How to Broadcast to your Facebook Event
Episode Theme: Tech & Gear
This week on the show I talk to Stephanie Liu, a live video strategist for brands who want to go from unknown to unforgettable. Her work has been recognised and awarded by Forbes, PR Daily, and Forrester.
She is the host of Lights, Camera, Live and co-author of Ultimate Guide to Social Media, published by Entrepreneur Press.
We're talking about how you can leverage Facebook events to take your live streaming (and viewer numbers) to the next level, and so much more!
[8:49] How Stephanie got into live video
[13:21] How Stephanie uses NLP in her work
[16:02] How Stephanie built up her confidence with live streaming
[18:21] About Stephanie's Video Script Maker
[20:36] About Facebook events
[23:08] Creating an event for your live
[30:26] About the benefits of Facebook events
[31:50] How to go live into an event
[34:48] About the downsides of going live into a Facebook event
[43:37] When it makes sense to use Facebook events (and when it doesn't)
This episode is sponsored by Content10X and Restream
How Stephanie got Into Live Video
Stephanie's background is in Pay Per Click ads and social media. She has 15 years of agency work with brands such as Nike and Clinique.
In 2014 Stephanie became pregnant and knew that she wanted to be more present and cut down her hours from a normal 40 plus hours a week.
"I took the leap to start my own consulting business. So many people were calling themselves social media pros without much experience or agency background, and I realised I could stand apart by doing lives on Facebook. I started to show people my social media process and framework on live shows. This grew into Lights, Camera, Live."
How Stephanie Uses NLP in Her Work
"Because I was on the ad agency side of things I was on the pitch team, the A team! You had to know how to present, how to instantly build rapport with clients to share your ideas, and be brilliant in the boardroom.
I had a lot of presentation training and learnt a lot of NLP to help work out what our clients communication style was and how we could use that to our advantage."
Learning all this helped Stephanie when she started going live. Helping her captivate an audience and bring them into the fold so they want to listen from start to finish.
It also helped her with speaking engagements.
"You have to be able to mesmerise an audience, you have to be able to read a live audience and this translates really well into live streaming."
Live streaming is not about the tech, it's about the confidence, understanding what lights your audience up inside. @heystephanieClick To Tweet
How Stephanie Built up Her Confidence With Live Streaming
"The first time I started live streaming I was trying to be perfect, nail the script the first time. I was focusing on the words too much and trying to say the words correctly.
When I started to learn more about NLP I realised people aren't really focused on the words you have to say, more on what you say makes them feel. So, when I walk off the stage or come off a live, do people have those happy brain chemicals, like they know me a little more personally than if they'd just read a blog, as if they've built a relationship with me."
Stephanie has a ritual before she goes live, she listens to her fave music, spends time making sure the lighting is great and warms up her voice.
About Stephanie's Video Script Maker
"I realised that every show people have to do there's a new opener to be written, a new teaser, a new sponsor slot to be written, new questions.
The Video Script Maker is a Google sheet and with the tick of a button it gives you a new opener, header, teaser, ways to introduce your guest and a sign off. So whenever you're writing your promo material you already have all this stuff ready!"
What are Facebook Events?
"Facebook events are normally where you're looking for in-person events, or even online events. What used to be IRL is now URL and people can search for it in a Facebook event.
I personally use them to promote a show. Other people will post events for their virtual summits."
Millions of people are searching in events for things to do. It's a great opportunity to promote your show in advance and get people buzzing about it before it happens. It's a great place to ask for questions from your audience too which you can tell people you'll answer on your live show.
You can now go live into a Facebook event and if you do this anyone who RSVPd for that event will be able to tune into that show.
If you don't go live in the event and do it on your business page, you have to link the event to your business page, so it's another extra step. It just makes it so much easier this way as people get the notification of their phone and desktop.
Creating an Event for Your Live
You can't schedule a live more than 7 days in advance, so Stephanie creates her Facebook event at least a week ahead and within that event goes all out.
She has a neatly designed Facebook header made on Easil and in the description puts things such as: What is the show about? Why people should tune in. What they'll learn and if they can't tune in, tells them where they can find out more about her and the guest.
"Once the event is created this creates the event on my Facebook business page.
I also know who my loyal viewers are. So I can invite them to my live show. This means that you create word of mouth marketing, people wanting to ask questions. So I cultivate a show over a 7 day period, adding bits in from questions I get, etc."
When Stephanie has the scheduled event she drops it back into the event itself and directs people back over to the business page.
"It's a lot to which is why I love the idea of live streaming straight into an event."
You can't promote a Facebook live but you can promote an event and this is a big pro. And you can only get a bot in play a week before with a live on a business page but further in advance for an event.
Benefits of Events
"One of the reasons you'd want to live stream straight into an event is that more than 35 million people pay attention to Facebook events. So you can minimise and streamline the viewer journey.
Once people have RSVPd to the event, you can put paid media behind it, expand your reach, get people to RSVP more and then actually go live into the event.
This is your opportunity to keep people engaged before, during and after the show. People won't struggle so much to find the link! Live streaming to a Facebook 'event' cuts the promotion in half!"
Live streaming to a Facebook 'event' cuts the promotion of your live show in half! @heystephanieClick To Tweet
How to Go Live Into an Event
If you're using Ecamm or Restream, you could select a destination and then go live to those pages. But with the FB live API you can't actually connect that specifically into your 3rd party platform. So you have to use Facebook Live Producer, Facebook's own web based streaming platform.
"It's a little chunky but you can connect it to your Facebook shop so if you want to do any live shopping you can. You can also show a featured link and people can purchase from it directly and then you can connect your Restream or Ecamm into it and still have the branding you want it to have.
Live shopping in other countries like Asia is a billion-dollar industry. It's not yet caught on in the US but it's a great opportunity for live streamers. You can connect to Shopify or your Facebook Ecommerce account."
The Downsides
Let's talk about the dreaded stream key!
The best way to describe the stream key is that it's the address of your live broadcast. When you create your Facebook event and schedule it, right next to it you see 'live stream'. You click on the link that says 'go live' and that opens up Facebook Live Producer.
Then you'll see your stream key. Copy it and the server URL and then in Restream or Ecamm, you plug that in as your custom destination.
The tricky part is that even when you go live on Restream or Ecamm you still have to have Facebook Live Producer open, because when you go live on Restream and Ecamm you still have to go back into Facebook Live Producer and click the go live button. If you don't do that you're not actually live. You also need to remember to press the end broadcast button!
When to use Facebook Events
Stephanie creates the Facebook events for her show but does not live stream into the event. The reason for this is because her run-of-show is based on the engagement from her viewers. She wants to show their comments so she still does it the old fashioned way of creating the Facebook event and linking to the scheduled broadcast.
"The only time I would live stream into a Facebook event is if I wanted it to be a paid Facebook event. You can create a paid virtual event on Facebook. So if I wanted to charge for a mini-lesson on Facebook live shopping I could do that.
Viewers can RSVP into the event, pay right then and there and I could stream right into the event without having to use another platform like Thinkific for example."
Lights, Camera, Live
Stephanie's Video Script Maker
Facebook Live Producer
Ecamm Live
Easil
This Episode's Sponsors
Watch Episode 93
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Who is Stephanie Liu?
Stephanie Liu is a live video strategist for brands who want to go from unknown to unforgettable. Her work has been recognized and awarded by Forbes, PR Daily, and Forrester.
Hello Ian! What an excellent broadcast, production and gaggle of great tips and discussion.
I do not use Facebook so much but would love to be able to take part in the giveaway. Is there any other way to get entered? I'd love some gear to help me get going.
I like the tech chat here with Stephanie Liu.
Great work, A+
EnglishShow all
Reply to Bob James
Hi Bob, So sorry I missed your comment. The past few months have been crazy.
Unfortunately, the giveaway has passed, but I will be doing other ones in the future. If you want to enter in the future, you don't need to use Facebook, although it's a lot easier. But just send me an email through my contact form and we'll sort that out. Thanks! Ian