With the launch of apps such as Meerkat and Periscope, a new sharing phenomenon was born. Video of anything and everything, streamed from any point of the globe. This was it, the experts said.

Live video for business is the Next Big Thing.

Despite that, we’ve yet to see every business– or even the majority of businesses– embrace streaming. When live streaming is done through separate apps like those mentioned above, it’s easy for it to feel remote. It can be passed off as something that’s not integral to your social media activity– a nice added extra, but if you haven’t got the time, hey, it’s no big deal. Right?

Wrong.

With the recent news that Facebook is rolling out live video to personal accounts and business pages, it’s official. Live video in social media is here to stay.

‘What’s so significant about Facebook’s approach?’ I hear you cry. The big difference here between Facebook’s announcement and previous live-streaming apps is that streams on Facebook will be native to the network– not set up in an external app and synced to a network, as is the case with Twitter and Periscope.

I’d argue that this is a pretty big deal.

Live video is being woven into the very fabric of our social networks, and anyone who ignores it does so at their peril.

Take, for instance, the news that Facebook plans to give preference in the news feed to live content. As an organisation, they’re actively pushing businesses to use live video, and those that don’t stream will be shunted into the graveyard of low organic reach.

We know that part of the barrier to widespread adoption of live video for businesses is that they feel they just don’t have the time.

There’s a perception that if you’re going to dabble in live-streaming, you’ll need a lot of equipment and an incredible, artsy subject to focus on– neither of which are easy to come by when you’re busy with the day-to-day running of a business.

With that in mind, here are some quick and easy ways to integrate live video into your social media content, without disrupting your day too much.

What You’ll Need to Get Your Business Streaming

A smartphone or tablet capable of recording video, a reliable internet connection, and someone (or something) to film. That’s it!

Try these ideas to get your business live…

A Competition

Integrate live-streaming with competitions run elsewhere on social media. Doing a prize draw? Write down all the eligible entries and pick the winner from a hat, live. You can make this as much of an event as you want to, with as much or as little fanfare as you feel like.

You’ve got a perfect reason to get all entrants to tune in and watch, plus total transparency and fairness when you pick a winning entry. It’s literally win/win.

Product Demonstrations

From taste tests to hardware demonstrations, this content works. You’ve got products, so show people why they should be using them.

A word of warning: it’s not the demonstration itself that makes engaging viewing– it’s the voiceover. Be engaging, warm, funny, relatable– anything but clinical and cold.

An Expert Q&A

Put your expertise to good use by answering some live questions about what you do. This is a great way of building some goodwill with your audience, sharing information that will help them out and make it clear that you know your stuff.

Prepare to be taken by surprise by questions you might not have been expecting– it’s all part and parcel of the live format.

How-Tos

Take your audience through a process related to your business, step-by-step.

Maybe this is writing a blog. Maybe it’s sculpting a pot. Pick something you know backwards and forwards, then work through it slowly enough for people to follow along– but not so slowly that they get bored!

Encourage questions and make sure what you’re showing people is useful.

Live-Streaming Events

At a conference or trade show? Throwing an event in-store or in the office? Stream the proceedings to show your audience what you get up to.

This can be a nice way of showing a more sociable side to your business, as well as letting viewers feel more involved and invested in what your business gets up to.

Is your business using live video? Have you got any great video ideas that I’ve missed? Drop an email to moya@192.168.1.71:8888/shake and let me know!