How NOT to do Facebook Live for Business
Updated: Oct 9, 2019
Wow, the other day I landed on a page (as a friend said, "what rabbit hole did you fall down"). There was a woman who is a psychic on there. She was selling readings over FB live. You had to send her the money and she would pull cards for you and do a reading. I don’t have a problem with finding a way to monetize Facebook, but you at least need to put in some professional effort. Here are a few tips that I pulled from watching her session.
Dead Air - The dead air between her readings was unbearable, she offered nothing to fill the time. If you’ve ever listened to the radio or watched television and they’ve had a technical issue where there was dead air for more than three or four seconds, it is painful. During this live she had dead air of 45 seconds and longer. At one point the dead air lasted for nearly three minutes. People tend to have a short attention span, in particular when it comes to social media. Keep them entertained from beginning to end.
Give more than you ask in return – this is one that I think many stumble on. Trying to find the balance between giving away all of your knowledge and trying to not be a constant sales pitch. If this person had spent their time between people’s readings chatting and explaining the value of the readings, or offering some degree of her expertise or her why, I would be willing to bet her sales would have increased. Instead I watched while she just sat there waiting for money to arrive. Keep your prospective clients entertained or they will move on and shut you off. Facebook live is a great way to market (and monetize) your business when it's done right.
Dress it up – While the ‘set’ behind you doesn’t have to be perfect, ensure that you have tidied up your space. If your curtain only reaches so high, make sure that you angle the camera so that it can’t see above it. If you have a product to sell, quality product placement behind you can be great, just try not to clutter the space behind where you are. The environment will either add or detract from your audiences attention. Take a picture of what your surroundings look like. Then ask yourself if your ideal client would purchase from that “store front”. In reality, Facebook, Facebook Live and other Social platforms are the store by which many business owners make their money. Just as you would take a walk through your storefront, take a walk through your social platforms.
The biggest what NOT to do – No matter what any of the other rules are. I truly never thought I would have to say this to a business owner – don’t smoke while on the air. Could you imagine watching a network news show and them having a cigarette on the desk with them and taking a long drag and then blowing the smoke into the room? I get it, this isn’t a network news show – but WOW it is still your business. You are still representing your business. The whole concept of a Facebook live is to build the know, like and trust with your audience. It is to show them how professional you are. This is not going to accomplish this in a professional way.
If Facebook Live still has you freaked out and you’re just not able to pull the trigger on your first live, I am launching a brand new webinar just for you. Email me at inspired@glendabeagle.ca to receive a registration link to the session.