Instagram Live can be a great way to connect with your audience in real-time, and it’s also a great way to show off your products or services. But, you can’t just toss your camera on a tripod, go live, and expect viewers to come flooding in. Hosting a successful IG Live cast requires careful planning, engaging content, and a bit of luck.
In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know to host an IG Live event for your business, tips for success, and some ideas for using IG Live to promote your products or services.
IG Live Strategy Planning: Start From Where You Are
According to Instagram support, The first step to hosting a successful IG Live event is to start from where you are. If you’re just getting started with IG Live, that’s OK! Just start small and work your way up. For example, if you have 10 followers, don’t try to get 100 viewers for your first live stream. Just focus on getting 1-2 viewers and build from there.
As you start planning your IG Live strategy, ask yourself the following questions:
- Who is my target audience?
- What type of content will appeal to them?
- When is the best time to go live to reach my target audience?
- How often should I go live?
These questions will help you determine who you’re trying to reach with your IG Live broadcasts, what type of content will appeal to them, and when the best time to go live is.
Your target audience is the most important factor to consider when planning your IG Live strategy. You need to determine who you’re trying to reach with your broadcasts. Are you trying to reach potential customers? Current customers? Both? Once you know who you’re trying to reach, you can start planning what type of content will appeal to them.
When it comes to timing, it’s important to consider both when your target audience is most active on Instagram and when you’re available to go live. If you’re trying to reach a global audience, you’ll need to take different time zones into consideration. The best time to go live will vary depending on your target audience, but it’s important to find a time that works for both you and them.
As for frequency, it’s important to strike a balance between too much and too little. If you go live too often, people will get tired of seeing your broadcasts and may start tuning them out. But if you don’t go live often enough, people will forget about you and your broadcasts. The best frequency will vary depending on your audience and your content, but a good rule of thumb is to start with once a week and adjust from there.
Creating Engaging Instagram Live Content
Now that you’ve planned who you’re trying to reach and when the best time to go live is, it’s time to start thinking about what type of content you’ll broadcast. When it comes to creating engaging Instagram Live content, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Be authentic: people can spot a fake from a mile away. Just be yourself and let your personality shine through.
- Be engaging: ask questions, encourage viewers to comment and interact with you, and make sure your content is interesting enough to hold people’s attention.
- Be prepared: have an outline of what you’re going to talk about so you don’t end up rambling on live TV.
- Be timely: make sure your content is relevant and timely. If you’re talking about something that happened a month ago, chances are people have already moved on.
The best way to determine what type of content to broadcast is to think about what your target audience would want to see. If you’re not sure, ask them! You can also look at other successful IG Live broadcasts for inspiration.
Related: Ways To (Boldly) Grow Your Instagram Account
Ideas for Using Instagram Live to Promote Your Business
Now that you know how to plan and create engaging IG Live content, let’s look at some ideas for using IG Live to promote your business.
- Product or service demonstration: use IG Live to give potential customers a behind-the-scenes look at your product or service. This is a great way to show off what you have to offer and answer any questions people may have.
- Customer Q&A: use IG Live to answer frequently asked questions from your customers regarding your products, business details, your Instagram contest or anything else they may want to know. This is a great way to build trust and credibility with your audience.
- Industry expert Q&A: invite an industry expert to join you on IG Live and answer questions from your audience. This is a great way to provide valuable content and show that you’re an authority in your industry.
- Product launch: use IG Live to launch a new product or service. This is a great way to build anticipation and get people excited about what you have to offer.
- Live event coverage: if you’re attending or hosting an event, use IG Live to give your followers a behind-the-scenes look. This is a great way to generate interest in future events and get people talking about your brand.
In this example here, you can see Carrie Underwood, a famous artist, announcing her new album release with her followers on Instagram using the Live feature:
As you can see, there are a variety of ways you can use Instagram Live to promote your business. It all comes down to thinking about what your target audience would want to see and then delivering that content in an engaging way.
How to Make the Most of Your Instagram Live Broadcast
Now that you know how to plan, create, and promote your IG Live broadcasts, let’s look at some tips for making the most of your broadcasts.
- 1. Use calls to action: throughout your broadcast, tell viewers what you want them to do. Do you want them to visit your website? Follow you on social media? Subscribe to your newsletter? Make sure you let them know.
- 2. Offer incentives: offer viewers something if they follow your call to action. This could be a discount code, a freebie, or anything else that would entice them to take action.
- 3. Engage with viewers: as we mentioned before, it’s important to be engaging when you’re on live TV. Ask questions, encourage viewers to comment and interact with you, and make sure you’re paying attention to the comments people are leaving so you can respond in real-time.
- 4. Cross-promote: promote your IG Live broadcast on other channels like your website, social media, and email list. This will help you reach a wider audience and get more people to tune in.
- 5. Follow up: after your broadcast, follow up with viewers who took action on your call to action. Thank them for following through and offer them additional resources or information that they may find useful.
In this example here, you can see Sephora taking advantage of #NationalLashDay to promote their brand via a live Q&A on Instagram.
By following these tips, you can make the most of your IG Live broadcasts and ensure that they’re successful in promoting your business. So go ahead and give it a try!
Maximize Your Instagram Live Engagement with Skweezer!
Instagram Live is a great way to connect with your audience in real-time and promote your business. By following the tips in this article, you can create engaging content that will resonate with your target audience and help you achieve your marketing goals.
But what if there was an easier way to get more people to tune in to your Instagram Live broadcasts?
Skweezer can help! We offer a variety of services that can help you boost your IG Live engagement, including:
- Followers: our team of social media experts can help you attract more real Instagram followers who are interested in your content.
- Views: we can help you get more views on your IG Live broadcasts so you can reach a wider audience.
- Comments: we can help you get more comments and interaction on your live broadcasts.
- Likes: we can help you get more likes on your videos so you can increase your reach and engagement.
All you need to do is sign up, select the service you’re interested in, and our team will get to work finding you top-notch, real Instagram users who are interested in your content. So what are you waiting for? Sign up today and see the Skweezer difference!