How to Livestream Successfully on Instagram
Live broadcasts on Instagram have become increasingly popular since the pandemic. Users have gotten used to connecting with content creators in this way, to discuss a theme or discover their new favorite items. To show you just how much the feature has been more than a little in demand, you only need to know one figure: Instagram Live usage saw a 70% increase in the US!
Instagram Live usage saw a 70% increase in the US!
Between March 2020 and April 2020, live streaming usage increased by 70% on Instagram in the US. This data proves the popularity of the feature.
Believe it or not it was not an immediate success! The feature was launched in 2016. It was a rather timid start… Indeed, livestreams were few and far between. With this new tool Instagram was hoping to facilitate communication between creators and their communities.
“Since introducing live video last November, millions of people have used it to connect with friends and followers in an authentic way,” said the platform in a press release in 2017.
This goal was achieved during the numerous lockdowns. But do you use this feature successfully? What are the strategies? Is there a specific way to go about it?
To help you plan your future content, we’d like to give share with you a comprehensive guide to help you get started.
And if you want to read more on the topic, don’t forget to check our article ‘Instagram Live Shopping Features for Brands and Influencers’.
Instagram’s tips on how to make your lives a success
Livestreaming on Instagram isn’t the easiest thing in the world. You have to be comfortable with the idea of being live. Bear in the mind you have to be live for at least 30 minutes or even an hour! How to do you manage to speak for that long without getting bored? To encourage more people to take the plunge and avoid being held back by technical issues, Instagram recently shared some guidelines to follow.
We’ll go over them in detail to understand why it is important to follow each of these steps.
Before the live
The first tips are things to make sure of BEFORE going live. Enthusiasm is great but you need a little preparation before going live, so don’t get carried away! There are a few things to check in advance.
The first is your Internet connection. If yours is bad, the livestream will not be enjoyable to watch. So you need to find a place with high-speed Wi-Fi Internet so that everyone can see you well.
Another technical aspect to keep in mind is the format of your live. Users want a quality image, so consider proper lighting.
Sound is equally important. How can you communicate with people who can’t hear you? Make sure to fully test your device before inviting anyone.
The editorial line
Once the technical aspect seems good, it’s time to move on to the second step. This time it is not about form, but about substance.
In short, what are you going to talk about during your live? If you plan to stay live for an hour, it might be worth having a detailed plan of what you are going to say, how you are going to link the different ideas or actions so that your community doesn’t get bored. Want to get started, but don’t have any topics to write about yet? Here are a few topics to inspire you:
- cook a recipe, do a challenge or exercise
- share a personal story, talk about a partnership or another event in your daily life
- discuss future projects
- go into more detail about one or more products
- invite a guest…
Your choice of topics should depend on your editorial line. They can be very varied, it is up to you to time things well so you get to speak about what matters during those 60 minutes.
Using a question/answer feature encourages your viewers to ask you questions.
Teasing
For viewers to watch your live they need to know about it. And this is where the third important point comes in: teasing. It is strongly recommended that you notify your community a few days before the launch of the live.
For example, you can add a countdown in your stories. Clicking on it will allow each person to ask to be notified when the live is about to start.
Informing your followers about the event you have planned will make some of them want to watch it. Bear in mind that as it is live, having a majority of your followers present throughout might be difficult. Don’t be surprised if there aren’t as many viewers as you’d hoped. The most important thing here is to connect.
Choosing the time and day
Another crucial aspect is the choice of time and day. You know your community. You know when it’s most interesting for you to share your posts. You can therefore apply the same logic for your lives.
Choose an ideal time when you know your followers are available to listen to you. Your account insights can help you identify the best time to go live. Instagram does tell you the time and day your community is most present. Please also note that live features are only available on the Instagram mobile app.
The big day of the Live
Once you’ve dealt with the technical aspect, you’ve picked your topics and know what you’re going to say, all you’ve let is to do it! It goes without saying but don’t be late!
Start the live on time and begin by introducing the topic for the first few minutes. Be on the lookout for questions so you can start interacting with people.
Don’t hesitate to ask them directly to react to what you’re saying. Instagram also encourages you to turn on comment moderation to facilitate a “positive community experience”.
Save your Live
When your live broadcast is finished, remember to save it. Instagram gives you the option to turn it into an Instagram Video so that your community can watch it again or discover it for those who missed it.
Why is it worthwhile to use IG Live?
Lives on Instagram are an opportunity for influencers to develop a different relationship with their community. This feature easily complements all the other tools you can use to connect with your audience. Except that here, you can be more natural, talk about your stances on things and give a voice to your followers.
Comments and private messages aren’t always enough and they don’t make it easy to get into a long conversation… IG lives are the best option to answer the questions that you haven’t answered yet.
Several accounts can host the Live
Instagram now allows multiple accounts to go live together. And this is great news!
When you’re going live, your followers see a Live icon in front of your stories.
Everyone who is hosting the live will have the same icon. It’s a good opportunity for viewers to discover new influencers they don’t know.
Lives are also a great way for influencers to gain followers. For this strategy to work, we recommend that you host these lives with influencers that are similar to you.
How to access IG Live analytics?
Once your live is over, you probably would like to know how many people watched it and a whole lot of other data. Since May 2021, it is possible to access such metrics access with a few clicks. To do this, simply go to the video and click on the three small dots at the bottom of the image. Then tap “view statistics“. This will bring up a data page.
Users with a business account can find out:
- the number of accounts reached by the video,
- the peak concurrent viewers,
- the number of comments,
- the number of shares.
All of this information will give you an idea of the success of your livestream. If it wasn’t a hit, then we encourage you to try again and make changes such as:
- going live at a different time or day
- choose a more relevant topic
- consider inviting one or more guests
- improve the technical aspects if you think something went wrong
- …
It’s always a good idea to test new features several times before deciding not to carry on using them. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was your community! Start a multi-episode live series to find out whether or not this tool is relevant to you and your audience.
Instagram Live examples
Here are some examples to learn from! You’ll see that these videos aren’t one-offs. Creators and brands have decided to create several to create real events.
Are you a brand and want to do a live with an influencer? At Influence4You we can help you elaborate your strategy. Our platform allows you to realise your next project.
Examples of Instagram Lives (influencers and brands)
Lia Bartha’s fitness livestreams
A trainer to Hollywood celebrities, content creator and Pilates expert Lia Bartha helped thousands stay in shape during the pandemic. Offering free live classes on IG to ease people’s anxiety, stress and loneliness, she invites her community to join her for 30-minute workouts. She goes live at home and offers a series of exercises to help your body AND your mental health.
Featured in the New York Times, she now boasts 56.8k followers.
View this post on Instagram
Pro-tip:
Make it a real moment of exchange by setting a specific day and time so your community gets into the habit of watching your lives. The key word is regularity!
Benefit Cosmetics
Another example that proves that regularity is the name of the game – this one is from a company. Benefit Cosmetics offers makeup tutorials in real time to showcase their new products. An excellent way to interact with their community, these streams make good use of the Best Friend Effect, featuring their brand ambassadors chatting in a natural and down-to-earth way.
Viewers can also ask questions about their products and shop live. All in all, a format that works brilliantly to both educate consumers and interact with them in a fun way.
View this post on Instagram
Pro-tip:
Decide on the topics you’ll cover and invite other people to speak by co-hosting the live.
IG Live evolution
To help content creators and brands to create lives that speak to them, Instagram has been developing new tools.
The first arrived in the course of 2021 and let people go live with 3 other people. Until now, only two users were allowed to host a live together. This allows users to create content with a little more open debate than usual. However, it is important to monitor everyone’s speaking time to avoid everyone interrupting one another.
Another new feature is that lives can now be monetized. In the US, Instagram is testing badges during lives. In this way, viewers can support content creators and motivate them to invest even more time and efforts in their lives.
Followers can purchase one heart for $0.99, two hearts for $1.99 or three hearts for $4.99. The entire amount will then be given to the content creator.
Another new development to consider is Instagram Shopping. This option is also available for live broadcasts. Users can display products on the screen. Viewers just have to click on the screen to buy them.
At Influence4You, we strongly believe that these shopping-focused lives will become more popular in the coming months.
Conclusion on Instagram Lives
The Instagram live feature exploded in popularity during the lockdown. Today, many accounts go live regularly in France.
The main goal is to exchange more easily and at length with one’s community. But in order to grab your followers attention, you must think carefully about what you’re going to say. Lives should complement the content already published on the account.
Patience is also a very important quality. It takes time for your subscribers to get used to following you in this format.
No need to feel scared, just tap the three dots to get started and connect with your community.
What are you waiting for to make new connections with your followers?
Are you an influencer? Find your next collaborations on our platform. Register for free here!
Are you a brand? Contact us to set up your next Instagram Live campaign.
