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My Top 5 Tips For Going Live on Social Media

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If you follow me over on Facebook, you might have noticed I’m a little bit obsessed with ‘going live’. OK, a lot!

I’m slowly falling for Snapchat too although these are not live snaps. Just look at those dreamy filters and Coachella style crowns. If only they existed IRL, I’d be walking around thinking I was J-freaking-Lo!

…Now let me tell you, I only received the option to go live on FB around a month ago, but mates, blogger Michelle of The Joy Chaser who has a brilliant Live Broadcasting Support Group on FB btw, actress Harriet Thorpe and PR and digital strategist Natasha Courtenay-Smith all inspired me to get #liveing (I made that up, don’t search it)! They were some of the first in my timeline to receive FB Live and got me so excited about it all, I actually emailed FB requesting it.

Within a week it was live on my page and so was I!  Thank you FB!

Facebook are pushing live videos by 400% ( self-boosting them) and many of mine reach between 25-110k and counting people per video (not views). I’ve also had 80k views on the live and uploaded videos and reached 1 million people in 30 days. Amazing huh!

I don’t know if it helps that my page is verified but I do know FB want this to succeed and break the internet so if you’re a blogger/vlogger, don’t miss the boat or the FB boosts and get shooting.

Here are my top tips to help you get started.

As I’m asked these questions regularly, I’ve structured this in a Q & A format.

And action-
1. We all feel self-conscious on camera but you need to just go for it!

Fake it until you make it peeps.

I always feel nervous before I go live, particularly as FB counts you in beforehand but those nerves are all GOOD believe me.

Better than good, they’re blooming awesome.

You need that little pump of adrenaline to help you GO, GO, GO!

Plus, like anything, the more you do something, the easier it becomes.

Creativity is a muscle to be exercised.

When I decided to vlog more regularly over on YT, I forced myself to do it daily for months- and while I usually only make 2 videos a week now, that period of simply cracking on every single day even over the most mundane of shizzle, meant self-shooting became second nature and I will pretty much vlog and shoot anywhere, anytime now.

I never feel self-conscious and I’ll happily seize opportunities for fun FB lives, YT (although I’ve not gone live there yet) or Snapchat videos.

Yes, I was a director in my former life- and have loved being on camera since I was a kid but I still felt I needed greater practise in front of the camera. I felt rusty. Practising being on camera helped me loosen up and shooting for actual telly didn’t feel such a big deal.

 

2.  What to shoot?

The old-age question of what to shoot is one I’m asked pretty much all the time. I say, shoot what you’d want to see yourself. I love a bit of reality TV so shooting family parties, my Dad making pancakes/being silly and self-help style stuff which reflects my content here, makes me happy.

And that’s the thing, you’re meant to enjoy this.

If you give it a real shot and still hate being on camera, then don’t sweat it. It’s not for all, just give it a real chance before you throw the towel in.

Don’t forget too when it comes to content, as with your site and other social, a like-minded audience will always find you- so if you want to shoot videos or clips of cats all day long or focus on beauty hauls, then simply do it. There are no limits. OK, there are. Don’t shoot yourself naked, live, please.

 

3. Just Be Yourself

Be inspired by others, of course, that’s human nature but ALWAYS be yourself. Un-apologetically you. Believe me, folks can tell a mile off those who are genuine- and honestly, that transparency is worth more than anything in these times we live in.

We all want to follow people we trust. That’s exactly why bloggers and vloggers are taking over the world.

Suddenly we are/have spokespeople we feel we truly know and love.

 

4. What kit do I need? 

Your phone and an easy-to-use camera with some editing kit is all you need. You don’t even need to edit with FB Live, you go live then hit finish and FB does the work for you!

Also if you want you don’t have to invest in anything more than a phone.

I personally use an iPhone 6s and love my new Canon G7x mark ii for vlogging and videos. My husband and I share a Canon 5D too (#posh) if we do multiple camera set-ups or for photography but the G7x offer pro-quality.

You can simply use a phone for FB-and of course Instagram and even YT- and there are lots of in-phone editing apps like Adobe Premier and CyberLink (PowerDirector) which can also be used on your computer when it comes to cutting.

I love YouTube tutorials and the YouTube Creator Academy has tons of inspirational videos and how-to’s from the top creators in their community.  Look at how to make to make your content as slick as possible. Always customised your images there, filling in SEO worthy titles and the description box and don’t forget YT is the second most powerful search engine so add your blog post links that fit in the description box too.

 

5. Which platform should I use?

As many as you fancy. I tend to stick to FB Live, Snapchat (short snaps of video/images-not live, as the name suggests) and uploaded videos with YT but I will be cutting one minuters for Instagram soon as well. It’s never too late to join the social media party either.

I haven’t created a live stream on YT but it’s something I’m considering. Ditto with Periscope.

With videos generally, know that YT for 30 somethings is a slow grower as most of my/that audience sit on FB and twitter but that, in time those 20 somethings will start procreating/getting older and your parenting/lifestyle channels will grow. I like to mix things up on YT as with this site and flit between my interests: style, beauty, travel and more. If monetizing, focus on the viewing numbers and not the subscribers as the former are what REALLY matters.

So what are you waiting for? Get filming!

 

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My Top 5 Tips For Going Live on Social Media - Honest Mum

 

 

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