You have planned out your Facebook live event from setting a date, telling your audience, and drafting your outline. If you missed these steps, check out Planning your Facebook live event first.
Planning is only one piece of the pie. Now it’s time to move on to the second part before going live; preparation! We can have a perfect plan, but not preparing to execute it will set us up for disaster. Preparing is taking all that you planned and putting action behind it.
You will feel confident about hitting that “Go Live” button by following these steps.
practice
1-3 days before event
You need to decide if you will go live from a mobile device or a computer. The settings for a Facebook live vary from one device to the next. Once you have decided, make a new Facebook group in which you are the only member. In this practice group, you will try out the different features, manipulate the lighting, test WiFi strength, double-check sound and practice your outline. Rewatch the replay for any times you cut out and any movements or words you repeatedly use that can be distracting. To this day, I still have isms that I am working through to improve upon when I go live. However, being aware allows me to improve on them, which I do by trying repeatedly.
If you are going live from a mobile device, ensure you know how to find the comments by swiping across the screen.
If you are going live from a computer, take note of the location of the comments. Then, you can prepare polling options for your guests to activate throughout the live. Be sure to annotate a “P” on your script at different transitions so you remember to start the poll.
I feel insanely more confident going into lives where I have had time to practice. Work out all of the issues to the best of your ability ahead of time.
prep
1-2 hours prior to event
You will have jitters the day of the event. My dad always told me, “if you are nervous, it means you care.” However, there is a balance of limiting your nervousness, which we can do by preparing our space. You know how you look forward to your dinner plans all day, but before you know it, you are rushing to get ready to make your reservation? The same thing can happen before your live event. I highly recommend getting prepared early. Make sure you have eaten, get dressed, and fix your hair up to your liking.
Next, configure your live event just as you did when you practiced. Have your outline printed or written out and close to you to reference during the live. Or did you know you can even turn your smartphone into a teleprompter? Check out these apps if you want to try >>> 7 Best Teleprompter Apps in 2022. Beyond your notes, have a blank piece of paper handy and something to write with in case something comes up during the live you will need to remember later.
Be sure to silence your phone and turn off social media notifications, so they aren’t dinging during the live. Do not disturb is even better! Close the office door, and ensure the camera and microphone are enabled.
Creating a Facebook live personalized prep sheet isn’t a bad idea either!
remind
24 hours, 1 hour and/or 10 minutes prior to event
If you have created a Facebook event, the marked attending guests will receive a special notification that the event is starting soon. Of course, reminding your guests of the event, they were excited to attend is never wrong. You can remind them via social media or even e-mail.
If you make a social media post, one technique I liked to use in my retail group was telling members to comment if they wanted a reminder. Before I went live, I would go through each of their comments and like/heart their comment, which would prompt a notification.
SO WHAT
You are that much closer to going live! Going live is an amazing way to connect with your customers in a different way. You are a real human. You have a real story. You run a small business. Customers are directly supporting your family. Let them get to know you!