How Small Businesses Can Use Instagram Live Videos To Their Advantage

Still not convinced why your business should establish a presence on social media platforms like Instagram? Find out more about some of the world’s biggest brands that are on it! Do you have an Instagram account already? Make sure you are familiar with the social media marketing trends for 2017. One of them talks about using live videos to boost your social media presence. If you are managing a small business and interested in doing Instagram live videos, here are some stellar ways to use them to your advantage:

Treat Your Live Video Sessions as Kick-Off or Introductory Meetings

If you own or manage a company in the services industry, you should remember that your employees and you are your business. In most cases, people need to meet you, build trust, and know that they can work with you before they hire you and your team for a specific service. With that in mind, it’s pretty normal for photographers, web developers, website designers, etc., to have intro or kick-off meetings with their prospective customers to establish a face-to-face relationship. If you use your Instagram live video sessions this way, you will experience no problems with building trust with more people at once. You can get people to feel comfortable using your services within a shorter span of time.

Give Your Most Loyal Followers Special Offers

To ensure your live videos are worth your viewers’ full attention (every time you do one), you can reward them by giving them early access to certain content or even a coupon code that can be used for subsequent purchases. Alternatively, you can give your viewers something for free that they would otherwise have to pay you for. By using these types of rewards to incentivize viewers, they are more likely to continue participating in future live videos. Don’t give rewards blindly, make sure they bring value to those who engage with you.

Always Promote Upcoming Instagram Live Video Sessions before Broadcasting

You should note that Instagram live videos are not just another form of content. It’s much more accurate to classify them as events. When you promote upcoming live videos, you should promote it as an event as your followers have one shot to join. Unlike Facebook Live videos that get saved on your business page timeline, Instagram live video feeds disappear once your broadcast is over.

Be Prepared to Cater to the Extremes: Remote Strangers and Loyal Customers

Once you figure out what the extremes in your viewers like, it’s much easier to find what works for the majority of your audience too. For example, your first-time viewers might want to learn the basics of your service or product, and your loyal customers might prefer viewing different types of content, say advanced tips of using a certain product. By considering these factors, you can try to make your live video interesting for both parties. By doing this, you also allow mainstream viewers in your audience to enjoy your live content.

Moving on, let’s say a regular customer or a close friend joins in as a viewer on your live video session. Don’t forget to give that individual a shout-out or raise a question that proves your connection. For example, you could say, “How are you, User1985? How’s your <enter pet’s name> doing?” This not only makes that person feel special but everyone else knows you are a real person who has real friends and customers you actually care about. Humanization is important in today’s time. It lets people see how well you treat your loyal customers.