Time to go live on YouTube?

Is it time for your business to take it live? Live broadcasts have begun to make their presence felt out at YouTube and many businesses of all sizes are reaping the marketing benefits. Your brand will be out there at a live venue and you need not worry about editing and other post production challenges. You can bring the excitement of your business to your customers and potential customers and it will have the immediacy of inspiring your audience to take action.

  • Many companies, as well as solopreneurs and consultants, have begun taking advantage of the live format to host question and answer shows, reveal new product or service launches and to share special company events or a live behind the scenes look at the company.
  • Of course, you just can’t go out there and wing it. It may be a live broadcast but it all must be carefully scripted and choreographed to a certain extent. It is a production, it is a presentation. You wouldn’t just wander onto the stage of a convention and then just wing a speech would you? Know what subject matter you want to cover and make certain you have written goals and expectations. This live production must be a serious marketing piece at its core or don’t even bother doing it.
  • Know how long your broadcast will be. It isn’t a baseball game when you can never know when it will end. Will you have some manner of audience and/or question and answer session? Will the audience be there with you live? Will you take calls? Will you answer questions and comments that have been posed at your social media platforms?
  • One huge factor that must be integrated into your broadcast is a call to action. It must be there several times throughout the broadcast. Think of your broadcast as a modified infomercial or a product segment broadcast at such a channel as the QVC shopping network. You must be always conscious of presenting information, educating your customers and getting them to take some manner of action.
  • Make sure that those watching know exactly what you want them to do and how you want them to do it. You don’t want them thinking, you want them acting; you want them buying. And, of course, prior to your meticulous planning and execution, you must advertise and publicize the event everywhere you can. You may be about to have the greatest live broadcast of all time but if no one knows about it you might as well not even bother. Live broadcasts can be a challenge but they can also be quite rewarding both in terms of brand awareness and in eventual conversions.

-Written by Kevin Sawyer