Live Streaming is a great way for small businesses to cut through the social media maelstrom and capture audience attention. Uploading live videos of product demos, short narratives, interviews, and product tours is an easy way to stand out in the online crowd. If care is taken to do it right and regularly, you can build your brand on social media in a powerful way.
We all know that building a social media presence is a huge opportunity for small businesses when trying to compete with the big guys. Many books are written about how to build that presence, because it's not as easy as you might assume. Buying an audience does not translate to increased sales, and may reduce your legitimacy to your real followers, ultimately affecting trust in your brand in a negative way. The best approach is to build trust and engagement one post at a time, and this is where live streaming can be an enormous help. Done right, live streaming builds authenticity into your brand while it builds your online audience.
What you want is trust and engagement online. It's the old "quality versus quantity" issue. What's better, a thousand followers who do nothing, or a hundred who are engaged? Your'e correct if you chose the latter. A hundred followers who care about you and your product are what you are striving for, and that small, committed audience will grow with real results for your business. Live stream videos that show an authentic you in an entertaining format, are a powerful way to build that faithful audience.
As an Art Factory community member, our live streaming capability is well-suited to any type of brand-building video you can imagine. We also have support staff available to help you. Art Factory members have a permanent live streaming set-up located in our Hamilton Cafe, a raw industrial coworking space where members gather to eat and drink. An Art Factory live stream video will have this inspirational backdrop; all you need to bring is your brand, product, and personality!
With our live streaming capabilities and our inspiring venue as your backdrop, you can focus on forming a effective live stream strategy. Having a clear idea of your brand that is reinforced with all your marketing efforts is essential. Make sure your live stream campaign is aligned with your product and services. Build trust by being authentic in your videos. Being yourself never paid off so much as it does online. That's a bit ironic, but true. Any misrepresentation or inauthentic portrayals seem to magnify online, so check in with yourself and your message, then get clear and be yourself.
Next, you want to be entertaining. The ability of "story" to captivate an audience has been at work for thousands of years, and it hasn't changed with the switch to an online stage. Your audience will soon fatigue if your video lacks some creativity and entertainment value. Think the opposite of reading from a script. And think visually. What props, activities, or participants can you employ in your video? Is there a unique angle to get your message across? Write your video with a dramatic arc. Where is your story starting? Where does it peak/surprise/twist? Where does it end? It can be compelling, funny, dramatic, or all three. These elements works in theater, and they will work for your live stream video, too!
Last, engagement your audience. Use Q&A at the end of your live stream event, acknowledge likes and input as the event unfolds— using names whenever possible— and follow up on comments. Use the experiences in preceding videos to feed content on subsequent videos, where audience interest and feedback from one live stream event determine the flavor of the next.
Live streaming takes online social media to a whole new level, and has the power to build client trust and engagement, product memorability, and brand authenticity into your business. At the Art Factory, our inspiring event venue and live streaming capabilities bring your business two huge steps closer to distinguishing your business online.
