Facebook has put a lot of muscle (and a lot of money) behind their live broadcasting feature – and it’s seriously paying off!
How much, exactly?
One out of every five Facebook videos is now a live broadcast, and the feature’s popularity is only growing.
(Which means that even if you haven’t tried it out yet, it’s not super unlikely that you will in the future.)
The thing about Facebook Live, though, is that your work isn’t done when the broadcast ends.
Sure, you can breathe a sigh of relief and finally scratch that itchy spot on your nose that was bugging you the entire time, but there’s a lot more you can do to squeeze some extra mileage out of your video after the camera turns off.
What can you do to make your live broadcasts as valuable as possible after they end?
Add a few finishing touches
Some of the most valuable things you can add to a live video aren’t even available until after the broadcast ends – so make sure you revisit it to make some edits!
Facebook automatically saves your live broadcasts after they end – they’ll remain on your Timeline and in your Videos section. That’s where you’ll go to make edits.
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First, make sure you add a title and description.
A title and description will make it easier for users to find your video in search, so be detailed and think in terms of the words and phrases people interested in your video’s subject might use when searching.
(The description is especially important, because it will appear alongside the video in your Timeline, and any time the video shows up in someone’s News Feed. It works retroactively, too – if you edit your description, it will change even in existing updates.)
You also have the option to add captions – and you should take advantage of it.
Depending on the length of your video, this might seem like a daunting task, but consider this: 85% of all Facebook video is watched on mute. If your video doesn’t offer captions, it’s significantly less likely to reach its full potential – or even to be watched at all.
Share, share again
Going live on Facebook can sound a little intimidating at first – especially because it seems like such a high-risk, low-reward sort of thing.
What if nobody watches, and I’m broadcasting live with no audience? Isn’t that embarrassing? Isn’t it a waste of time?
That’s a fair concern! After all, why put a ton of effort into something that you can’t guarantee will find an audience right then and there?
But here’s the dirty little secret about Facebook Live:
The majority of your viewers will be people who DON’T watch while you’re actually live.
Because really, what are the odds that that many people will be on Facebook, see your broadcast, want to watch, and actually be able to watch between the time you start and the time you finish?
(They’ve got lives, you know.)
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Even the most popular live broadcasts tend to find their audiences after they end – and not by a small margin, either!
So don’t stress about the “live” part – and make sure that you’re doing as much to promote your video after the broadcast ends as you did before it started.
Your live video has an embed code – don’t be afraid to use it!
Don’t take for granted that your blog’s readers already follow you on Facebook – or that they see everything you post there.
Adding an embed of your video to a blog post can help it score more a lot more views, and can also direct readers to your Facebook Page, too.
You can also direct people to your video by including it in a newsletter or an email blast (because if email isn’t part of your overall marketing strategy, you’re missing a huge opportunity to get more eyes on your work).
Side tip: try using a tool like GIPHY Capture to turn the best moments of your broadcast into shareable images!
Want even MORE mileage out of your broadcast? Bust out your digital scalpel and start slicing and dicing.
This is perfect for longer videos, or ones that had a few key moments of especially shareworthy brilliance.
Facebook allows you to download your videos, and they come in a handy-dandy MP4 format that’s easy to edit, even if you’re a beginner. (You can do it right in Quicktime.)
Think of your original live broadcast as the raw materials you can use to create more and more content. Chop up a video into shorter segments, then upload those as their own videos – not just on Facebook, but on networks like Twitter and YouTube, too!
Study your tape
If you’re the type to cringe when listening to your own outgoing voicemail message, this is going to be painful.
(It’s okay. We’re here for you.)
You’ve gotta watch your own broadcast after it ends.
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Because while studying your metrics is ridiculously useful (more on that here), you’ve also gotta look at what’s actually on the screen, and find places you can improve there.
How’s your camerawork? Your lighting? Do you need a tripod, or a microphone? Does it look or sound unpracticed? Does it feel too long, too short, or just right?
Approach your video from a viewer’s perspective – you can even solicit opinions from people you trust.
Learning from your mistakes (and from your successes!) is how you make sure that every broadcast is better than the last – and while it isn’t always fun studying your own work, it’ll pay off in both results and confidence.
What have you learned from YOUR live broadcasts?
A live broadcast is still plenty useful after it ends – so what have you learned about your own?
Do you score a lot more views after the fact?
Have you experimented with different lengths, or with editing your old broadcasts?
If you haven’t tried going live, why not?
Let us know what you think in the comments below!
The post What You Should Do As Soon As Your Facebook Live Broadcast Ends appeared first on MeetEdgar Blog.