This blog, today, is mostly geared toward those of you have yet to hit that “go live” button on Instagram. But, trust me, if you’ve already gone Live before (on whatever social media platform), you will still learn a thing or three!
Now, just in case you have no idea what Instagram Live is (and at the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious)… it’s a live video that you record – in the moment – that is broadcast to all of your followers. You can’t upload an Instagram Live. Said video is only available for 24 hours after you post it. But – after you finish the live broadcast, you can save to your archives and add to your profile, if you like.
Live video is extremely powerful because it’s a real authentic look at you.
Instagram and social media today, in general, is mostly very curated, created, pre-planned, and scripted. Live video, though, is unedited, and raw. People know this. And they want (they crave!) to get a sneak peak into who you truly are. So, that’s why engagement rates on Live videos tend to be so high. This is also why Lives can help you create a real lifer; a connection with your followers that is second to none.
We should all be going live on Instagram. Just give it a shot, that’s all I ask. Try it one time. It doesn’t even have to be something super beneficial to your audience or anything that takes a ton of thought.
But I encourage you to start practicing. You can continue to delete your content in the beginning. And, eventually, you’ll be going Live with awesome tips and strategies about whatever it is you’re an expert in! Better yet, you’ll be able to connect with more people because you’re doing so.
8 Tips For Going Live On Instagram
1 – Don’t worry about engagement.
A lot of people on Facebook Lives will say, “Hey, comment where you’re from!” or “Leave me a thumbs up!” These are good practices on Facebook because your followers can actually engage after the Live video has ended. This will, of course, boost overall engagement inside the algorithm.
If you say “comment where you’re from” on an Instagram Live, anyone who tries to do so after the Live has ended… will instead just be sending you a direct message. Oops. It won’t be helping you with engagement at all.
2 – Relax, because your audience will start small.
On average, when you first go Live, .1% of your followers will be watching! So, take a deep breath and chill – knowing there aren’t going to be a ton of people viewing in the beginning.
3 – People understand it’s Live.
We get that things happen. It’s not like listening to a podcast or watching a YouTube video. Those are going to be polished. Expectations are set high. But we all understand that Live videos aren’t going to be perfect. So you should also have that same expectation of yourself. Know that something is probably going to go wrong and get messed up – and that’s fine.
4 – Pre-plan, but don’t script.
Try not to write a word-for-word script of what you plan on talking about. Instead, make a bullet point outline of what you’re going to say, write it on a sticky note, and then place that sticky note over your screen.
That way, the only place(s) you can look while you’re recording is:
- The sticky note to remind yourself of what you wanted to say
- Directly into the camera’s lens
Either way, you’re looking at the camera! Doing this blocks you from:
- Looking at yourself
- Getting distracted
- Reading comments
- Seeing how many people are viewing
5 – Get right to it.
As soon as that three, two, one countdown is over, start your Live video. Don’t sit around and wait for people to join. Oh, and I know I just told you not to script out your Instagram Live, but the ONE piece you can write ahead of time is your opening sentence. AKA, your hook.
The reason for this? Most people are going to be watching on the rebroadcast. Therefore, we need to be serving them. And they will be turned off and click away if you spend the first five minutes of your Live video freaking out as you’re waiting for people to join.
For the crucial remaining three tips – PLUS far more explanation on previous tips above – you’ll need to catch the crazy popular podcast where this blog stems from! You’ll find it all here on Build Your Tribe!
