Facebook Live: Why Live Video Matters for Marketers

Have you tried Facebook Live video broadcasting?

Want to know what it means for your business?

To discover how to use Facebook Live, I interview Mari Smith.
More About This Show
The Social Media Marketing podcast is an on-demand talk radio show from Social Media Examiner. It's designed to help busy marketers and business owners discover what works with social media marketing.

In this episode I interview Mari Smith, the world's leading Facebook marketing expert. She co-authored Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day and is author of The New Relationship Marketing. Mari has also teamed up with Facebook to assist in educational events.

Mari will explore Facebook Live, how it works, what it means for marketers, and much more.

You'll discover tips to set up your Facebook Live broadcast.

Share your feedback, read the show notes, and get the links mentioned in this episode below.
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Here are some of the things you'll discover in this show:
Facebook Live
What Is Facebook Live?

Facebook Live is like Periscope, Meerkat, MeVee, and a few other apps that let you stream live video from your mobile device.

Mari loves Facebook Live because whether you use the live-streaming feature with your personal profile or your page, you have a built-in audience. When you go live, the video goes out in the notifications and in the news feed and gets great organic reach.

Mari believes Facebook Live video is great for marketers because it gives the ability to create a intimate, authentic connection with your audience. It humanizes and personalizes your brand.

She clarifies that you don't need to download anything extra to stream with Facebook Live on your profile; it's part of the Facebook iOS app. Mari points out that Live is different from Facebook Mentions, which is only available to verified Facebook users.

At the time this episode was recorded, all iPhone users had Facebook Live on their personal profiles in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, Japan, and most English-speaking countries. On February 26, 2016, Facebook announced they'd opened Live to more countries, as well as Android users.

Listen to the show to hear about Mike's first experience with using Facebook Live.

Facebook Live for business

Mari says when you use Facebook Live through your personal profile, you get to choose the audience. You can broadcast to the public, friends only, a specific friends list, or just a few friends. Since one of the keys from a business perspective is to broadcast live and then share it to your page, you want to go with a public broadcast. Then once it's been shared to your page, you can boost the post to reach a wider audience.

When asked for examples of people using Live, Mari shares that Guy Kawasaki uses Live regularly from his page to show equipment or where he is and what he's doing. She also points to Robert Scoble, who uses Live regularly from his profile to do tech updates.

Mari says she really enjoys what Carol Tuttle is doing. Carol does a Blog Talk Radio show that she simultaneously broadcasts on Facebook Live, and then hosts on iTunes as a podcast. From her Facebook Live post on her page, she shares the iTunes subscription link and the show's call-in number.

Mari shares that she watched fitness expert Christine Dwyer live-stream her turbo kickbox jam class. Christine set up the camera on a tripod and pointed it into the mirror, so viewers were able to see the scope of the room and Christine teaching the class. She had a very nice, engaged audience.

Mari is quick to remind listeners that while she's sharing great examples, the idea is to focus more on the application of Live and how people can use it within their industry.

For example, Doreen Virtue, one of the top experts on angels, uses Facebook Live broadcasts on a regular basis to give people special messages....