After months of doing a Facebook Live show 3 times per week, I’ve learned a thing or two about how to make them a fun and effective tool for growing your conscious business. I was recently asked to share what I’ve learned about doing them. In this post, I share Facebook live tips to make them more fun and effective. I have another 13 tips below the video.   The tips in the original video are:

1. Create a ritual or ceremony to make your Lives a sacred act.
2. Use sticky notes with bullet points on your tripod to keep your focus. Improvise on those points.
3. Develop your content in a Content Journal (this post covers how to).
4. Use the MacGyver Secret to develop your topics (get the free QuickStart Guide at www.MacGyverSecret.com).
5. Commit to a regular time and frequency for your FB Lives.
6. Dress in a business casual style – not a tshirt, not a power suit.
7. Create a dynamic title for your Lives (your content journal and The MacGyver Secret will help you do this).

Here are the remainder of the 20 Facebook Live Tips to Grow Your Conscious Business:

• Announce the topic before hand.  Post your topic and a reminder of the time of your Live on social media.  You can also announce topics in your newsletter.  Doing so increases attendance – both live an in the number of people who watch the replay.
• Tell stories.  Human beings are story loving creatures.  Rather than just present facts, engage the people on your Facebook Lives through telling of stories related to the themes you want to teach.
• Leverage the informal nature of Lives. Facebook lives have features like comments running real time during the show and gives you the names of who’s listening.  Say hi to some of the people who show up and invite people to make comments as you go along, then respond.  It makes for a much more relational show.
  
• Practice energy management.  Before you turn on the camera, I recommend doing something to raise your energy level.  That can be a few minutes of yoga, sing a song or read something that inspires you.
• Don’t rush. A common tendency from nervousness is to rush through the experience.  Take a breath.  Slow down a bit and focus your attention on connecting with your audience.
  
• Come from your calling.  We each have a purpose.  When you bring your sense of purpose into the Lives you do to grow your business, they will have more vitality.
  
• Work your title.  Your title is a major factor in the success of your Lives.  A good ones attracts people to listen and helps you stay clear and focused.  So try 5-10 titles and then pick the best, most engaging one.
  
• Watch and learn.  After you Live is over, circle back around and watch it.  Imagine you are someone who is interested in the topic but doesn’t know the person doing the Live very well.  What do you notice from that perspective?
  
• Post video to your blog.  Facebook has made it easy to post your video to your website.  This makes is much easier for people to share with their friends and you can use SEO tools to make it come up in search.  I do 3 lives per week and post the ones that get the most engagement.
  
• Let go of the linear. It’s OK to let yourself wander a little bit.  Try not to get completely lost in circular thoughts.  But complete linear presentation sometimes goes against the more informal nature of Lives mentioned above.
  
• Marketing CTA. Try to have one clear call to action as a next step for each live.  That can be to click the button to get notified when you do lives, sign up for your newsletter, like your Facebook business page, etc.  Present it short and sweet and then move one.
  
• Give time at the start for people to arrive.  When you first start a Live, it takes 20-30 seconds for Facebook to notify people and for them to start showing up.  So start off with about 30 seconds of welcoming people and letting them know about your Live show before you introduce your topic and start your main content.
  
• Look for ways to have FUN.  People can tell if you’re enjoying yourself.  Try to take the pressure off a bit and look for ways to have some fun.  Some ways I’ve done this is to bring props on the show (like show and tell for grown ups) and through welcoming people on the show.

What’s Your Favorite Facebook Live Tips?

Do you have a Facebook Live tip or questions?  I’d love to hear about it in the form of a comment below.  And remember, I do my Facebook live show every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8am Pacific/11am Eastern except for major holidays.

PS: If you do a Facebook live show or will be launching one soon, would also love it if you post it in the comments.

Paul Zelizer

Paul Zelizer is one of the first business and marketing coaches to focus on the needs of conscious and social impact entrepreneurs. In addition to marketing, social impact, mindful leadership and values based business, Paul is passionate about just about anything you can do in the mountain high country, yoga & fitness, dark chocolate, and poetry. He lives near Santa Fe, New Mexico.