Use Live Stream to Gain More Followers

If you’ve ever stayed awake until the early hours to catch a special event in real time, you’ll know how valuable a live-streaming feature on your mobile device or TV is.

YouTube kickstarted the live-streaming trend in 2008. Today, a third of internet users settle in at least once a week to watch a live-stream video.

Instagram has a live-streaming function aptly named Instagram Live. Whether you’re an Instagram influencer or trying to promote your business on the social media platform, Instagram Live will do wonders for your marketing strategy.

Live videos will also appear first in your followers’ feeds, which gives you an advantage over businesses that don’t use the live feature.

Follow these steps when using Instagram Live to gain more followers and build your brand:

Prepare on Paper Before Going Live

Instagram Live doesn’t offer any do-overs, so you should prepare well before doing a live broadcast. Jot all your ideas down on paper to make it easier to spot mistakes or gaps.

You should also create an outline for your video and note the points you want to highlight. Don’t forget to add a CTA at the end of the video.

Also, don’t go live until you’ve had at least one practice run. Instagram Live provides a practice option on the left-hand corner of the screen that you can use to ensure everything is in place before going live.

Make It Exciting

A mistake many brands on Instagram make is to host random live-stream videos without context.

If you’re hosting your first live video, you will gain followers if you create hype and anticipation first.

Post cryptic clues over a few weeks and then reveal something exciting during the live stream.

Keep the excitement going during the live video by doing one or more of the following:

Take Your Viewers Behind The Scenes

If you’re revealing a new product, take your viewers behind the scenes and show them exactly what went into creating it.

You can also ask your viewers for feedback and note any criticism or negativity surrounding the product so you can tweak it before its official release.

Show Off Your Unique Brand Personality

A live video presents the opportunity to showcase your brand’s personality. Connecting with your followers in real time will make it easier to earn their trust and loyalty.

A strong connection is also how you will gain more followers because a fun live-streaming session is bound to make the word-of-mouth circuit.

Plan a Series of Live Videos

One of the best methods to increase your followers with live streaming is to plan a series of live videos.

If you’re in the fashion industry, you could reveal a set of designs over several weeks. If you’re in the food industry, you could present a series of new menu options during your live videos.

This type of live stream allows your followers to comment in real time, and you will notice your followers increasing as word spreads.

You can engage with your online audience during each video, which will strengthen your brand’s connection with them.

Master Your Live Stream Videos to Increase Brand Visibility

The main reason you should use Instagram Live is to increase your brand’s visibility on the platform.

Users spend billions of hours on Instagram searching for live videos, which means it is one of the best places to build a brand presence.

If you can master live videos, you’ll leave a lasting impression on your followers, and they’ll start to look forward to your upcoming posts and videos.

You need to know when most of your followers are online, which the Instagram Live screen will indicate. This would be the best time to go live.

If you’re nervous about doing live streams on your own, you can invite a guest or two to help you out.

The first prize would be to share the screen with a famous Instagram influencer, but a colleague or a friend would do just as well.

Having another person around to lift the energy levels or fill any awkward silences will make a difference in the outcome of your live stream.

Save Your Videos So Your Followers Can Share Them

Don’t forget about your videos as soon as you sign off. Save them to your camera roll and share them with your Instagram stories. Doing this will make it easy for your followers to share with others.

You can use the saved videos to create recap posts for those who may have missed the live stream. You can also use them to make notes on what to improve in your next live video.

After you’ve recapped your video, you should take some time to follow up on direct messages and comments.

If you don’t answer questions and respond to comments, your followers might not be interested in watching more of your live streams or reading your posts.

Analyze Your Success

Study the analytics and metrics provided by Instagram to see how well your live streams are doing. You can compare viewer counts and check the engagement of each live session.

Analytics is one of the best ways to know whether your followers are increasing and at what rate.

Remember, while you are busy with your live video, you should keep an eye on viewer numbers to see if they drop off towards the end.

If you notice a large disparity between beginning and end numbers, you should work hard at making your live videos more exciting and ensure that they add value to the viewers.

Conclusion

Instagram Live provides businesses with the opportunity to stop talking at their followers and start talking to them.

This feature will add a touch of humanity to your brand and place your product front and center in your followers’ feeds.

Using Instagram Live is a great way to build deeper relationships with your target audience and increase your visibility to potential followers.

Leveraging the power of Instagram Live will catapult your brand to new heights, providing you with the means to level up from there.