INSTAGRAM LIVE 101
Instagram Live is an incredible channel for driving new followers, engagement, and even selling products or drawing attention towards your business.
Since there are no retakes on Instagram Live, it can make your first broadcast feel seriously daunting, BUT we’ve got you covered - with a step-by-step guide for businesses.
We will help you start from the beginning of kicking off your first Instagram Live, and soon enough you will be hosting next-level broadcasts!
Let’s go LIVE!
Instagram Live & Business
Instagram Live is a great new way for your business to connect with your followers in a direct and authentic way. Instagram Live is different from Instagram Stories or IGTV, as they are not pre-recorded. Followers love to see businesses in action and Instagram Live is a great unedited stream that your followers can actually engage with. Going live on Instagram makes you more relatable and makes your audience feel as though they can really connect with you. Instagram Live actually lets your followers comment and submit questions in real-time, making it the most interactive platform on social media.
Instagram Live videos are given priority in the newsfeed so it’s a good chance for followers to notice your business profile, and followers receive a notification alerting them that you are going live.
PLAN What You Want to Say
We are so big into planning and it is SO important to ensure you capture your audience for the entirety of your Instagram Live. While followers do like to see you act natural while on live, it is important to make jot notes and somewhat follow a guideline so that you don’t stray too far off track. If you end up too far off topic you may lose viewers who will then miss out on the whole point of your Instagram Live, which is to help boost your business content.
If you are planning to speak directly to your audience using Instagram Live, you want a good reason to ask them to tune in. Despite the short lifespan of live videos, it’s important to identify a key goal for each time you go on air in order to boost your business’ views.
Here are some popular business strategy ways into Instagram Live:
Explaining how your business or service works
Hosting a Q&A with your audience
Announcing a new product or service launch
Taking your audience behind the scenes of your business workspace
HYPE Up Your Audience
Promoting an upcoming Instagram Live can make ALL the difference when it comes to securing a large audience!
If you are planning to go live on Instagram, it is important to get word out that you will be LIVE on Instagram on a certain day or time. By letting your followers know about your live video ahead of time, this excites them and increases the likelihood that you will have a larger audience at the time of your video.
In order to get the word out an Instagram Story that includes the time and date details is always a good idea. Instagram Stories have a countdown sticker which is a cute way to mark the event and totally builds HYPE around your upcoming live broadcast!
Go Live When Your Audience Is Most Active
Going live when your followers are most active is one of the BEST ways to make your Instagram Lives successful.
But how can you predict when your audience will be online ahead of time?
Take a look at your Instagram insights on your business profile. If you look at the audience tab, you will find a chart of when your followers are most active online each day. Later Analytics is a great website offer to see finer details into exactly when your followers are online the most.
Interact and Engage With Your Audience
One of the main exciting features of Instagram Live is that it allows you the opportunity to fully connect with your followers. Speaking and interacting directly with your audience is a great way to build relationships and trust.
Instagram Live offers the option for viewers to comment and ask questions live during a broadcast. Followers LOVE to see questions and comments being answered during videos, it gives them a sense of relatability and makes them feel respected by you addressing what they have to say.
We hope you found this helpful! If you’re interested in working one-on-one to get more tips on how the innovation of Instagram Live can change and improve your business strategy then hit us up!
XX
Bonne Media