I’ve been having a lot of fun with some of the new interactive features Facebook has, including the live video feed. I’ve had one successful video so far and one video that had a much smaller audience but went well for being spontaneous. Here’s what I’ve learned so far from my experiment.
What Facebook Live Video Taught Me
Both live videos were a lot of fun and came with their own challenges. Take a look at how the planning (or, in one video’s case, lack of planning) and execution of the videos led to some interesting results!
Video 1: Live Q&A
My first live Facebook video involved a lot of meticulous planning. I gave people about a week’s notice and set up a Facebook event. I watched other videos, read up how to execute a good video, and made the theme of the live video a general Q&A video. I also reached out to a few people to let them know about it and to ask if they’d tell others about it.
Here were the results:
- Video length: 34 minutes
- 67 views
- 24 comments
- 3 likes on the video
Lessons Learned from Video #1:
- A general Q&A isn’t too bad, but having a tighter theme allows for more targeted answers
- A combination of prepared questions and questions on the spot makes for a richer experience
- There are bound to be glitches for users – such as a lack of notification that the video is live – so it’s good to have a back up plan to let people know you’ve gone live
Video #2: Editor Q&A – Blogging and Editorial Calendars
This past Tuesday (May 24th.), I decided spontaneously to do a video that night with the topic around blogging and planning editorial calendars. I gave about 3 hours notice to Facebook fans with an update and then started it up around the time I posted.
Here are the results:
- Video length: 34 minutes (again)
- 55 views
- 15 comments
- 5 likes on the video
Lessons Learned from Video #2:
- Although there were a similar number of comments, they came from only a few people whereas the first video had a variety of participants
- The video wasn’t as interactive, but since it was more focused, I could answer more targeted questions
- I felt more comfortable this time and less jittery, proving that practice helps over time
Plans for Future Live Facebook Videos
Did the videos go well? Yes!
Will I do them again? Yes! But some changes I hope to make include:
- More notifications to interested parties – That means possibly boosting a post on Facebook for increased reach, and letting people on Twitter know it’s coming. I may also blog about it coming!
- Better environment for videos – You might not know it, but the setup for my videos involves propping up my phone on a tripod that sat on an ironing board. Terrible! We’re going to finish our office so future videos will look more polished.
- Less rambling – I find that when someone asks a question, I tend to find a way to say the longest answer. I’m going to work on that, I promise!
Check out my Facebook page for all of my videos and posts, and watch my site for more updates about upcoming live videos!