Live Videos… still a thing? The answer will surprise you!

What if I told you that live videos brought in THE MOST leads for my business in all of 2022? Well, it's true! In this blog post I'm going to walk you through how to craft a GOOD video outline in just a few minutes PLUS a few bonus tips for repurposing your live video and maximizing your content creation time. 

Now, I do want to acknowledge that there are 2 ways to get to your end goal of massive business success, and they both work. 

1. Get there by brute force. This would include hours of messaging everyone and their mom, lots of spam on your social, no personal brand, always struggling to find time for family. etc. 

2. Get there with finess. This is the option we're talking about today. We're going to teach you how to show up with value, work a whole lot less, be proud of the content you put out, and open your messenger daily to people wanting to work with you instead of you chasing them down.

As always, be on the lookout for all of the blue bonus links as well as this week's freebie. 

Immediately when you hit record, you want to introduce what the video is about and what your audience is going to learn. We do this for two reasons: 

1. The obvious reason is to let your audience know what they're going to get in exchange for the time they're giving up to tune into your content. 

2. To fill dead air for everyone watching the replay. MAJORITY of your audience will watch your replay vs tuning in live. There's nothing worse than watching a replay where the first 2-3 minutes is nothing but "ok guys, just going to wait til a few people hop on". Instead, wait for the people to hop on while addressing everyone who you know will be watching the replay by letting them know what to expect. 

The intro I wrote at the very top of this page is very similar to the one I verbally give in the corresponding video which started out as a live video. The introduction is also what you're going to use when repurposing you content (see bonus tip #3).

This is the part where you briefly talk about yourself and your credentials. What's your name, what company or industry are you with, how long have you been in said industry, why are you so passionate about the topic you're teaching on, etc. Here's an example of a normal "about me" section for my personal videos. 

In case you're new here, my name is Tonya Johnson and I'm the founder of the BossMom Co. After 7 years leading in the social marketing industry, I decided to branch out and start helping moms build their businesses 100% on social media WITHOUT all the spam tactics that a lot of people are teaching. The content I put out helps everyone from network marketers to Etsy or shopify businesses as well as freelance businesses like virtual assistants and online teachers. My goal is to help you grow your audience and you paycheck while maximizing the time you have with your families. No more listening to the "guru's" who want you to buy their $5000 courses. I'm just a mom building right along side you and sharing what's working in today's market, what's not working, and what's just a bunch of hype. 

If you want people to share your content (which you do!), you have to ask them. I don't have any tricks for this, I literally just ask and I always offer an incentive. Here's what I say: 

If at any time you find value in this please share it. Chances are if you grab a tip that will help you build your online business, your friends who are also part of the social marketing space would benefit as well. As a thank you, because I definitely appreciate all the word of mouth you guys have been giving me, we giveaway weekly freebies. Last week's winner was ______________. So when you share, tag us at the BossMom co or dm me a screen shot of the share if it's in a team page or something where you can't tag us, and we'll get you the drawing. Don't worry,  if you're watching live you can always share the YouTube recording that will be posting in about 30 min which will include the bonus links I talk about throughout the video.

This is the meat and potatoes of your video. You always want to have a game plan going into this. Never hit the live button and just wing it. My favorite way to find content is through ILT. Here's a few other ways to find great content for videos as well as craft compelling titles so more people tune into your videos. 

Don't lose sight of why you're going live in the first place. You're running a business on social media, treat it LIKE A BUSINESS. Pick one or two products that you're going to seamlessly mention in your video, this is called dripping. For me, my Business Planner Pack and my Branding Bootcamp Course are the two products I drip most often because I know they sell like hotcakes. Everyone who is serious about building their business to 6 figures and beyond buy those two products and use them to grow their paychecks FAST! I have a whole video on dripping that you can check out here. 

Everyone loves a freebie and in return we love growing our email list because that ultimately grows our paycheck. Make your freebie relate to your video content and make it look professional. If you're not sure how to create a freebie or a lead magnet as they're often referred to, check out the BossMom Creator Course. 

Now, I know I'm going to get this question, so I'm just going to go ahead and answer it. "Do I have to give out a freebie every time I go live?" No, you don't HAVE to do anything. You're 100% in charge of your business, you're also in charge of how much money you're going to make. 

Most people ask this question because they hear gurus talk about going live daily. Here's my opinion. I used to be one of those people that went live 3-4 times per week and that made me a ton of money BECAUSE very few people were doing it. In 2022 live videos have kind of become white noise because everyone and their mom are selling something on social and using live videos in an attempt to do so, so you now have to do something to stand out of the crowd if you want your live video to actually make you money. Y'all know I'm honest with you, this is the time we live in. 

Quality over quantity is 100%, all across the board with all social media content, what's working right now. No longer is hitting live and winging it going to build you a successful business UNLESS you already have a huge market hanging on your every word. The freebie I have for you this week is a Video Strategy Planner. Click the button below to download yours FOR FREE today... and then keep reading because I'm going to give you a few MORE tips on maximizing your video content. You're already taking time to make it, clearly you believe in the information you're sharing, so you might as well get the best bang for your buck. 

We've already hit on the importance of having an outline or a script before hitting the live button, but something I want to throw in there is don't worry about a title until AFTER you're done with your outline. I used to spend so much time stressing over my title before my content was even written, now my title comes to me effortlessly by the time I'm done writing out my content. It's awesome! Y'all know I'm all about wasting the least amount of time possible. 

Again, gone are the days of not having a social media strategy IF you're serious about working smarter not harder. Unless you have a social media team, I wouldn't do more than 2 live videos per week BECAUSE 1. the amount of work that goes into preparing for them and 2. the amount of content that comes out of ONE video (see bonus tip #3) Letting your audience know which day(s) you'll be going live allows them to plan to actually get on your live or at the very least catch the replay quickly. 

For me, I go live every Sunday on my homeschool page and every Wednesday inside the BossMom Club. How did I choose those days? Simple. I studied the algorithm for many days and found what performed best for my audience and then after spending HOURS scrutinizing all of my social media insights and polling everyone my online community I chose the day that was PROVEN to benefit me most... um no... my hair and makeup are already done on Wednesdays and Sundays because we're a three to thrive ministry family (iykyk), so that's why I chose those days. There's not a proven plan for what day is best. Don't overthink the scheduling thing, just pick the day(s) that work best for you and let your audience know!

Listen, you put in a TON of work creating your video outline, and it's jam packed with value for your audience, so hit them with it from all sides. Not everyone is going to watch a live video or even a replay, some people just simply don't consume video content and that's ok. I repurpose my content in two sections: 

Blog Post: Some people prefer to read vs watch, but also, having a corresponding blog post allows your audience to enjoy your video without feeling like they have to take a bunch of notes. Your blog post is an easy way for them to reference the topic later as well as grab all of the bonus links you mention inside of your video. 

Youtube: It's super easy to save your live video to your phone and upload them to a YouTube channel. If you want to get fancy you can edit and make the video look a bit more professional, for me, I mainly do this to attach it to my corresponding blog post. A couple other benefits of uploading to a YouTube is making sure your content is saved somewhere off of social just in case and being able to organize your videos by topic for future reference and easy sharing. 

Social Media Post: Use the intro paragraph you used in your video as a social media post inside of various groups or on another platform other than the one you originally went live on. Bonus points: Use canva to create a fun, branded, and easy to read YouTube thumbnail that you can repurpose into  your social media graphic to grab your audience's attention. 

Email Blast: Not everyone is going to see your live or your social media post, but sending it out in an email ensures that your entire audience sees your new piece of content. Again, this is why it's so important that we're constantly growing our email lists through those freebie funnels. 

Reel- Use the information from your video outline and make a few 1-2 minute reels that you can also upload on YouTube shorts, tik Tok, and Facebook/instagram reels. For the people who missed your live the previous week or simply did not want to tune into a longer video/blog post, this allows you to give them the info in an easier to consume format. Depending on your content, this could be a couple stand alone reels or a series. 

Carousel Post- Same thing as above, take the information and turn it into a carousel post or two for those in your audience who prefer consuming shorter pieces of content. 

I hope y'all found value in this week's blog! If anything stood out to you, feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you liked. 

If you feel overwhelmed at this point, just start with one thing. It looks me YEARS to be able to attack a strategy with this many moving parts (and some weeks I still struggle because #momlife), so just pick a place and start. If you don't consistently go live yet, that's your starting point. Go live consistently? Make sure your value is there. Check and Check, start a YouTube and start repurposing content... just add each layer that fits for you and do your best to stay consistent. From one BossMom to another, it gets easier. You got this! 

Until next time, this is Tonya reporting to you live from the social marketing trenches sharing what works, what doesn't, and what's just a bunch of hype. See y'all next TUESDAY, because Wednesday we'll be on the road to family for the holidays. Have a great rest of your day!