Facebook Live for Business: Why You Should Try It

Did you know that compared to images and textual content, social media videos can attract up to 1,200% higher engagement rating?

Video is one of the biggest opportunities today, with an estimated 80% of consumers saying they would rather watch a live video from a brand than read a blog.

In fact, more than half (58%) of consumers visit a brand's social media pages before visiting their website. And 82% prefer live video from a brand than social posts. It's no wonder that 70% of marketers planned to use video marketing on Facebook in 2021.

Just imagine how much exposure you could get if your videos are successful on the most popular social networking sites in the world. That’s what you could get by leveraging Facebook Live, the social media giant’s live (and free) video broadcasting feature.

Have You Considered Using Facebook Live Broadcasting?

Facebook Live is a powerful way to connect with your audience and followers in real time, and enhance your brand's online visibility and engagement.

About 12% of Facebook video posts are live streams, but live streams get double the engagement of pre-recorded video posts, according to a 2021 study by SocialInsider.io.

When broadcasting live, your Facebook live video automatically saves on your timeline after the livestream, and your community has the opportunity to join the conversation and ask questions, comment, react, or just follow along in real time.

Aside from being powered by the biggest name in social media, what makes Facebook Live unique is its ability to show highlighted parts. Users no longer have to sit through the whole video because they can just skip to the portion that interests them.

Facebook even lets viewers react to specific parts of the video only. For digital marketers and business owners, this and other features of the tool are almost too good to be true.

The business and marketing opportunities on Facebook Live are truly immense. It can be a powerful tool that expands your brand reach, awareness, and helps you conect and resonate well with your followers.

If you are a small or startup company, you have almost equal footing as big corporations because Facebook Live is available for everybody who has an account.

So, have you considered using the Facebook Live feature for your business? There are some other big reasons why you should consider it.

Big Reasons to Take Advantage of Facebook Live for Your Business

Here're some big benefits of using Facebook Live for your business and creative ideas on how to leverage this feature for business success:

1. It’s Cost-Effective.

No funds for video production and editing? No problem! What makes Facebook Live work is its raw, live-action approach to video streaming. Your viewers are not assuming to find special effects and a big-budget production so these expectations are lifted off your shoulders.

You don’t even have to buy expensive cameras to shoot videos. Using your smartphone, you can go live on Facebook to show behind-the-scenes coverage and broadcast real-time events.  Doing so can promote a sense of exclusivity among your followers.

2. It’s a Proven Traffic-Driver.

While shooting the video, you get to see how many people are watching your livestream, their names, reactions, and comments.

This type of real-time engagement, according to the social media giant itself, can produce 10 times more comments than standard video sharing. As the rule of social media, the more engagement you get, the higher your content stays on trending topics. That’s a sure magnet for people to come flocking to your page. Facebook also notifies people when a page goes live so you have a higher chance of people going to your page.

3. It Provides Real-Time Engagement Information.

If you have a virtual business, you don’t have the luxury to talk and persuade people in person or see their reactions for yourself and know if a certain content or product sits well with them.

That’s why you need all the tools you can get to collect and keep data about the people’s reaction to your marketing efforts. And oftentimes, these tools can be pricey.

With Facebook Live, you get this information for free. What’s more, it is an excellent testing spot to gather and keep this kind of data. It can help you keep your marketing strategy in line by paying attention to the video performance and collecting useful data such as:

• Did viewers react to the product you just introduced?
• Have you gained more followers after going live?
• How many people commented on your video? What was their comment about?
• Did people like one portion of your video more than the others?

This kind of data gathering is more difficult to do when you’re using the more traditional video and marketing platforms. Facebook Live makes it simpler and faster.

4. It Builds Stronger Brand-Customer Connection.

One-sided marketing is the one where you bombard customers with deafening broadcasts and blinding announcements. People want to be heard and understood, that’s why social media is your closest chance to break any walls separating you from your target customers.

With Facebook Live, you give people this opportunity real-time. Unlike other social platforms, people don’t have to wait for hours or days for a reply. You can host a live Question and Answer segment to clarify people’s concerns and answer their queries.

5. It’s a Great Local Events Promoter.

Are you looking to host a special product launching in your community? Is there a local event that your business is going to co-sponsor? Forget about costly print ads or radio announcements that may never even reach your target customers.

Facebook Live makes it easy to promote local events because the people you’re aiming to reach are likely connected to each other and share the same location.

If you had qualms on what this feature can do for your business, knowing these benefits will surely erase them. What content or relevant gimmicks are you planning to show when you go live on Facebook?