Webcasts are very popular right now with the advent of the easy to use video-centric software that is available today. Webcasts can be live or on demand. You can do webcasts using software like Facebook Live, YouTube, Periscope.com and more. All you have to do is have an idea, a camcorder/smartphone, and then perform that idea. Here are some tips on how to make your webcasts the best they can be on those platforms. Easily make your webcasts entertaining and engaging for your audience.
1. Keep Them Short – No one wants to watch a two-hour live webcast, even weekly. More than 30 minutes may be too long. Get to the point, make the time you spend with your audience valuable to them, while focusing on the message and keeping it short and sweet. You still have a shop to run and customers to work with. A 10-15 minute weekly update and information session is more than enough. Keep them action packed and entertaining.
2. Show the Insider’s View – If you have a live event coming up, it’s great to show them some of the preparation and behind-the-scenes stuff you have to do. Whether it’s getting the lighting right or working on the sound, this is valuable information for your audience. They will love getting to know what your set up looks like or how your back room looks before a season launch!
3. Have a Point – Before creating any type of video, you need to have a point. Know what message, lesson, call to action etc. you’re going to give prior to starting your live event. People don’t want to waste their time; give them a reason to tune in every day. Write your notes on a 3×5 index card and have your key points ready. It’s ok to look at your notes, just keep the session moving and don’t hem and haw.
4. Look into the Camera – When you do your live events, there will be times that you don’t look at the camera. That’s okay; if you’re talking to someone else, you’ll want to look at that person. But, when you’re addressing your audience, look at them. And look into the lens, not the video display that shows you are in the picture.
5. Ensure Lighting and Sound Are Good – It’s hard to enjoy watching any live event when the sound and lighting are bad. Ensure that you have some sort of sound and lighting to make the event more enjoyable to watch. It’s easy to buy a lighting kit to set up and leave up that can make your lighting great – or choose a window with a sunny day if you don’t want to set up.
6. Invite a Live Audience – A really exciting way to do a live event is to also invite people to watch you perform the event in person. The energy the people will bring will make the event even more fun for people to watch. Doing them at a consistent day/time every week makes sure that if your customers want to be a part of the show they can be there.
7. Offer an Incentive – If you’re going to do a weekly event there should be something in it for the viewer. You can give away prizes; you can have an ongoing drawing where you randomly choose a winner who watched last week who must be watching this week to get the prize. Ensure you read the terms of service so that you do this by law. Or you can give a quick and free guide to the week’s topic and have people opt in to your email list – win/win.
8. Teach Them Something Useful – It can be valuable to tune in to your live event just because what you teach each week is something they can put to use right now. Don’t be stingy with information. Even if you are selling information, give it away on your weekly events. You are selling a product – tell people how to use it. You will become the go to expert and often it helps you get better wholesale accounts and free samples to show your audience. Just love what you do and show it.
Anything you normally do in your business can be fodder for a weekly webcast. You can show your audience a “day in the life,” a sneak peek behind the scenes and more. If you have a blog post about it, it can become a webcast idea. Have fun most of all, because it’s something you are going to do every week and you need to be upbeat and interesting while you are doing it.