So after a long break, we got back to doing FB live shows.

We used to do a show a week a few months back with the awesome guys from Moveo Heart, and it had a lot of impact.

Now that we’re back in “marketing mode” (including a new blog) – I’ve decided we should give it another try.

The format is simple and straight forward – We ask our followers to ask questions – and I answer 3 questions live on the show, as well as answer comments and questions live from the audience.

We’ve decided to do an MVP of the new setup, as I explain further on this FB post:

My main reason for doing this MVP is to try and learn as many things as I can about setup and production value before we’re going into a new routine.

So today at 16:00, we went live using both FB Live & IG Live. (Check it out here)

You know what? I feel like I gave a lot of value.
But I also feel like it kind of sucked.

Because the entire idea is that I could learn from the experience, I immediately sat down to write feedback for myself.

Instead of keeping my note on my Evernote to myself, I thought it’d be better to share them with you.

Both for transparency sake and because I think that if you’re going to do an FB live show, you can get value from it.

My biggest takeaways from our First FB Live

Unstructured

The first rule of video marketing is making sure you structure it right.

Have a clear opening, introduce your content, making sure you talk about what will hook your audience from the get go (you have up to 20 seconds https://www.fastcompany.com/1844393/online-video-you-have-20-seconds-capture-your-viewer-go to persuade users to stay )

I knew what I wanted to say, but I didn’t plan or structure it. Meaning I had to improvise on grabbing people’s attention and making sure they get the info I need them to get.

Hooking your viewers is one of the hardest tasks for a marketer.

When doing the shows on a weekly basis, you get a certain “groove” of your own, and you can wing it. Because you’re well rehearsed.

On today’s live I didn’t structure it, and it came off very confused, anti-charismatic and non-engaging.

Next time:
I’ll pre-write my main opening and closing messages and have a prepared checklist of things I want to mention.

Didn’t have time to setup

Before doing the FB live, I had a meeting that was running late.

It caused us actually to set the equipment up to the last minute – Meaning, it was stressful.

Besides the fact that it caused the shooting not to be optimized (angles, sounds, etc.), my mind wasn’t clear so that I couldn’t get “in the zone.”

The same “stress” or “go, go, go’ vibe I was in, leaked into the broadcast, resulting in me being no focused enough, and pacing through the content.

Next week: I’ll make sure we have an hour to set up the equipment and run the necessary tests.

Slow Down!

I’m a fast talker.

I think fast; I talk fast.
Usually, that would go to my advantage.

Today, I was hyper. I squeezed 30 minutes worth of content per question, into a 10-minute frame.

This means it was probably hard to follow, I didn’t speak clear enough (sound wasn’t amazing anyway, so it’s even more crucial), and didn’t set up my answers with the right context.

All these hurt the watching experience, but also the learning experience.

If you didn’t understand me, or the pace of the show made you uneasy – it means you didn’t get any value. Saying the show was not good.

Next week: Hopefully, if we’ll set the technical part in advance, and won’t get to the last moment still trying to find camera angles, I’d be calmer and more focus.

More focus means I’ll talk slower, give more context and be able to make sure I focus on value and not amount of information per minute.

Not well rehearsed

On this show, I answered 3 major questions:
1. How to add more opt-ins without spamming your users
2. What are the best “push notification” strategies to increase engagement
3. Best backlinks strategies in 2017

Those are all big questions. Yes, I know the answers by heart.

BUT, because I knew the answers in advance, and I know they were massive, I should’ve pre-plan my answer’s structure better to make sure I’m focusing on key points and not just out of context tactics.

Meaning – I should’ve rehearsed it.

When I do the shows weekly, my mind is already set on how to answer these type of questions.

Coming back from some time off – I should’ve prepared better to cover up on “being out of my zone.”

Next Time: I will write some liner notes for what I want to say and how I want to answer.

Too much information in too little time

Adding to the two previous points – I was trying to share too much information in too little time.

There’s only so much you can say in 10 minutes per question.

I should’ve focused on a shorter but more focused answer, then trying to cover too much base at once.

This would’ve been easily solved by rehearsing and slowing down when answering.

Bad time and day

16:00 o’clock is an awful hour to do a broadcast. I know that from previous tests.
Monday is also a really bad day to engage with people during their work days.

Ideal days from my experience is Tuesday / Wednesday around 17:00-18:00 (Israel Time).

Next time: Moving the show to Wednesday at 17:00

Bad setup

Because we were in a hurry (I said that before, right?) we had to use the first setup that was “OK.”

Meaning that – sound was good enough, video angle was good enough.

Done is better than perfect right?

So some the things we’ve missed because of setup time:

The camera was way too close. Which made me feel uncomfortable and over self-aware.
The room was too hot – When you feel uncomfortable, it shows. Room temperature is very important.
I was wearing the wrong clothes – yes, I know it sounds like an excuse, but it matters. Because there were no big meetings today and this was an intimate setup, I was shorts and a loose T-shirt.

In person, it works well, and it creates an easier atmosphere around the office that you can wear whatever you want.

Going on video, I felt very conscious about feeling unprofessional with my look and feel and made me feel like I need to overcompensate.

Which is not a good thing.

Next Steps: Plan setup ahead.

Didn’t hype enough

Last time we were doing the FB live show, I was much more active in my marketing and social profiles.

This created a situation where it was easy for me to gain a lot of attention fast.

This time, I’m coming back from a somewhat quiet period, which means I need to make some more effort to gain traction with a very time-limited marketing effort.

Meaning that the audience was less engaged, less informed and turned up in fewer numbers than previous shows.

Next Time: It’s time to re-build awareness and be consistent with our marketing efforts.

In conclusion

Everything you do is a learning process, and it’s very important to stop, analyze and improve for the next time.

Most of the mistakes we’ve made on this FB live session are a result of lack of proper preparation.

Some because I thought I figured a lot of things out on our last batch of shows, and some because I felt more in shape for it than I really was.

You know what the good is though? Next time it would be much better!

What did you think about the live show? Please add your notes in the comments