My 2017 resolution is all about facing my fear of video, and one of the best ways to do that is via Facebook Live.
I was super hesitant at first because if you’re not familiar with Facebook live, it’s 100% live streaming.
Given that I absolutely hate the sound of my voice, live streaming’s never really been on the to-do list for me.
But I’m putting my big girl pants on and freaking doing it, and I think it’s going to be awesome.
Why DO BLOGGERS NEED TO BE DOING Facebook Live?
Because it allows us to totally connect with our readers.
I mean, haven’t any of you ever wondered what I’m like in real life? Haven’t you wanted to know what I sound like?
Facebook Live gives us that connection with our readers, and I really think it’s a platform that all big time bloggers are going to start using.
So even if you’re a newbie blogger, here are a few ways you can use Facebook Live to connect with your audience:
1. Do a show & tell
My first live broadcast was literally just a video of me showing everyone what I bought at Nordstrom that day. People love seeing what you buy and hearing what you think about products, so next time you pick up something cute, show everyone!
2. Teach people how to do something
Think about it… what could you possibly show someone that might be useful to them? Maybe broadcast yourself making a quick 4 ingredient smoothie. Maybe show everyone how you organize your make-up drawer. Maybe talk about how you got into blogging. You know your readers. You know what they like. So just teach them something new!
3. Host a virtual office-hours session
Us bloggers get a lot of e-mails. And sometimes, those e-mails tend to sit in our inbox for weeks and months and some of them sadly end up in the “it’s been so long since they’ve sent this and I’m just so embarrassed that I haven’t responded yet, so I’m just going to pretend that I never got it in the first place” folder. Yep- don’t lie. It’s happened. But we can fix that. If you schedule just a half hour every week for virtual office-hours, you can let all your readers know to check out your Facebook Live at that time on that specific day and you can either respond to e-mails that have already been sent to you, or you can have readers submit live questions and you can respond to those in real-time. Super fun!
4. Give a tour of your house or your office
Come on, at this point you should know how nosy we all are! We’re all dying to get a behind the scenes look at the lives of all of our favorite bloggers. So clean your house one day, and give us a tour!
5. Take your readers on adventures with you
Whether you’re traveling to the Grand Canyon, going for a run, or just sitting down at a restaurant eating your dinner, go live! You don’t have to livestream yourself eating your entire meal, (I don’t really want to see you chewing your food) but show us something! What are you up to? Where are you at? Are you checking out a new coffee shop for the first time? We’d love to see that! Because we forget that we have readers all over the world. I mean, I’m from Miami and I know what Miami looks like, but maybe someone from Chicago doesn’t, and I think it’s so cool that we can share our surroundings with anyone who’s interested.
Now I could keep going, and maybe in a future blog post I will, but I think you get the point.
We’re looking for connection, people. That’s what blogging’s all about.
Forming relationships and sharing information.
So if there’s a cool new way to do that?
I’m down.
Let me know what you guys think of Facebook Live!! Have any of you tried it?
I’ve been doing weekly Facebook Live sessions in my FREE Career Advice Facebook Group, so if you’d like to check those out, I’d love for you to join the group!
Facebook Live is freaking scary, but dude…it’s so worth it.
Oh, and you might want to invest in a Tri-Pod for your phone. Just ordered mine right now.
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Books on blogging to help you take your blog to the next level:
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- Blog, Inc.
- Creative, Inc.
- How To Blog For Profit Without Selling Your Soul
- 365 Blog Topic Ideas: For The Lifestyle Blogger Who Has Nothing To Write About
- #GirlBoss
- Leave Your Mark: Land Your Dream Job, Kill It In Your Career, Rock Social Media
- Crush It
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- Thrive
Books to help you deal with your twenties:
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- Life After College
- The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter & How To Make The Most of Them
- Adulting: How To Become A Grown Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps
- All Groan Up: Searching For Self, Faith, and A Freaking Job!
Other stuff you might like:
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- The 5 Most Valuable Lessons Grad School Taught Me
- Pursue a Lifestyle, Not a Job
- Why It’s Okay to Be Excited About the Awesome Stuff You’re Doing
- Why We Need to Get Over Our Fear of Rejection
- Don’t Wait, Be Happy Now
- The 5 Best Investments You Can Make in College
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Hey Kayla! I’m so glad that you posted this because I’ve recently started wondering about Periscope too. Are you on Snapchat? I just downloaded it this week and am starting to promote, but am curious if I should choose Periscope over Snapchat! So many social media apps to keep up with! Grrr.
♥ Lisa
strum simmer sip
thanks for sharing, Kayla! I recently started using periscope and, from a personal perspective, I’m really enjoying it.
I absolutely hate to be on camera, though, so that part is tough. These are such good tips, though! I might have to give it a try.
loved this article! Thanks so much for sharing these tips! I recently joined Periscope but haven’t done s thing with it and now I may finally give it a shot with some of your suggestions! Thanks again.
Love this! Just saw my first two periscopes last night and I think it’s a great way to interact with your blogging community. I’m a new blogger so I’ll be kind of nervous on live broadcasting. Thanks for sharing.
Loved this post! I just downloaded Periscope recently, but I haven’t made a Periscope yet. I have watched a couple of live casts as well as watched some replays. I also followed you, my username is @happyarkansan!
It sounds a lot like snapchat but I’m going to check out it out anyway! Thanks for sharing!
Great post and very informative. I do have a question and would like everyone’s opinion. I’m an interior decorator. I blog on interior decorating ideas, organizational tips, and planning & productivity strategies. I have a YouTude channel. What are the advantages of Periscope over YouTube? Should a blogger use both?
Hi Nakeya,
This is a great post by Kayla. I’m a graphic designer, marketing and social media strategist and what we often tell our clients is that there are benefits to both youtube and perisope. Periscope is live, whereas Youtube is recorded. What that does for people is allows them to ask questions during your scope, so you can be answering them live. It’s a much more personal interaction than youtube. You could, however, promote your youtube channel during your scopes and gain more of a following there.
Best of luck to you.
I’ve been hesitant to download Periscope, simply because I’d have go look presentable and not like I’ve played and chased a toddler around all day! Lol. I may just suck it up and give it a go! Thanks for posting via The Blog Life FB group!
From a legal standpoint, I think it’s important that users of any of these apps (Periscope, Meerkat, Snapchat) understand their legal rights. People using these apps may unknowingly be committing copyright infringement or violating someone’s privacy by showing their face without permission while filming in a public location. It might be the new hot thing, but know your rights before you begin using something of these marketing tools.
That being said, I think you’ve given many people an idea of what to do with Periscope to promote their own brand. 🙂
kayla, this is an awesome post! I’ve been super curious I’m so glad one of my favorite bloggers read about it! So, when is your first Periscope?! 😉
This is a great post, Kayla! I have recently became interested in joining in on the Periscope ride with everyone else. Hoping to love it!
Summer | Coffee With Summer
I like your suggestion about virtual office hours. That would have been great if my professors did that in college or if they would do that on Coursera classes. My first experience with Periscope was watching a random teenage girl film herself ordering chicken nuggets from a drive thru and then cussing about how expensive the nuggets were. It was awesome.
THANKS! Periscope is something on my to tackle list!
Thanjs so much for posting this! I’ve been up in the air about joining periscope but decided to just dive in! I’m @sugarcrumbs over there 🙂 look forward to seeing you broadcast!
Hi Kyla,
Love your post. I must check it out.
I know that you follow my blog, and I wanted to let you know that it has moved. While I am trying to copy the subscribers across, it would be worthwhile resubscribing manually. The new URL is http://www.indraconsulting.com/inspiration. Thank you so much…. Ganga
I have periscope but haven’t used it to its potential. I plan to this week.
Hey girl! Thanks so ,much for the shout-out to my Periscope blog series! So very honored for the shout-out and that I played a small role in you taking a leap to try out Periscope. Now you’re inspiring ME with this awesome blossom list of ways to use Periscope as a blogger. Off to pin this gem! And then apply your tips!
Hi Kyla,
I’m starting off as a food blogger. Its kinda hard and new for me because I’m very shy and camera shy. I’ve heard about periscope before but have never used it. I thought about using it to gain an audience for my blog but was just too camera shy and didn’t know how to start off. Your tips are a great way to help out other fellow bloggers out there.
Great post, Kayla! I just downloaded this myself, and I’m still a little hesitant to post anything with myself in it. I’ve been using it a lot to follow people that I have followed on other outlets, but maybe if I get enough followers in the future I’ll get the courage to post something.
I just followed you, I’m @mostlylisa1 🙂
Always,
Mostly Lisa
This helpful post has been featured at xoxomake! Linked.
Good post! I’ve been thinking about using Periscope lately. What’s the advantage of using Periscope as opposed to doing a video and posting on YouTube?
Hi Kayla! I would just add that if you’re going to give a tour of your home that you make sure you’re location settings are off before hitting ‘Start Broadcast’ in the actual app. It they’re on, people can literally locate the street from which you’re broadcasting. Also, I see you’ve pinned this quite a bit but when I found your Periscope account I saw you haven’t done many broadcasts. Did you lose interest in the app? I love it and have lots of fun with it showing people around London and doing advice scopes!
These are great ideas! I don’t have it yet + have also be hesitant but I’m going to give it a shot. I love the idea of taking readers on an adventure or a hike! Thanks for this post it was really helpful!
Love this!!!! I have been on periscope for about a week and loving it! I would love to connect ! Myfabulouschaos