Events such as product launches are significant milestones for organizations, marking years of hard work. Because of this, organizations want to ensure that their clients, partners, and future community members around the world can experience the passion they have for a release or award ceremony and the excitement brewing, even if members cannot attend in person. This is where Facebook Live comes into play.
So how can your association benefit from the ease of use and directness of Facebook Live? A Guide for Nonprofits on Facebook gives these recommendations on how you could be live-streaming more content from your association:
- Take advantage of people’s interest in moment-centric content.
- Show people behind the scenes of your programs to see the impact of your work in real-time.
- Have a staff member report on the progress of your work and field questions.
- Amplify the reach of in-person events by broadcasting the event to your Page followers.
- Have supporters add a donate button or fundraiser to their live videos to raise money for your nonprofit through their broadcast.
- Have celebrities or influencers in your community go live on your behalf to reach new audiences.
We now follow these three Facebook Live rules to host our events, and here’s what we’ve learned:
1. How You Live Stream Is as Important as What You Live Stream
It’s easy to get caught up in being concerned about picking the right topic and ensuring what you decide to stream is relevant and interesting to those watching it. And it is. I would add to this necessity that you need to equally plan for how you will conduct the live stream.
First, ensure you have a device to stream from, something with good video and audio that is also connected to the internet. The live stream will only work if you have a good internet connection, so that basement rave is out of the question if you can’t get a wifi signal. Also, note that you can get away with sub-par vision (like in your dark, fluorescent-lighted conference room) if you have great audio.
Also, be sure to know how you will complete the stream. Conduct your research and do some test runs. Downloading the Facebook Pages Manager App makes filming and posting the stream significantly simpler. You don’t want to postpone the event because you don’t have the right tools at the ready.
2. Set the Scene for Success
With your tools in place, be sure to properly prep your team and the space you’ll be filming in.
No one likes to see an empty room, so be sure to decorate accordingly. Live streaming an awards gala? Be sure to have some of the certificates or the awards on hand so people can put the event in context.
Finally, the devil is in the details; be mindful of the small details that will make your event stand out—for example, disposable champagne glasses for toasting a product launch. If you had forgotten this detail, everyone would be drinking celebratory champagne out of coffee cups, and that would not have matched the style of the live stream. These small details can add context and pizzazz to your stream, so be thoughtful.
3. Sharing is Caring, but Engagement is Better
Engage in real-time. If you have viewers of your live stream (it’s okay if you don’t every time), allow them to comment on the video or ask questions, and then you can reply and interact with your viewers in real-time. This method is beneficial if you have a board member or an industry celebrity in your stream, as they can act as a draw card for watching live and can also provide an intimate experience for many members at once.
During the live stream, you can also opt in to promote the stream to viewers outside your followers. You’ll be prompted to choose some demographic data (so be sure to have this ready), and your post will reach even more people in your target market.
