Six Easy Ways Small Businesses Can Use Facebook Live

During the COVID-19 crisis people are engaging with social media more than ever. Facebook Live is one of the easiest and most effective ways to engage directly with your customers. Follow these six easy steps to get started!

1. Relax and just do it. Your viewers don't care about how you look, whether you have a cameraman, a selfie-stick, or are holding your phone. This is about a real, organic connection with your audience. Just be yourself and act like you are talking to any other customer. 
2. Jot down your thoughts first. It's good for a Facebook Live to be conversational, but you should have an overall message. This could be: telling your story as a business owner, thanking your customers, sharing precautions you are taking for COVID-19, highlighting your staff, asking customers to buy gift cards, highlighting a special, etc. It's helpful to have 3-5 bullet points written out to remind yourself of your message if you are nervous or forget what you want to say (it happens)! 
3. TYPE OUT the main points at the top of your Facebook Live post BEFORE you go live. This can be short descriptions such as "An Update from...", "Sharing Our Story", "Thank You - Update, and Gift Cards", etc. 
4. Reiterate your main points in your video a few times. Understand that many viewers will not watch the video from start to finish, but many will join you mid-way through and watch a portion of the video. 
5. SHARE/SAVE your video after you are finished. You have the option of posting or not posting the video after you create it - unless you have a good to not share it, it is usually best to post! 
6. Respond to questions and comments on your video. You should like supportive comments or, better yet, respond to supportive comments, answer questions, etc. Do this after your video and check back periodically - more people will view the video for a few days or so after you create it. Remember - social media is about being SOCIAL. Take advantage of the opportunity to engage your customers. 

Here are two examples of recent Facebook Live videos that got a great community response:

Ecklof's Bakery: Rich Ecklof made a Facebook Live video sharing the struggles that Ecklof's Bakery is facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the response from their followers and the surrounding community was astounding. Watch here.

Panama Rocks: I made this video on what would have been our opening day to update our followers and to promote our Season Pass deal. I DID NOT intend to get emotional when I started to make the video, but as many of you will understand, sometimes that's not easy. The response from our followers was an overflow of unanimous support. Watch here.  

Neither of these videos took much effort or time, but the response they received was phenomenal. This proves that you don't need a videographer and a marketing manager to make an effective Facebook Live video.

​Jonathan Weston is the Director of Member Marketing for the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce. Jonathan also operates Panama Rocks Scenic Park and serves as the Chairman of the Chautauqua County Visitor's Bureau. In addition to marketing his own businesses, Jonathan has run marketing programs for the Chamber of Commerce during the Small Business Revolution, the National Comedy Center during their USA Today "Best Of" campaign, the Great Blue Heron Music Festival, the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History, and others.

Jonathan is with the Chamber to help you better market your business to in our community and to the rest of the world. Feel free to reach out to him at jweston@chautauquachamber.org.

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