If you love social media, you’ve heard of the term ‘going live’. Most prominently on Facebook and Instagram, this feature allows you to record yourself in real time and talk about anything under the sun while your followers comment or ask questions. Have you ever thought about how it’s the perfect way to engage with your audience and get to know them? That’s the digital era for you, something new is always coming up.
Video content has exploded over the years, which is why companies such as Snapchat and YouTube have flourished. According to livestream.com, “81% of internet users are watching more live streaming content than ever before”. Yep, it’s definitely a thing.
Let’s use celebrities who rake in millions of views as an example. People want to ask them questions on the go, hear them talk and see what they’re doing in real time in an intimate setting.
They get to answer you as if you’re directly speaking to them; any fan would love to have a conversation with their favourite celebrities, even if it’s just for a few minutes!
And here’s another cool part about going live – you can join the conversation with these celebrities (if they accept your request) and pretend you’re on your own television show. Your followers also increase this way – especially if people love your personality and want to know more about who you are or what you get up to when you’re not wearing a suit.
Going live has been around for two years now, but no one really talks about how it’s the perfect way to gain followers. Brands are able to identify their audience through engagement on a public platform rather than knocking on everyone’s doors and finding out what they think. If you think about it, this way you’re spending way less on marketing.
There’s so much you can do with live: Review a product, make a huge announcement or even build up anticipation for an event. People can offer you advice on where you can improve on said product/service – for free.
Don’t be afraid to ask the public for (immediate) opinions.
But if you’re serious about going live, remember to have a plan. Be entertaining, be engaging and you’ll be all set.
Feel like watching your live again? It’ll be available on your profile for the next 24 hours on Instagram, for example.
It’s hard to navigate who’s going live when you’re online, seeing as Instagram has changed its layout completely, so if you’re curious about who went live, you’d have to do some major FBI-level digging on a variety of profiles.
Make sure to turn on your notifications so the world knows you’re going live.
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