Author: Michael Stelzner / Source: socialmediaexaminer.com Do you broadcast live video? Want to learn how to create an engaged following?
Do you broadcast live video?
Want to learn how to create an engaged following?
To discover what he’s learned from broadcasting over 1,000 live streams over the last two years, I interview Alex Khan.
More About This Show
The Social Media Marketing podcast is an on-demand talk radio show from Social Media Examiner. It’s designed to help busy marketers and business owners discover what works with social media marketing.
In this episode, I interview Alex Khan, the founder of Attractive Media, a German social media agency that helps businesses with live video. You can find him online at alexkhan.tv.
Alex shares his formula for beginning and ending live video.
You’ll discover how Alex makes his live videos look more professional.
Share your feedback, read the show notes, and get the links mentioned in this episode below.
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Here are some of the things you’ll discover in this show:
Live Video
Alex’s Story
Alex started his first website in the late 1990s, back when email open rates were incredibly high. In 2005, he became managing director of Attractive People, a social network. In that role, Alex discovered what builds trust and how people behave on social networks.
In 2012, Alex founded Germany’s first mobile marketplace for fashion, which another company later acquired.
Alex continued working behind the scenes in social media until 2015, when Twitter acquired Periscope for $100 million. After a company acquired his own app, Alex says he was curious about what a $100 million app could do. In March 2015 on the first day Periscope became available, Alex downloaded it and it immediately blew him away.
Alex knew that driving engagement builds trust and increased visibility; however, creating engaging content was (and is) a challenge. Periscope helped Alex solve the engagement challenge because he could start a one-to-many conversation from anywhere at any time. Alex says it’s still fascinating that you can reach so many people for free.
In the beginning, Alex directed his live videos with his employee as the Periscope star. They created fun content such as jumping in a pool, which had nothing to do with Alex’s area of expertise. After a few weeks, Alex’s business partners shared their concern that this fun content wasn’t professional, especially because Alex was COO of the company. Alex agreed that their point was valid, so he decided to change his subject matter.
With 10 years of experience in social media, Alex knew people would have questions about how to use this new platform. He decided to use his expertise to help people understand how to build their audience with live video.
I ask Alex to share a snapshot of his audience today. Alex says that in only two years, he’s built his audience from nothing to 230,000 followers and 55 million hearts on Periscope. Through cross-promotion, Alex has attracted a total of 400,000 followers on social media. To build that audience, Alex says his experience working in social media, building companies, and training people gave him the necessary expertise, but live video technology was also a critical gateway.
Listen to the show to learn about Alex’s first live broadcast on Periscope.
Advice for Going Live
Alex says that even after doing more than 1,000 Periscope broadcasts, he still gets nervous. For Alex, three questions spin around in his head when he thinks about going live: “Who are the people watching me? Will they like me? What will I tell them?”
Alex has found that his viewers are regular people who are early live video adopters and curious about what he has to say.
When you provide something that’s valuable, Alex believes people will like you. He says the key is to educate, inspire, or entertain viewers.
As far as what to tell viewers, Alex believes people watching live video are always interested in five topics:
- Personal stories: Talk about how you came to what you do.
- Behind the scenes: Share exclusive content. Show your colleagues, employees, warehouse, or anything that gives viewers behind-the-scenes insight.
- Q&As: Alex emphasizes that live video is a free tool that allows you to ask potential customers questions such as, “Where do you buy? How often do you buy? What do you like about my live video? What interests you?”
- Giveaways: People love to win stuff. Ask viewers to share, retweet, leave a comment on Facebook, or cross-promote your live video to their social media accounts. In return, you can give them shoutouts, little prizes, or discounts.
- Sneak peeks: Alex says viewers like seeing a demo of an upcoming product or feature. He also suggests involving your viewers in the product-development process. For instance, let them choose a color, name, or size of something.
Retweet if you agree that livestreaming is key to success. #golive #wekhan pic.twitter.com/kHx6jOTeBO
Alex says that your live video doesn’t need to focus on only one of these five topics. You can share a personal story, segue to a sneak peek, and then have a giveaway. Alex says the topics work together seamlessly.
When I ask if Alex agrees that live video is the one medium where imperfection is okay, he says absolutely. Some people tune in because live video is new, and others because they want to see something go wrong, he laughs. However, Alex stresses that live video is truly appealing because it replicates the way people connect and talk to each other in real life.
Live video is immediate and authentic. If the video doesn’t go perfectly, that adds to…
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