Video Content Marketing Meets Facebook Live

2017 has arrived and with a new year come reinvigorated objectives, and inevitably, a raft of new ideas to consider for potential inclusion into the marketing mix. Perhaps an updated, more focused and effective digital strategy is on your radar? If so, then you’ll be interested to know that one of the latest trends set to emerge in a big way this year is visual content.

There’s no denying that there is a high demand for visual content. Almost every social media site has upgraded their video capabilities, including Facebook who have recently pushed an advert campaign for their Facebook Live feature ahead of the New Year – you may have seen the advert on television this Christmas. While we understand that not every business will have a use for an up to date digital and social strategy, it is crucial for any business looking to expand online reach and develop their digital brand presence to keep up to date with the latest marketing tools available, to make sure they are making the most of the range of options and opportunities available.  All greek/geek so far? Don’t worry, we’ve translated the key points into plain English for you below!

What is Facebook Live?

Facebook Live is a feature that lets Facebook users film and instantly stream video via their Facebook accounts for their friends/followers to watch live. To start broadcasting video live from a smartphone it’s as easy as simply tapping the live stream icon at the top of the Facebook home page (see the screenshot below). Any users following you can then ‘tune in’ to the broadcast. At the end of the video, you can tap finish, at which point it will be posted as a permanently available feature on your timeline.

What can Facebook Live bring to my social media campaign?

Creative use of social media that complements and supports your ongoing strategy is the best way to make the most of what each platform has to offer. With Facebook Live in mind there are clearly a number of ways that the functionality could be used to communicate your message to your audience. How about:

• Using it to live-stream a major company announcement, broadcast a seminar or event.
• Consider some live demos of your products maybe?
• Or even video testimonials from satisfied customers.
• What about a service related video? Think how compelling a short video showing excellent after-sales service or complaint management being implemented could be.
• Maybe think about giving your followers a brief insight into your workplace environment with a video explaining who your company are and what they do – this might work well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse, perhaps even introduce a few employees.

It’s clear that the possibilities are endless and could be a valuable source of engagement with your target markets, especially if properly integrated with your ongoing strategy and lead capture systems.

If you decide to give it a go, whatever you do, make sure that the video is visually engaging. HubSpot described live video as ‘the new reality TV’, and we all know that people enjoy watching videos in which anything could happen and that give them something personal, be it a laugh, a tug at the heartstrings or a feeling of finding a useful idea or opportunity.

How it works

Existing followers of your page/account will receive a notification when a live broadcast is taking place, but to attract new followers, draw them onto your page by using your other channels and alternative tools to make an announcement as to when you’re planning a broadcast so they know when and how to tune in. Take time to write a great headline for your post to encourage participation and pique interest

Facebook Live is a great opportunity for you to engage with your followers. During your video you could ask your viewers for feedback on a product or new aspect of your company and allow participation by responding to comments and questions posted. Generating feedback, communication and content in this way is a prime opportunity to engage with the audience directly in a live environment, it’s akin to having a roomful of potential clients interested in your business right in front of you!

Unlike other live-streaming applications, one benefit of Facebook Live is that you can save your video and re-watch it back for analysis. Facebook lets you analyse metrics including peak live viewers, people reached, reactions, comments, and shares, so you can tailor your videos to your audience by finding out what they loved or hated.

Research gathered by The Content Marketing Institute suggest that ‘by 2017, video content will represent 74% of all internet traffic’, so if you want your slice of that action it’s well worth getting to grips with the tools available and Facebook Live is a great place to start.

If you would like to enhance your social media activity but you’re not sure where to start, why not to email us at hello@mzuri.co.uk or call us on 01428 722 990? We’d love to help.