Career Opportunities at Digital Growth Agency, Social Beat

Guide to Using Facebook Live effectively

Posted on October 25, 2016May 24, 2021 by Akshita Wadhwa

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Mike Henry, a renowned writer in the media industry, once wisely said, “We’re in the operating world where one good video can lead to a massive social following.” With video being one of the trends to watch out for in the coming years, Mark Zuckerberg too joined the bandwagon and launched Facebook Live, allowing millions of users to gain the power to go live and broadcast themselves to anyone in the world. Going on air live is just a click away. Here is a guide to use Facebook Live effectively

How to Use It?

How to go on air with Facebook live?

All you need is your smart phone, the Facebook app and 12 simple steps to follow.

Step 1: Get to your Facebook profile on your Facebook app and click on the status bar like you’re going to create a new post.

Step 2: To go on air, click on to the “Live” tab that resembles a video camera with an eye.

Step 3: You will find a pop up asking to access your camera and microphone. Allow Facebook to gain that access. Once you have allowed Facebook to gain the camera and microphone access for the first time, you will not receive the request again.

Step 4: Click on the “Continue” tab on that initial page, which mentions, “Go Live on Facebook.” Clicking continue doesn’t mean your video has started recording to go live. It’s just a couple of steps away.

Step 5: Customise your privacy settings

If you want your Facebook Live video to go viral and have a lot of viewers, then you could customise your audience by clicking on Public. However, if you don’t want everyone to view your live video and want to just keep it to your known people, you could then click on ‘Friends.’ You could always customise your viewers by making a specific group of audience. However, if it’s your first attempt to use Facebook Live and you’re still trying to get used to it and understand how it works, then you can change your privacy settings to “Only Me.” The option to activate “Only Me” can be found by clicking on “More” and scrolling all the way to the last. Later on, Once you’re sure about your video and want it to go viral for the rest of the audience you can change your privacy settings accordingly.

Step 6: Write a description.

Once you’ve got your privacy settings sorted, you will need to add in a description about the live video you will be sharing. This description will be more like a caption to the video that will best describe it for your audience. In order to gain a larger viewer list, make sure you have an attention grabbing description so that the audience would gain interest and tune in.

Step 7: Set up your Camera View.

Just before you’re all set to Go Live, make sure your camera is facing the direction. You can shoot either with your front camera or rear. You can either hold your phone vertically or horizontally as the video will be in a square format and it won’t matter.

Step 8: Click on the “Go Live” blue button to begin broadcasting.

Once you have got all the prior steps in place to kick start the Live Broadcast, all you need to do is just click on to the “Go Live” button which will then have a countdown 3,2,1… and the next thing you will see is that you’re on air going live. As soon as you start streaming and going live, you will find yourself on your own as well as others news feed based on the customised privacy settings.

Your online broadcast can as long as 90 minutes. However, do remember that the longer your broadcast is, better the chances of a larger viewership.

Step 9: Interaction with commenters and viewers:

In order to make the most of Facebook Live, your aim has to be to engage with your audience by being on air and interacting with them. With Facebook live, there are two ways through, which you can interact with your viewers:

By speaking and responding directly to the audience through the video.
By having a designated person responding to the comments

These comments and reactions can be viewed just below the broadcast live. The earlier comments will be much further downwards as these comments are present in the reverse chronological order like on twitter. While responding to viewers, if you wish to block any particular viewer, you could do so by just clicking on the profile picture on the viewer’s comment and clicking on “Block.” You can always unblock a viewer that you have already blocked.

(Image Credit: Hubspot)

Step 10: Click “Finish” to end the broadcast.

Once you do this, the video will stay on your Timeline or Page like any other video post.

Step 11: Save the Broadcast to your camera role

Once you’re done with your broadcast on Facebook, you will come across an option allowing you to save your video to the camera roll like given below, so that you can always have the original copy.

Step 12: Kudos! You have officially broadcasted your first Facebook Live video. In order to review the video, can always go back to your timeline and do so. You can also change the privacy settings, description or even delete the video just like any other post.

How can brands leverage Facebook Live:

Live videos can not only help individuals post fun videos but can also help brands reach out to their audience and help build a closer relationship with their fans. When done well, these videos can be used as a medium to engage the audience and create an active conversation.

From behind the scenes videos to product a launch, this new feature is ideal to showcase some unique content. In fact, brands can also use this feature to give an opportunity to fan to exclusive look at what’s unfolding behind the scenes in real time. For example, Dunkin Donuts, a US-based brand did exactly that. Their first Facebook Live video was that of a behind the scenes look into their kitchen for Valentine’s Day. Their fans were able to see their chef’s make a heart shaped donuts. The video went viral immediately and saw great engagement and plenty of views within minutes. The video has more than 39,000 views till date.

[evp_embed_video url=”http://socialbeat.in/wp-content/uploads/video/video.mp4″ width=”500″]

How to analyse your performance on Facebook Live:

The performance analytics of Facebook Live video is similar to that of normal videos you put up on Facebook. However, live videos do have some add-ons.

Facebook allows you to analyse a lot of metrics for the live video like, minutes viewed, unique viewers, video views, 10-second views, average % completion, peak live viewers, people reached, reactions, comments, and shares.

Apart from all of this, Facebook also lets you view and keep a check of relevant analysis of “peak live viewers” in the form of graphs for a particular piece of time during the video in order to know the interaction taken place.

(Image Credit: Hubspot)

How to access Facebook Live analytics on a Business page:

Step 1: Click on the “Insight” tab on the Facebook page.

Step 2: On the left-hand side of the screen, click on the “Videos” tab.

Step 3: To open all your videos and their analytics in a new video, scroll down and click on the “Video Library” tab. Under the “Video library” window, the Facebook Live videos that were recorded will have the human silhouette icon.

Step 4: Select the video that you wish to see the analytics for and over time, you will have a graph view as well.

Want to get the most out of Facebook Live?

The following tips and tricks will help in using Facebook Live effectively:

Do a trial and testing of Facebook Live by using the “Only Me” privacy setting.
If you are on a live form with the number of viewers joining at different intervals, do keep in mind to reintroduce yourself and let viewers know what is happening so that all your viewers are in the loop.
Keep your video engaging and spontaneous to interact better with your views and get the best out of them so that they stay longer too.
Remember while engaging with commenters; call them out by name as it creates a better connection.
In order to gain more followers, go live for at least 10 minutes so that your video gets shows up on the news feed for various other viewers.
Always have someone else watch over and respond to comments to make the process easier as it gets hard to reply to pop-up up comments every second.
Don’t forget to sign off by saying a good bye and a thank you to your audience.

There you go, hope this was helpful in order to understand better on “How to Use Facebook Live.”

How to drive conversions with Instagram

Posted on October 20, 2016May 24, 2021 by Stine

Reading Time: 4 minutes

By now, everyone knows what Instagram is – the social media platform that enable its users to take pictures and short videos and share them in the app (and on multiple other platforms as well, but that is a completely different blog for another day). Nevertheless, a new day is on the rise… Instagram is not only hashtags and pretty pictures. Over the last few years, the app has evolved from a teenage forum where girls would hit like when their BFF uploaded yet another selfie, to becoming a platform of huge potential revenue when it comes to all sorts of business.

As of now, Instagram drives sales with a high average in orders, and according to Shopify, Instagram referrals actually results in an average order value of $65, which is second only to Polyvore’s $66.75. Even though most visits will not end up resulting in a purchase, the ones that do, will result in considerably higher revenue than other social networks –take for example YouTube’s $37.63 average order value. Another major piece of the puzzle is the number of active users, and seeing as the user base for Instagram in India alone is estimated to be almost 6 million active mobile users every month the question should no longer be “should your company have an Instagram Handle”, but rather “how do you maximize your income through your Instagram”? E-commerce, Fashion, Real Estate, Hospitality, Medical Care… you name it, every single industry can profit from Instagram, when used correctly. Read on, and we will make sure that you are fully prepared to dive into the ocean of endless possibilities by teaching you how to leverage Instagram to build relations that ultimately can help to drive conversion with this unique social media platform.

Your Images

Just like the key to any good fairy tale is to start it off with “once upon a time” and end it with “and they lived happily ever after”, the key to crack the Instagram code, is your pictures. They are easier to digest than text, and they are more effective for evoking emotions, which will enhance the chances that your message will be remembered. When it comes to visuals on social, Instagram is supreme. You want to use images that drives sales, and studies show the first real data on Instagram’s capability to drive sales and perhaps more important, the essentials of a picture that boosts sales conversions. The University of Wisconsin conducted a study and learned valuable insights, which we are more than happy to share with you. Here follows a list, in random order, of what their study showed was important when it comes to what type of pictures that drives sales:

No filters
High level of the colours blue and yellow
No question marks or exclamations
Longer captions
From infrequent posters with a high number of followers

This knowledge can be seen as somewhat of a hurdle for some, since the elements that used to inspire engagement (likes and comments) are not the same as the ones that now trigger sales conversions. No need to worry though, this simply means that one must now use a mix of criteria when creating Instagram photos.

You can use multiple tools for Instagram including some focussed on e-commerce.

User Generated Content

Posting user generated content is one of the most powerful ways to boost the credibility of your company. As consumers, we tend to perceive content originating from our peers as being authentic, because we trust that the everyday community has less of a vested interest in making a corporation look god compared to its employees. Keep in mind that consumer decision making is not always driven by price or quality, but in fact, a lot of consumers choose brands they associate with a lifestyle that sits well with them.

For example, if you buy a BMW, you are not just buying a car, you are buying into a lifestyle. Visual user generated content, which basically is the foundation Instagram is built on, is all the more impactful, as it allows us to see products being used in real-life situations, which again makes it easier for us to imagine ourselves using these products or services. So re-post your followers content if it aligns with yours, because not only does this help to create a bond with the consumer through shared interests, it also portraits the product in real life. The emotional bond that is created when using UGC is exactly why ads with this content converts better on Instagram than the refined studio shots created by professionals.

Another very important tool to use is to leverage the reach of influencers on instagram. It is a known fact that consumers are more likely to trust a recommendation from friends and family as opposed to a brand or a vendor. This is why it is good business for companies to use social media Influencers and user generated content to get the word out about their product, offer, service or whatever they wish to convey to their online audience. Influencer marketing has the power to drive sales, sign ups and app installs by using links and promotion codes which can be tracked. Tracking and analysing the data and ‘Call Per Click’ are numbers that are going to help you modify your spend in order to generate revenue from Instagram. Instagram also its own analytics tool now.

Determine what metrics you care to track and make sure you keep a weekly or maybe a monthly report to monitor your progress. You also have to take advantage of targeting since Instagram now has the same targeting, creative and measurement abilities as Facebook. It is up to you to use the features and get the best possible results from your Instagram ads and campaigns.

Brands are excited about the success they have seen with website conversion ads on Instagram and the potential the platform has to offer –and quite frankly, so are we! Tell us what has been your experience in using Instagram. Click here to continue reading blog articles around Instagram.

How UX can make or break your business – Digital Chai Pe Charcha

Posted on October 12, 2016May 24, 2021 by Sneha Balasubramaniyan

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The seventh edition of the Digital Chai Pe Charcha was held in Workafella, one of the best business centres in Chennai on 8^th October, 2016. The event saw over 25 participants who were a mix of entrepreneurs, digital marketers, and professionals. User Experience, an important element in any website or app these days, the entire session was insightful, engaging and very informative!

What is UX or User Experience?

UX or User Experience is exactly what the name suggests – the overall experience one has when they land on your website or your app and the interaction with the company, its services, and its products throughout. In short, the way a website or an app works plus the look and feel of it all together making your user want to come back to your site.

Benefits of good UX –

Good UX can help increase conversion and help in growing the business
Increases retention
UX helps in SEO
Helps in brand building

Research shows that the overall experience of a user right from landing on your site, navigating and scanning through your pages till moving out of your site to another, the emotions that the user feels throughout – satisfied or unhappy – plays a major role on how your brand performs online in comparison to your competitors.

It helps in converting a user into a potential customer and not just that – but converting them at a low cost.

What makes a good UX –

Security & Privacy of its users handled with attention
Feedback & reviews from real buyers that connects with new users
Company is reliable & trustworthy – Transparent information on the roots & founders of the business

Building a new website

Research and Analyze

Do a quick study on who your competitors are and analyze their digital mediums. Understand what they do to provide their users with a great experience on their site. Work on your content, have collaborative discussions and put down the necessary inputs to go on your site.

Strategize

Have a good idea on the different elements you would like to add on to your site – be it a revised sitemap or navigation flowcharts by analyzing user personas and scenarios.

Product Design

Work on your website with a neat and clear wireframe that should include digital touch-points further building the virality loop.

Test and Iterate

After your new website is ready to launch, have a quick A/B testing and experiment with heat maps on your site. Analyze the results and rework on the design perspective if necessary.

Evaluate the UX of an existing website

Functionality of your site / app

The speed at which a new user navigates on your site, understands your business and moves through different pages says a lot about the flow of your site.

Navigation & Information architecture

The user needs to have a smooth experience while navigating through your site, moving from page to page and gathering all the information required.

Forms

If your site has a landing page with a form, make sure the form is simple with limited fields keeping in mind to not ask for information that is too personal to the user or fields that will require the user to go back and forth too many times.

Trust and Credibility

Your user’s information should remain confidential and should not be hampered with.

Aesthetics

How good is your site’s layout and balance? Is there a consistency in the font? Are the clickable items clear to the user and is the entire page pleasant and easy to navigate?

UX can be improvised with the help of some efficient tools. To improve the overall look and feel of your site, make use of customer surveys, user interviews and case studies. To track your customers’ behavior on your site, experiment with Zarget, Inspectlet, CrazyEgg, Optimizely, Google Analytics and MouseFlow. To understand prototyping, try Balsamiq, Axure, Invision and Pen & Paper.

When the site’s design and flow is focused on establishing a good user experience, the bond between the company and your customer grows building the brand as well as the overall experience of the user with the company.

Click here to understand more on how UX Can Make or Break Your Business

Those of you who missed the first six editions of the Digital Chai Pe Charcha can check them out below:

Edition 1 –Challenges Faced In Marketing A Startup
Edition 2 –Content Marketing Success In 2016
Edition 3 –101 On Digital Advertising For Startups
Edition 4 –How To Use Instagram For Business
Edition 5 – Measuring ROI From Digital Marketing
Edition 6 – Secret To A Successful Influencer Campaign

7 tips on how social media can be leveraged by fashion brands

Posted on October 3, 2016May 24, 2021 by Kruthika Ganesh

Reading Time: 6 minutes

For a fashion brand to be successful, the people behind it must understand, they are not just selling a product, they are selling an entire lifestyle! This has become increasingly easier to convey to the customers, since social media made their entrance. The use of social media in the fashion retail industry is on the rise, because of visual channels like Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest and YouTube, simply because image is what these brands are selling.
Creating a solid, quality social media following should be a big part of any brand’s social media strategy and these channels are providing the perfect platforms for engaging with users, in order to raise brand awareness, drive website traffic and generate sales. With this in mind, we present seven ways to leverage social media for your fashion business.

Show the personality of your brand!

A platform like Instagram is perfect for a lot of things; including sharing ‘behind the scenes’ pictures for your brand, like major fashion house Chanel or Dolce & Gabbana does. This will make your followers identify with your brand on a more personal level, and that makes them more likely to choose your brand next time. It also portraits a certain lifestyle, to which the consumer wants to belong, and again is more likely to choose your product.

To know more about how to use Instagram for your business.

Use the content from your followers

When it comes to fashion on social media, one of the great things is that your followers will often create a lot of content for you, and it is right there for the taking! User-generated content works like word of mouth endorsement, with the users advertising your brand by sharing photos of themselves wearing your products. These posts, ofcourse reach the followers and provides free advertisement for your brand, but even more important, you can also share these pictures from your own platform, which not only makes the user feel valued, but further more provides any potential customer with an even more relatable post. Companies like Calvin Klein and Nike has some dedicated followers, who always posts their brand.
If you have yet to build up a strong group of followers, that automatically posts pictures of your products and tags you in it, you can consider running a campaign, that urges people to compete in posting their favorite outfit (including your brand, of course!), giving them a chance to win a price from you.

Influencer marketing

In today’s world where people believe people more than brands, Influencer marketing has become the most effective way of advertising. Over the time, many brands from different sectors and industries have shifted their marketing strategy to influencer marketing. Tie-ups with popular influencers help brands reach the right target audience.

Craftsvilla a well- known e-commerce fashion brand achieved great results through influencer marketing. The brand did a campaign with famous fashion influencers across different social media platforms. Neha, one of the fashion influencers shared her experience with crafts villa on her blog and other platforms titled ’Embrace the ethnic wear this season with craftsvilla.’ This post on Instagram received great amount of engagement from her followers.

If you have not explored influencer marketing its time you leveraged this option. So, go ahead and try it out today!

Pin it

According to recent statistics, India has around 8.19 million Pinterest users. It is one of the fastest growing social platforms and allows users to save pins and create boards with anything from DIY projects to wedding ideas and fashion tips. Many fashion brands have used this platform successfully. It is a good idea for brands to explore Pinterest more.
Pinning just your products every time might make it monotonous for your users, hence, sharing some ideas or content related to the industry will be a great idea to increase engagement.
Gehna, one of India’s leading jewelry brands has over 5,000 followers on Pinterest. The brand has created boards belonging to different categories based on occasions and festivals. This is an interesting way to showcase your products. It makes it easy for followers to pin jewelry that they like directly from the category they are looking for.

For more tips on how you can use Pinterest, find out here.

Videos

Videos are always more engaging than just images. Video options are available in every social media channel today, be it Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, etc. Top Fashion brands are using videos as a promotion tool. You can showcase your products, take your audience behind the scenes, live stream a fashion show, etc., which in turn will drive more engagement to your page.
Free people, a fashion brand from the US has leveraged the videos feature on snapchat to connect with their target audience. Since the brand caters to the current generation, they decided to reach them through a medium that is most used by them, which is Snapchat. The employees, take their fans behind the scenes by giving them tours of the showroom, models during photo shoots, etc. The brand also connected with their fans on a personal level through a campaign called “Question Wednesdays”where snappers can personally snap their questions to the brand’s snapshot account. They even ask snappers personal and friendly questions. The overall involvement and engagement through Snapchat that Free People provides users ultimately creates a valued and elite relationship for the user.

Snapchat is one platform that needs to be explored for your business. Check out how you can use snapchat for your business here.

Wider reach

Reach a wider set of audience by targeting the right audience through your Facebook or Instagram ads. Instagram has proven to be the most appropriate and a successful platform for any fashion brand to leverage. Create and place ads with visually appealing creatives on Instagram with a Shop now or Buy no call to action button.
Fossil, created a look by putting together products that would appeal to their target segment and at the same time communicate their brand’s personality. They did this through an Instagram ad in which they used a very attractive image with a call to action button and also added a quirky caption.

Enhance customer experience

Customer service is always key to any business. It is essential to make sure your customers are happy with your products and services. With social media you can do this by responding to their comments, queries, messages or tweets as quickly as possible. Also, ensure you come across as fun and exciting. People on social media do not want to interact with anything that is monotonous or dull.
Another way of making customer experience a delight would be by easing the process of shopping. With the introduction of social shopping, brands can use this feature to reduce the purchase process. Facebook shop is one of the best ways to do so. So, go ahead and leverage this feature for your brand today!

So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and explore all these tips and tools today! Find the right one that will suit your business and make the best use of it.

– Other contributor to this blog is Stine