You may or may not see many uses for Facebook Live in your personal life, but you should consider the possibilities it holds for your business. Live video has become a very popular way to share on all social media channels, and it is becoming increasingly beneficial for companies to join in. With more people on Facebook than any other social media channel it becomes a great promotional tool for companies to reach out to customers, critics, possible employees, and the public. The best way to use Facebook Live is to make it interesting and insightful to your viewers, but also personal and relatable. Here are a few ideas on how you can succeed with Facebook Live.
1) Host a live event, and share it through Facebook
If your company puts on events like an annual benefit or a product debut you can share this with your followers using live video. Not everyone can attend or can be invited to these events, but your loyal customers will be interested in how these event work and can see in real time what these new products are. This can help create a buzz around a new product or a big event because your customers can experience it with the company and don’t have to wait for a press release that can sometimes be bland. It can also give unsure customers a taste of your company and what you are all about, what products you offer, and what your company values. Plus, live video on Facebook will be saved for viewers to watch after the event is completed, so they don’t have to worry if they miss it.
2) Ask potential employees to watch your live show to give them a taste of the company
If you are recruiting employees from a wide selection of applicants, that possibly live out of state, you can ask them to tune in to your Facebook live to get a tour of the company. This also allows them to be able to ask questions throughout the process and for current employees to talk to them. This can help them understand your company culture; as well as, narrow down your pool of candidates. For example, Marriot runs “Career Chats” where current employees give real time answers to interested applicants’ questions on how to apply to the company and tips on being accepted.
3) Use it to streamline customer service
Many of us have had those long email chains trying to answer a customer question or explain a product. What if you could promote a live feed that will walk customers through the specific question that keeps coming up for your business? This will decrease the amount back and forth emails and everyone can watch how something works at the same time. If they have questions, they can comment in the feed and get them answered live. With email or even live chat the customer may ask about the problem and get a response from the company but if they have a further question they must ask again, back and forth, which slows down communication and business.
4) Use it to poll your consumer base
If you need quick results to a specific question regarding your business you can ask viewers to vote through the comments or use the reaction buttons to indicate a certain response. For example, this year Girl Scout Cookies did a live vote of what cookie people liked most, each response button was coordinated to a specific cookie and these votes were added up live. Voting using the reaction buttons is a special feature of Facebook Live.