Introduced in the year 2016, Facebook Live has clearly become one of the best real-time viewing medium. For those who aren’t aware of what ‘real-time viewing’ is, let me tell you that real-time viewing means you are able to see a video content at the time when it is being recorded. It is very commonly referred to as ‘streaming.’

Streaming is New Media’s reply to Digital Media’s ‘Live Broadcast’ and looking at the extent of usage of Instagram Live, Facebook live and others, we can say that slowly it is overtaking the popularity once held by live broadcasts. But why? The answer is ‘nearness.’ People tend to value your brand more if you are able to provide them some insights of your working style, showcasing some of your employees, and by showing them some behind the scenes information. Live videos do what a normal post with an edited image cannot. It communicates efficiently.

Although Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms come under cover of New Media, the content to be prepared for an Instagram Live video is very different to that of a Facebook Live Video. Both have different audiences, and both the platforms are very different to that of each other. So, how to prepare before going Live? Let’s see:

Planning:
This is a fundamental requirement. It’s very obvious that you need to plan what you are going to show or talk about when you to go live. If you are able to document your plan and work according to it, you have high chances of conducting a successful live video. If you do not plan, you may not be able to communicate properly with your audience and may even end up losing a few potential customers.

Fast and Reliable Connection:
I guess you will be aware that videos require high speed and an active internet connection for broadcasting or to be uploaded. If your connection is is not strong or is slow, it may get compressed to a lower quality or people may also experience lag. Both are hazardous for your video.

Advanced Announcement:
Have you seen that the companies before hosting press conferences or any events send various reminders in form of press releases, e-mails, and text messages? It is the same regarding live broadcasts. TV channels give various reminders on the channel itself about the live broadcasts well in advance. Same is required in case of going live. If you do not keep the people informed in advance or do not remind them of your live video, the viewership may not be much. People today are very busy. So, you need to keep them informing and reminding for your own good.

Keep a suitable time:
Based on your product or message, fix a time of going live. The last thing you would want is your target audience missing out on your live broadcast. So research thoroughly and set a time of your broadcast.

Proper Ending is a must:
People have invested their valuable time to see your video, So after you are done with the message, you should not tap that ‘finish’ button abruptly! Take a moment and thank everyone for joining the video. After that, it’s time for the call to action. You can request the viewers to subscribe to your videos. A nice call to action would be “Thank you for joining us today. If you liked our video, please hit the subscribe button and get notified the next time we go live. Till then, it’s a goodbye.”

Now that you are aware of the basic protocols of going live let’s find out some unique contents that you can use for a live video. Let’s get started:

Product Launches:
It might be a book. It might be a car. Whatever it might be, you can always launch your products on Facebook live. People those who aren’t present there in person can view the video in real time and experience it. Only a few days back, car manufacturer ‘Jeep’ launched its entry-level SUV ‘Compass’ in the Indian market. Of course, the company’s event was covered by the Print Media and Digital Media, but the event was wholly covered via Facebook Live too. The viewers could see the full event in real time!Question Answer Sessions.

This is something that celebrities are using on a regular basis nowadays, to get closer to their fans. People ask questions based on a set topic or theme and the celebrity answers them one by one. This application of Facebook Live is being extensively used.

Events and Functions:
You can use Facebook Live to show your attendance at an event. People can get to know about the event, which would otherwise remain unnoticed. So, use it to promote any events or functions.

Interviews:
We have seen that news channels and online channels are using Facebook Live to host interview of film-stars, cricketers, politicians and other famous personalities. Also, sometimes companies question their employees. The employee opens up about the organization or product. This is a unique way used by the companies to market themselves or their products.

Vox-pop:
For those who don’t know what vox-pop means, it is usually a very short opinion taken from the public on a particular topic. Usually, the opinions comprise of few words and the members who will opine are chosen on a random basis. In recent times we have seen people going live to gather this kind of opinions from the people. And it works!

Breaking News:
Almost all the news channels have their own Facebook page. And on those pages, you might have seen live videos of breaking news. May it be on field reporting, or studio debates, almost all the significant news are covered in Facebook Live. The viewership of these videos is very high.

So these were some of the contents for your Facebook live video. Choose any one of them and go live. People nowadays are very much interested to see live contents rather than other video uploads. So, use this tool wisely and on a regular basis.