Businesses are starting to take notice of the hype surrounding live streaming on social media, so much so that a statistical projection already pegged live streaming to be worth around $70B by 2021! This booming demand meant that to be successful, social media platforms must include a live streaming option to their business plans.
Instagram launched IG Live for this very reason. The possibility of heightened customer engagement and interaction through IG Live appealed to creators and simple individuals alike which made Instagram’s live streaming option one of the best updates IG has seen in a long time.
If this gets you thinking about trying it for yourself, then you have to be ready. Here we offer some practical IG Live tips to grease your journey. First, let’s examine the real value of going live on Instagram.
Going Live on Instagram: Worth-It?
Instagram has been called a shortcut to the top; with over 700 million active daily users, 70% of which are the tech-savvy Millennials, IG definitely serves serious eyeballs for brands and personalities around the world. In 2016, the photo-sharing platform has included the live video option into its Stories feature and brands have since been harnessing its marketing potentials.
As a business tool, IG Live captures the audience for brands by quickly sending push and on-site notifications to your followers when you go live. Broadcasting live on Instagram is one way of ensuring you’re on top of your game—literally! Once you go live, Instagram’s algorithm bumps you up to the first place on your followers’ Stories feed.
How to Execute a Great IG Live Video
Here are some practical steps to help guide your IG Live Video journey:
Identify goals and topics to discuss
Before identifying the content to put out, think about your intention for holding a live broadcast first. Be authentic in your approach so you don’t lose sight of what you want to achieve. Think of a clear, interesting topic related to your brand. Something that definitely piques your followers’ attention enough for them to tune in to the broadcast. You can hold Q&A sessions, launch products, announce innovations, give a behind the scene tour, collaborate with influencers and endorsers, carry flash sales, or do real-time contests!
Gigi Hadid covers Gigi Hadid x Maybelline New York launch through IG Live
Schedule live broadcast
There is a “peak time” in social media marketing; it’s basically the ripest time for you to publish content that reaches the maximum number of your brand’s followers. Every IG account has its own unique audience so it’s best to determine the peak time to hold your live broadcast. For localised brands, this is easy, since the majority of your followers will fall into the same time zones. Whether you’re a local or global brand, there are tools like Hootsuite and SproutSocial that can determine your peak time for you. Maximise a live stream by determining the best time to catch the majority of your audience.
Do initial promotions on your social media handles or email
Sometimes, you just have to film the IG live video right away, but it’s still best if you’d make initial promotions on your social media channels. This keeps anticipation high and alerts viewers. One sure way of announcing the live broadcast is by dropping simple announcements on social media; start with Instagram and then reach out to your other social media assets or send out email alerts. Finally, include a link to your Instagram handle so they know where to find you!
Maximise IG Live’s features
IG Live is famous for the indispensable levels of interaction it gives you with your audience. To manage the broadcast well, be sure to maximise its features. Some things you can do during a live stream: interact with commenters, pin the comments you like, change the video format from portrait to landscape (and vice versa), and even add filters! Additionally, you can prevent unruly viewers from seeing your live stream and even report inappropriate comments. There is also an invitation feature that lets you invite over some guests or influencers to the broadcast. Below are screenshots of these some interesting IG Live features from this awesome article from Business 2 Community’s Monique Danao:
Inviting a user to go live with the host during the broadcast
Two users sharing an IG live stream
Adding built-in filters during the broadcast
Sending IG Live link directly to followers during the broadcast
Save video for future repurposing
Initially, IG did not allow users to save live videos, but newer updates have rectified this. Currently, you get an option to save the video for future viewing once the 24-hour mark is over. This is important because the broadcast is potential material that you could repurpose in the future to disseminate information about your business. You could use portions of the video as teasers for future live streams or social media assets.
Conclusion
The digital world is on a constant loop of evolution. Social media platforms are constantly updating so as to not lose out on the exciting potentials. IG Live takes more than an interest to jump on the bandwagon; you need patience and guts to set your intention, develop a format, promote on the right platforms, and save your videos to maximise your IG Live journey. Remember, first impressions last! So establishing your professionalism by being ready to win viewers over with that first live stream is a must!IG Live is a testament that the digital offers a lot of exciting marketable promises for brands and that with a team of experienced digital marketers who knows the ins and outs of Instagram marketing backing you up, you too could be rewarded!
