Recently, we’ve had a great time at the Engage Prague Conference by Socialbakers. Among other things, we took part on a workshop by Alexandria McCulloch and Danielly Netto called Master the Art of Live Broadcasts.

If you follow us on our Facebook pages, you may have noticed some of our live videos such as here here or here.

So we aren’t new to this topic. However, it’s always a challenge to put yourself out there and make a spontaneous streaming about a random topic (how does a celebrity second hand sound to you?)

You can watch our masterpiece from the workshop at the end of the article, but let’s sum up the most important facts about Facebook live videos first ;)

Why should I go live?

• Videos are currently the best performing content on Facebook
• They generate 1200% more likes and shares than pictures and texts altogether
• Live videos generate 6x more interactions and comments than regular videos
• They generate dialogue and interactions - which is why the Facebook algorithm puts them higher in the News Feed
• They are raw, immediate and authentic - creating a closer bond with your audience

What should I stream?

Apparently, live videos can bring you some really nice numbers and interactions. But what should the broadcast be about? Literally anything, the options are endless! Here are some of our favorite ones which will hopefully inspire you too.

• Popsicles (LADbible) - Which one will melt last? https://www.facebook.com/LADbible/videos/2783253238388515/

You may think - who on Earth would be interested in watching popsicles melt? Well, apparently 6.3 Millions of people at least! The results of this streaming are enormous:

Here’s the secret recipe to the video’s success. But pssst… don’t tell anyone!

You’re gonna need:

• 4 popsicles

• A camera

• A roof with sunlight

Preparation:

• Engage your audience to guess which one will melt first

• Stream it live till the end

• Watch the magic happen!

Hungry for more? Check this one!

• TRIAD for O2: Pigeons

https://www.facebook.com/O2Slovakia/videos/1288127931219488/

The new O2 campaign was based on freedom so the Slovak advertising company Triad took a few winged friends to help.

Here’s what it looked like:

Four pigeons were about to be set free from their cages. The audiences task was to comment which one will fly away first. What a lovely spectacle! If you speak Slovak, you can read more about the broadcast here: https://blog.triad.sk/zapisnik/uleteny-livestream-pre-o2/

Well done, TRIAD!

If you don’t want to get involved with food or animals, work with what you’ve got. Sometimes, the simpler the better! Here’s what we did some time ago.

• TrainStation: We’re building Bill’s station, yay! https://www.facebook.com/TrainStation/videos/1093278170781433/

How about a little sneak peek behind the scenes of your favorite game?

Each week, the game TrainStation is updated with new content and as the seasons/events change, so does the train station of the main game character - Mr. Bill.

We decided to give our players a chance to see how it’s done. They could even suggest us which buildings and decorations we should put there and see the magic happen in real time!

Results were more than impressive:

• 501,707 people reached

• 61k Views

• ALL FOR FREE!

Before I end this blog with our workshop masterpiece which I mentioned at the beginning, here are some tips which you’ll hopefully find useful.

Some last tips:

• Call to action: encourage your audience to engage with your video, send you questions and react.

• Answer questions in real time: make sure to check the questions from your audience (or have someone checking them for you in case multitasking isn’t your thing) and answer them as soon as you can. Also make sure to mention their name!

• Genuine, non-staged approach: it’s always a good idea to prepare for the streaming but be as natural as possible. A staged monologue can look cringey, especially if presenting isn’t really your thing.

• Embrace mistakes: mistakes can and will happen. But that’s the beauty of live streaming - little mistake make you look more human and approachable. So, don’t freeze if you make one - just smile and move on :)

• Announce your streaming in advance: tease your fans and make sure that nobody will miss it.

• Try it out first: it’s always good to have a secret page where you can try out your streaming before going live on your official one. Is the lightning good? What about the sound? Are you filmed from your good angle? :D

• Frequent check-ins: make sure to remind what’s your streaming about throughout the whole video for those who haven’t been watching it from the very beginning.

And now the masterpiece!

If you made it this far, you definitely deserve to see our Celebrity second hand live broadcast from the Socialbakers workshop (we’re at about the 11th minute). I think you’re gonna have a good laugh, as the other groups were even more amazing!

Enjoy watching and go Live too ;)

https://www.facebook.com/socialbakers/videos/10156463138589744/

Cheers,

Natalia