How to Nail Your Instagram Live Video

Instagram Live is here to stay! Gone are the days where Instagram was used solely for its favored image sharing services.. IG Live can help businesses develop a brand identity, increase visibility and grow engagement but you have to create a strategy for using this feature to your advantage. Let’s get into some tips:

1. Preview your content. Try to imagine your Instagram Live video like a movie. What does every film need in order for people to know about it? That’s right, it needs to have a trailer. This doesn’t mean you need to make an elaborate creative preview (although it wouldn’t hurt!) However, you really should promote going live before actually doing it. Go ahead and post about it on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube. Tell your friends, mom, your dog, and even the crazy aunt on Facebook. Let people know what time you’re going live and provide a short snippet of what you’ll essentially be talking about. By doing this, you’re adding a bit of value to the content you’ll be providing. 

2. Invest in the tools you need. A director or filmmaker need tools to shoot a film, and so will you: 

• Tripods are a great tool for improving the overall quality of your live video. No one wants to watch shaky videos with lots of sudden movement. It’s distracting and takes away from the intention behind your video. 
• Portable lighting is another magical tool that will take your live video to the next level. There are lots of affordable portable lighting contraptions on the market that can help boost the grade of your video. 
• External Microphones can help you in providing substantial sound quality to your videos. You want your audience to be able to hear you loud and clear, right? Then it wouldn’t be the worst idea to purchase an external mic to help get the job done. 

We did the hard work for you and found this video that outlines exactly what tools you should invest in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xugoV36Lv2k.

3. Use the new features to your advantage. Since lots of people are going live on Instagram, making sure your video is as interesting and engaging as possible is crucial for the engagement of your videos. It’s almost like you’re creating a show and you want to give your all-out best performance to your audience. If you’re not sure how to do that, no worries because Instagram already has features on the platform that can help increase audience interest in no time. 

-Adding the question “sticker” to your Instagram story is a special way to get participation from your audience.  Maybe they are curious about a new product or service you just came out with. You can go ahead and answer their questions directly on your IG live video. 

-Another aspect that Instagram already offers is the chance to go live with another person through the Add Friend feature. This is a wonderful chance for you and a friend, co-worker, or business partner to really create some energy around the purpose of your video. Two are better than one!

IG Live videos are a marvelous way for businesses to ramp up hype around whatever the purpose of your video may be. They are great for building relationships with you and your audience, developing a brand identity, and growing more visibility to your business Now, what’s stopping you from giving your best Instagram Live video?  Go get it.