The current lockdown is having a tough effect on everyone, and in reality, we’ll probably be dealing with social limitations for some time yet.

We’ve all had to adapt our social practices and find new ways to stay connected and businesses have had to find new ways to engage with audiences and use their social media platforms to their advantage.

The number of people going ‘live’ on social media channels is on the increase, with businesses choosing this way to communicate with their customers.

The thought of going live may feel some people with dread, but to others, this may be a great opportunity to experiment and try something new. Here at Social Soda we’ve had lots of experience in live streaming and want to share with you some of our secrets in connecting effectively via this way.

Before you go Live

Determine the purpose of your video (check out our ‘five topics to go live with’ blog for inspiration). We wouldn’t recommend starting a live video without a purpose.

Practise and prepare. No, we’re not asking you to write a script and rehearse it a million times over; however, it’s always a good idea to have a plan in place. Create a loose script and run through what you want to say. It’s also good to know roughly how long you will be live for.

Give followers advance notice using a countdown sticker in Stories. If you’re going to make ‘going live’ a regular thing, try and do it at specific times during the day/week, so your audience knows when to tune in!

Make sure you have a strong connection for a high-quality stream. If you’re working from home in the middle of nowhere with little Wi-Fi connection, it may not be the best idea to do a live stream, as your audience will just get frustrated with buffering, sound issues or loss of connection. Maybe try filming a video instead to be uploaded at a later time, viewers are still getting the chance to see you!

During your Live Broadcast

You’ve taken the plunge and you’ve pressed the go live button, now it’s time to connect to your audience.

Not all viewers will have tuned into your live video from the beginning, therefore it’s beneficial to keep repeating at points throughout your broadcast, what you’re discussing.

If you’ve chosen to turn comments on, make sure you have a way of reading the comments so you’re able to answer them during the live stream. Sometimes it can help to ask the audience before going live if they have any questions they want to discuss. Instagram Stories has the question sticker to do this.

Avoid interruption! If you’re working from home and all your family are in the house, let them know what time you’re going live and where, so they don’t disturb you.

Enjoy the experience. If this is the first time you go live it’s natural that you’ll be nervous, and you may have a few hiccups. All you can do is make a note of them after the broadcast, so you know for next time how to improve.

After you’ve gone Live

Don’t forget to save your live and upload it to your stories so your audience are able to access it for the next 24 hours.

Plan Your next live broadcast! We guarantee that once you’ve tried it, you’ll be bitten by the live bug and you’ll be desperate to get in front of the camera again.

If you would like any help with your live broadcasts, please let us know! We’re still here for our clients and ready to help. Drop us a line at hello@socialsoda.co.uk