By Ross Grogan
Facebook Live is one of the most under-utilized marketing tools. Used first by celebrities and influencers streaming simply through smart phones, Facebook Live’s updated API and publishing tools enable a brand to stream broadcast quality productions right from its Facebook page. This new ability to use a multi-camera high quality live production setup allows every brand has its own instant broadcast channel.
Having just recently completed a Facebook Live broadcast for the launch of the GMC Terrain, here are some thoughts when engaging Facebook Live.
You need to craft a story. Script out the production’s story, create a narrative or run of show that will drive the piece. Make it entertaining. There is nothing worse than dead airtime or awkward moments. Streaming a live event doesn’t mean viewers will simply like it. It is better to have a concise piece that might be shorter, than a minute of dead air.
Plan for everything, and having redundancy in your production is essential, especially when it comes to your Internet connection. Just because a venue might have a hard line Internet for you to patch into doesn’t mean that it’s going to be strong enough to carry the stream consistently. I strongly recommend a 2 hardline redundancy or a satellite truck be explored in preproduction to insure a consistent quality stream.
Use traditional broadcast tools, such as roll-ins, b-roll packages, and lower thirds. It’s important to remain connected to the live event at hand for those just tuning in. For the Terrain launch, we employed picture in picture, allowing viewers to remain connected to the live soon to be revealed vehicle while running pre-recorded packages. It gave viewers valuable insights while keeping the feed live.
Build your audience prior to launch. Give people time to log on and tune into an event before festivities begin. This can be as simple as a countdown clock, creative social media packages or teasers of what’s to come in the live event.
Be wary of hiring an Influencer with no hosting experience. Every jump cut you see in their online videos is to cover a mistake made, and you can’t edit out a mistake when you are live. You need a live television host; someone with experience who knows how to fill dead air time, someone who rolls with the punches and unknowns that occur with live TV. A good host is not only worth it but the way to go, the experience most of them bring to the table will ensure a smooth production. It is also important for the host to grasp a brand’s core messaging and keep the storyline.
Running through the show a few times will get some of the kinks out and allow for adjustments to be made. There is that moment when you go live and even with all the prep in the world you still have to be ready for what ever pops up. Make split second decisions and adjust accordingly. Keep it fun. Whether it’s brand direct or agency, get everyone on board with all of the foreseeable possibilities and know how to adjust.
Facebook Live is a great tool to push brands out directly to their followers and even gain new ones. The ability to up the level of production quality is going to be essential to successful engagement in this new medium.
Ross Grogan is the founder amd executive producer of The Cavalry Productions.
A TV as big as a bed? With the holidays approaching, stores stock more supersize sets
For some television viewers, size apparently does matter.
Forget the 65-inch TVs that were considered bigger than average a decade ago. In time for the holidays, manufacturers and retailers are rolling out more XXL screens measuring more than 8 feet across. That's wider than a standard three-seat sofa or a king-size bed.
Supersize televisions only accounted for 1.7% of revenue from all TV set sales in the U.S. during the first nine months of the year, according to market research firm Circana. But companies preparing for shoppers to go big for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa have reason to think the growing ultra category will be a bright spot in an otherwise tepid television market, according to analysts.
The 38.1 million televisions sold with a width of at least 97 inches between January and September represented a tenfold increase from the same period last year, Circana said. Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics chain, doubled the assortment of hefty TVs — the 19 models range in price from $2,000 to $25,000 — and introduced displays in roughly 70% of its stores.
"It's really taken off this year," Blake Hampton, Best Buy's senior vice president of merchandising, said.
Analysts credit the emerging demand to improved technology and much lower prices. So far this year, the average price for TVs spanning at least 97 inches was $3,113 compared to $6,662 last year, according to Circana. South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung introduced its first 98-inch TV in 2019 with a hefty price tag of $99,000; it now has four versions starting at $4,000, the company said.
Anthony Ash, a 42-year-old owner of a wood pallet and recycling business, recently bought a 98-inch Sony for his 14,000-square-foot house in... Read More