Before I Conquered Facebook Lives

You might think that I have always been super confident at doing Facebook lives, but let me tell you that hasn’t always been the case. If you haven’t read my story about how Southern A-Door-nments got started I encourage you to do that, but just so you know, it hasn’t always been this virtual community that I chat with regularly. Originally, I started doing Pinterest parties with women in my community and then I, eventually, started painting and doing door hanger parties. Between door hanger paint parties and setting up at local craft fairs, my little business was growing steadily. However, it wasn’t until I discovered Facebook Live that my business really took off.

My Facebook Lives in the Beginning

In the beginning, I was extremely nervous and scared. I even admitted in my first Facebook live that I felt extremely silly and like I was talking to myself. Thankfully, that didn’t matter one bit. I started doing my Facebook lives in my dining room and the lighting wasn’t the best, but you know what, it was that first step. At one point my phone even fell over during the middle of my Facebook live, talk about embarrassing! I just picked it up, though, and kept trucking because sometimes, that’s just what you have to do.

Over time, I was seeing people comment about how I had helped them grow and how I was impacting their lives. They probably don’t realize it, but their words gave me the motivation to keep going and doing what I was doing. In the meantime, I was getting a craft room put together where I would eventually go live on Facebook. My room was complete before my backdrop was, but I still started going live in my craft room right away. The background you see today is the backdrop that was built then and I am still using. You don’t need fancy equipment or a pretty background to conquer Facebook Live. Today I’m going to show you how to conquer Facebook Live and use it to help you grow your business.

What You Need to Conquer Facebook Live

To get started with a Facebook Live video, you really don’t need all the bells and whistles. You just need something to film with, decent lighting, and something to prop your phone against. Chances are you have a phone with a camera, and hopefully you have the Facebook pages app. If not go get it right now! Prop your phone up against something so it won’t fall and go live! If you want to get fancy, I recommend an Arkon mount. This is what I use and with the code PAINTERSCLUBHOUSE, you can get 20% off your purchase.

The next thing to consider when it comes to doing a Facebook Live is the lighting.  I recommend a ring light, but if you’re not ready to invest in one you can change the bulbs in your house to a white light instead of yellow for a much smaller price tag. You can also bring in a few lamps so that your workspace is bright. If you’re going live during the day, sit in front of a window and place the camera between you and the window for good lighting.

How to Plan Your Facebook Live

What do you talk about during your Facebook live and how do you plan for it? I’ve created a fun little cheat sheet to help eliminate your nerves and give ideas about what you can talk about. For starters, here are some things to consider before going live.

1. Create a hook – This will be your title to get people intrigued with what your video is about. It, essentially, hooks your viewers, or intrigues them so that they click on the Live to watch
2. Start your Facebook live with a short story – People love to feel needed and helpful in comments so be sure to ask questions and find ways to relate to your audience. Sometimes I share a story about my kids or something that I’ve done that week. It’s just a brief moment that makes me feel relatable with my audience.
3. Have three teaching or talking points – These are just conversation points for your video. Do you do paint parties? Talk about the benefits of hosting, what happens at paint parties, and any openings you might have for upcoming paint parties. Are you teaching a tutorial on Facebook live? Here are three easy steps to painting buffalo plaid – there’s your three points!
4. Call to action – Tell your audience what you want them to do. This can be as simple as commenting if they would have liked to see a polka dot pattern instead of stripes on your artwork for that day, or it can be to have them book a paint party with you.
5. Summarize the entire video – Finally, as you wrap up, briefly reiterate the three teaching or talking points and the call to action. If there are any late-to-the-video-viewers, this will help them decide if they should rewatch it or not.

If you’d like a copy of the downloadable cheat sheet to help you plan your next Facebook Live, head to my website and register to watch the replay of the free webinar I did. This webinar shows you how to conquer Facebook Live and grow your business. It also gets you access to the downloadable sheet featuring a printable where you can jot down some notes about what you want to talk about to help you stay focused.

Calming Your Nerves Before Doing a Facebook Live

Pretend like you are talking to a friend. If you were with a friend, you might ask for advice or ask how her day was. Do the same thing with your audience on Facebook Live. Showing up on Facebook Live is about serving other people. If you want to bail because you’re nervous, think about all the people who are going to miss out if you don’t bring what you have to offer to Facebook Live.

Another reason I hear people not want to get on Facebook Live is because they don’t feel their best. If you feel self conscious about the way you look, go put on some cute earrings, your favorite shirt, or some lipstick that will make you feel confident in front of the camera. Just remember, your customer isn’t going to show up because your t-shirt is cute and they’re not going to hang around because they love your earrings. They are going to show up because they like you as a person and what you have to offer!

Consistency is Key to Conquering Facebook Live

Just like the saying practice makes perfect, the same is true with your consistency on Facebook live. If you can go live on Facebook twice a week, it will help you to gain confidence and conquer your Facebook lives. Setting aside time to go live will also help your Facebook page grow and you will start to see an increase in your audience as you get to know them better.

In conclusion, I just want to say that if I had waited until I had the perfect lighting, my beautiful backdrop, or even my Arkon mount for that perfect angle, I wouldn’t have started doing Facebook Live until a year and a half later than when I did. My Facebook page grew so much even in that year of navigating how to do Facebook Lives and I gained so much confidence navigating through those times. I want to encourage you to just get out there and give it a go!

Still Needing Some More Inspiration on Conquering Your Facebook Live?

I mentioned earlier the webinar that I hosted teaching you how to use Facebook Live to grow your business. I want to encourage you to take some time to listen to that webinar as there are even more tips and personal experiences to encourage you in conquering a Facebook Live. You can catch the replay under the “Learn With Me” tab on my website. Don’t forget to download your cheat sheet for your next Facebook live there either!