You might be wondering…why there’s so much hype about Facebook Live? Did you know that, according to Facebook, people watch Facebook Live video an average of 3x longer than a video that’s NOT live?

Facebook Live is super interactive and people comment about 10x more often than on regular videos. This means they are watching the live videos longer and are more engaged while watching.

That’s pretty powerful stuff!

All kinds of people are using it, even big brands. Friends are using it to share crafting ideas and families are sharing birthday parties and baby’s first steps.  Businesses are using it to give customers a behind the scenes glimpse of their workspace to see how the magic is made.

The best part is that Facebook Live videos create an authentic connection and let you show off your awesome personality and create a connection that humanizes and personalizes your brand.

Intrigued yet?

You should be if you’re interested in having engaging conversations with your followers, reaching new audiences, marketing your retreats, programs and products – and most importantly – telling your story your way.  It’s a powerful tool to add to your toolbox that will help build excitement amongst your tribe while creating a vibrant, engaged community – and the good news is that it’s really easy to use.

Before you go Live, you’ll want to decide on what content you will share. Facebook recommends focusing on these content areas:

1. Hot topics
2. Q&A
3. Interviews
4. Performances
5. Behind the scenes
6. Demonstrations

I suggest you mix it up between a variety of content options…never be boring! Offer your people a variety of live content.  As with any social media experience, people have a limited attention span, so you’ll want to be sure to WOW them every time with compelling, fun, entertaining, and/or informative content.

Then…

Content Ideas for Retreat Leaders and Travel Professionals:

1. Create your own weekly show around your area of expertise.
2. Take your tribe to work and introduce them to your staff.
3. Take your phone to the street and ask questions that relate to your business (like the late night TV guy doing a street segment).
4. Share where YOU are in the world with a walking tour, give the insider’s view from your retreat or highlights and snippets from your retreat, and even testimonials from trip participants (let your community see what they are missing!).
5. Even better, have your retreat clients also share their own Facebook Live videos while on your retreat to promote you!
6. Show your clients how you work your magic with special insider “just for you” demos of your service.
7. Send special messages or blessings for your peeps.
8. Share daily motivational messages or even lead them in a meditation.

Whatever content you decide to broadcast, consider story-boarding it ahead of time so you have a roadmap. And, you’ll want to have a few talking points prepared since there may be lull in the questions. No one enjoys a rambling, unfocused video. Then, relax and freestyle. Have fun! Be YOU!

That’s truly what people want.

You’ll want to promote your Live event in advance along all of your social media channels. When you create your copy, you will need to tell people where to go/find you and how to ask questions (via typing comments) since most people don’t know how this works.

The first few seconds are key, so make them count.

Keep in mind that while the video doesn’t have to be professional, you’ll need to do your best to have good lighting. Make sure you have a strong WiFi or 5G connection.

You’ll need to decide which of your Facebook pages/groups you want to broadcast from.  It does make a difference, because when you originate your broadcast from within a private group, you won’t be able to share it outside of the group.

People would need to become members of the group to be able to join you during the broadcast or watch it later.  But, this is a great option if you want to share private info within a group.

If you want to share a video with your entire Facebook family, you’ll want to do it from your personal page and then share the finished video to your groups, etc.  You also can choose to broadcast from your business page.

Once you’ve made that decision, give yourself a few minutes to set up.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You can only use Facebook Live on your mobile phone, not your computer! So get out your phone and let’s GO LIVE!

Start broadcasting!

You can use the camera facing you or away from you, so you can show folks your surroundings (that’s the little button at the top left with the two swirling arrows). But note this,when you do a flip, it cuts the audio for a brief second, so be sure to pause to accommodate it.

Remember to speak up if the camera is facing away from you.  Cure the shaky video issue by stabilizing your phone in some way, with a tripod of selfie stick or a tripod.

Facebook Live allows you to shoot in landscape and the video will automatically correct to show up in a square shape. Broadcast for at least 10 minutes, but if you can, go for 20 or more (up to the 90 minute limit), because Facebook’s algorithm really likes to share video posts while they are live. Gotta feed the algorithm!

**Remember when you first get on introduce yourself and what you are talking about (folks are going to be seeing this who DO NOT know who you are!).

Wrap it up in style.

When you are ready to end the broadcast, wrap up with a simple closing line each and every time that signals the end. Make it unique to you. Ask people to subscribe to Live notifications and to share the video with friends.

**Don’t forget your “Call to Action” (grab my freebie here, or register for my webinar there).

Take this opportunity to edit your video.

As with all other Facebook videos, once it’s live on your wall, you can go back and edit it. It’s kind of annoying that you can’t edit before it’s on your wall…but after all…it IS LIVE! You won’t need any special app or anything to edit.  Simply click on the date of the post in your timeline to access it and select Edit. The edit will make your video look better and allow your tribe to find your video when searching! These are the things you can edit:

1. Title
2. Choose the thumbnail (very important)
3. Video tags
4. Call to action
5. Description of Link

Once your video is Live and you’ve completed your edits, it’s ready to share!  Woot!

First, you’ll want to share it on your business page.  It’s important to remember to share it as your page and not under your personal profile.  You don’t want it to wind up in the wrong spot and not visible on your business wall.

Next comes re-purposing.  Write a blog post containing some of the highlights and share the Facebook post or embed the video.  Then share it everywhere!!  And ask your tribe to share too.

Now…take a deep breath…give yourself a big pat on the back! And, thank the universe you tackled your first Live video.  Don’t get too comfortable though, you’ll need to broadcast the next one soon!  🙂

More Details on Facebook Live:
https://www.facebook.com/formedia/tools/facebook-livehttps://live.fb.com/

Good luck and happy filming!

To your wanderlust life, Sheri 

Want to learn some great tips for creating and selling out your next retreat?

Whether this is your very first retreat or you’ve been running them for years – we’ve got a couple of awesome free trainings for you to help you design the most amazing retreat, as well as pricing it to make a profit, getting it sold out, learning retreat legalities, monetizing your retreats and so much more!! If you are interested, simply click below and you will go to our free training page where you can choose whichever training resonates best with you.

Dr Sheri Rosenthal is known as one of the most sought after retreat strategists for coaches, speakers, and authors — and is the owner of Journeys of the Spirit Travel®, a boutique agency specializing in the planning and management of group travel.

Through her Wanderlust Entrepreneur Community and her signature course, The Retreat Blueprint Program, she has taught thousands of facilitators how to design exceptional retreats that allow them stand out in their niche. She is famous for helping clients plan, fill, and profit from transformational retreats that change lives in a huge way while adding serious income to their bottom lin