’re doing. Or encourage your online audience to attend your next event by doing a Q&A livestream about what to expect.
Ultimately, livestreaming is a great way to stand out from your competition when it’s done right. First, ensure your personal brand is intact before diving in. Then, choose the best platforms for your lives and create outlines for each one to stay focused on its ultimate purpose. And lastly, get good at promotion and ensure you connect your physical and digital audiences to be most impactful with your lives.
Indiana Lee is a writer and journalist from the Pacific Northwest with a passion for covering workplace issues, social justice, environmental protection, and more. In her off time, she enjoys hiking with her two dogs. You can follow her on Twitter @indianalee3, or reach her at indianaleewrites@gmail.com
