Organic reach for business content on Facebook has become more difficult to achieve, but there’s hope. Brands have a much-improved chance of being seen if their content comes in the form of Facebook Live videos. To make the most of your live videos, follow these 10 tips.

1. Deliver Value. The remaining tips will be pointless unless you nail this first one. Understand the audience you aim to engage – its interests, goals and pain points. Know, too, how you’re uniquely positioned to help and entertain the audience given your expertise. Then, create live feeds based on these strengths.


2. Stream for 10 Minutes at Minimum. While you don’t want to drone on, try to be live for at least 10 minutes. If you can get nearer to half an hour, with quality content, that’s even better. The longer you’re live, the better chance you have of followers discovering – and watching – your stream.


3. Promote Your Video in Advance. If you’re throwing a party, you’re going to invite folks well before the soiree kicks off, right? Take the same approach for live videos. Use Facebook and other social forums to tell people when you’ll be streaming. Send reminders to Facebook followers about the video’s go-live time, and for followers/influencers you really want to engage, consider sending personalized digital invites. Shortly before you start, blast out one last reminder via social feeds.


4. Convey Urgency & Importance in Your Header & Description. If you don’t, few people are going to click on your stream. For example: “How tariffs will affect 2019 pricing” is a timely, critical and interesting option right now.


5. Keep a Steady Schedule. Consistency can be the key to upping your view count. If, for instance, you broadcast the same time each week, you stand a better chance of followers engaging consistently with the content.


6. Get the Timing Right. The best time to stream will vary based on your brand and your audience. Nonetheless, a general sweet spot is 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. If you stream after hours, evenings from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. might find people smartphone scrolling and more apt to watch. Facebook’s Page Insights can help you discover a time that’s best for you.


7. Invest in a Tripod. Streams that shake along with the jumpy hand of someone doing the recording are annoying. A tripod ensures a steady shot throughout. And while you don’t need professional lighting equipment per se, do ensure on-screen subjects are well-lit.


8. Shoot at Cool Locations. A backdrop of an attractive landscape, cityscape or other eye-catching setting can get scrollers to slow their roll. Consider what settings exist near you that you can feature – and how you can possibly connect your video content to them. Maybe you want to highlight something about brandable hiker’s backpacks. Well, head to an overlook at a mountain trail and shoot there.


9. Do a Test Run. Before going live, be sure there’s no buffering, connection problems or other kooky audio or visual issues by doing a brief walk-through using the “only me” setting, in which you’ll be the only person able to view.


10. Share on Other Social Platforms. Once you’re done shooting live, you can keep the stream on your Facebook page. When you do, share links to the videos via social networks like Twitter and LinkedIn. If content isn’t too time-specific, share multiple times with different descriptions to highlight various themes of the streams. This helps increase views.