Three skills to master by 2020

Part 1: Live Broadcasting

2020 — what once seemed like a futuristic date is now less than three years away. In reality and considering the pace of change and the fact that, we live in a VUCA wold (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous), it is impossible to predict with absolute certainty what will happen!

What I am however certain of is that we need to constantly adapt and develop ourselves to maintain and grow our position in this fast-paced ever-changing world.

In a series of 3 posts I’ll be publishing, I want to share 3 skills I think we should all master sooner rather than later, in order to reach the top of our game, and maintain it, by 2020.

We have had live-streaming software and apps for at least three years now; however, it was around this time last year when Facebook entered the market and live broadcasting has seen some tremendous growth. Yet many business owners are still steering clear of it, and not harnessing the power of this free platform!

I can understand that — live broadcasting is nerve-wracking. You’re putting yourself, and your business out there to friends, family, contacts, and many others. You do not want to come across as desperate, or worse still a “show-off”. Or you are thinking, “What if I say something wrong, or don’t come across well?”

Anything can be nerve-wracking to start with. Some people would not consider something until they see their peers do it, whilst others simply wouldn’t know where to start and what to do at all. So how can you get to grips with Facebook Live, and why should you?

Why use Facebook Live?

Well firstly, we have all accepted that video content is key for any engagement now. As the picture above depicts, it’s fascinating to see that people will spend 3x longer watching a video if it’s live. With a stat like this, becoming Facebook Live savvy seems a no-brainer!

Prepare, practice and test

Whatever you decide to broadcast about, if you wish to engage your audience and deliver value, most of us will need to prepare our content, just as we would with any content creation. If possible, create a script and whittle it down to prompt words that you can easily remember and take a quick look at while broadcasting if you need to. Remember, viewers can comment on your broadcast, as it’s live so make sure you are aware and look out for these comments. I have seen a few broadcasts where the comments and questions that were coming in were completely ignored and that is a definite ‘no-no’ in anyone’s book — you may as well have pre-recorded a video instead!

As with any Facebook post, you can play with the privacy settings on a Facebook Live video. This means you can record a video on the ‘Only Me’ setting before broadcasting it to the world. Before your first broadcast, keep recording and watching back until you feel a bit more relaxed with how you come across. Ask trusted colleagues and peers for their honest feedback — did they find the video of any value and is it engaging, for example? Their feedback will be a strong indicator of how your audience will perceive you. As with most things, the more you do, the less time you’ll feel you need to spend preparing — it’ll soon feel natural.

Make it personal

It’s important to attach that personal touch to a Facebook Live broadcast. Make some time to say a bit about yourself at the beginning of the video, but don’t forget, viewers can join your broadcast at any time so it’s important to reintroduce yourself when a host of new people start watching.

‘Hello to Nazir Ahmed, Abid Saleem and Lyn Gardener who’ve just joined, so far we’ve been talking about x and x. Remember to watch back later to catch up on what you might have missed.’

This makes viewers feel more welcome and part of the session, and also gives them a call to action to engage and watch again once the broadcast is over.

It won’t always be perfect

As I said above, it’s important to be prepared for your broadcast but don’t get too caught up in perfection. People don’t watch Facebook Live broadcasts for perfection; they watch them for the spontaneous, interactive nature of them, and that live TV feeling of ‘anything could happen’.

For example, someone may throw a brilliant question at you that you weren’t expecting. So don’t pretend you know how to answer it perfectly. There’s no shame in saying you’re not sure right now but you’d be happy to pick it up with them at a later date.

My team and myself have been looking at live-streaming and will be launching our pathway2grow live broadcasts soon. I’d be interested in hearing about others’ thoughts and experiences.

If you would like to connect with me on Facebook then I can be found here: facebook.com/SafarazAli/ and the link to the P2G page is here: facebook.com/Pathway2Grow/

Kind regards,

Safaraz (Saf)

p.s For regular Facebook live users– have you see Live Leap? It seems like great software to get even better value of your broadcasting by syndicating