Why You Should Use Instagram Live & 5 Tips For Livestream Success
Instagram Live…one of the most intimidating features that the social media platform has to offer…
While going live can seem like a lot to manage, especially if you’ve never done it before, it’s actually one of the best strategies that you can use as a small business owner or entrepreneur to build engagement, connect with your followers, establish your brand, and sell offers.
This blog post will cover exactly why you should be going live on Instagram and 5 tips to help you create a successful strategy.
Why You Should Go Live On Instagram:
- Live Streams are popular: 82% of audiences prefer a livestream over social posts
- Instagram Live gives you the number 1 position on the story feed which increases visibility
- Instagram automatically sends push notifications to your followers when you go live and this again, increases your reach and attracts an audience that might not normally see your posts
- Instagram Live humanizes your brand and allows you to create a stronger connection with your followers
- 67% of audiences who watched a livestream bought a ticket to a similar event the next time it happened, indicating that it can be a great sales conversion tool
Instagram Live videos are a popular way to engage with your community and give your account a boost in the algorithm. We get it though…going live can be nerve-wracking. To help you get started, here are 5 tips to help you coordinate your first successful Instagram Live.
1. Take Time To Plan
This is a no-brainer, but setting aside the time to plan your Instagram Live ensures success. While part of the charm about live streams is that they’re more authentic and less curated than social posts, having a structure or plan to fall back is still instrumental in keeping things organized, engaging, and on-topic.
Before you start, brainstorm a topic or theme and then take the time to set a SMART goal for your Instagram Live. Why are you going live? What do you hope to gain from it? Are you looking to build more connections and engagement within your community? Are you generating leads for a product launch?
Your Instagram Live strategy should feed into a larger, cohesive, social media marketing strategy. Make sure that what you’re generating from this event is eventually feeding in to support your business.
Secondly, promote your Instagram live and schedule it weeks in advance. This gives your audience a clear understanding of what to expect and when to expect it.
When it comes to planning Instagram Live itself, create a loose outline for how you want the stream to go. Brainstorm major talking points to ensure that you don’t miss anything but still give the live stream some wiggle room for any questions and spontaneous interactions that might occur.
2. Practice & Prepare
Quality is one of the biggest deterrents to watching a live stream so before you actually go live, make sure that you test the function out beforehand.
- Is your wifi steady?
- Is your audio clear?
- Is your camera steady?
- Do you have access to ample lighting?
- Is the space clean enough to not be distracting?
Double-check all these points and then do a test run with Instagram’s built-in function.
3. Go Live For More Than 10 Minutes
Longer Instagram Live streams tend to perform better because they give your followers time to pop in and out of your event. 10+ minutes of content ensures that you’re actually adding value to whatever conversation that you’re having and diving deeper into a topic than you might be able to do over a simple social post, for example.
4. Create A Series & Stay Consistent With Your Livestream Strategy
Creating an ongoing Instagram Live series allows you to dive deeper into a topic over an extended period of time. It builds familiarity and creates consistency, both things that are great for brand building. Having a series that your brand becomes known for is great for exposure and building authority. This builds your businesses’ trust factor and aids in conversion down the line.
5. Track Your Video Metrics
Track your video metrics and use them as a benchmark for future live streams. This will give you a better understanding of what your audience likes and dislikes and help you tailor your strategy moving forward. These Instagram Live metrics can also be used as a benchmark for future campaigns.
There you have it: why you should use Instagram Live and five tips to get started. Have you ever used this function before? What are some tips and tricks that you’ve found helpful along the way? Share them with the community down below!
