We have been working with dental practices and clinics for a number of years.

We’ve done the testing, we know what works and most importantly what doesn’t work.

The grim reality is that 96% of all businesses fail within 10 years, with 80% failing within the first 2 years.

The remaining 4% who do make it, just because they are still around, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are successful or profitable - it just means they’ve survived.

The question is ‘Why do so few practices or clinics grow and become profitable?’

You see, what separates these clinics from the rest is drive and dedication of the practice or clinic owner to apply the skills that matter.

And the number one skill is being able to produce revenue.

Being able to regularly top up the cash register in significant volumes with high enough margins to sustain and grow the business.

If there is one piece of advice that you decide to take from this report then it needs to be this one because just this on it’s own will transform your business beyond belief.

Investing in advertising that attracts high-value prospects and then converts that traffic into sales and patients is the most profitable investment you can make.

Yet despite this reliable, lucrative return many practices almost brag that they don’t spend any money on advertising.

It’s as if they wear their lack of investment in their own business as a ‘badge of honour’.

And usually they don’t advertise because they think of it as an expense, crowing that all of their business comes from word of mouth.

Don’t get me wrong, word of mouth is great. It’s free and it comes with social proof that you’re good at what you do.

But you can’t plan your growth just through word of mouth referrals.

It’s passive, unreliable, you can’t control it, measure it or turn it up or down when you need to.

And that is a huge sign that you are playing it small.

Advertising is an investment that makes more money than anything else.

I’m not talking about a passive investment where you stick a bunch of money into something and hope you end up rich someday.

Because when done properly, advertising can start to make you money immediately.

So, just like the billionaires who leverage (often other people’s) money to make more money, you can also rapidly grow your revenues by attracting the high-value patients using smart investments in paid advertising.

Now the big question is, how much should you invest in advertising for your business?

I hear people referring to the business course they went on, where they were told about budgets and having a ‘defined budget’ as a percentage of sales.

“Spend 10% of turnover on marketing” or something ridiculous like that.

You should only have a marketing ‘budget’ if your marketing isn’t working!

Why?

Because if each £1 you invest gives you £3 back, you want to invest as much as your cash flow allows.

Sometimes, you might be wise to even borrow cash to invest  - as you have essentially created a money printing machine.

You are effectively purchasing cash at a huge discount.

Why stop or hold back on what you would spend on this?

Step one is to make sure you actively drive as much traffic to your business as possible.

And you shouldn’t just limit yourself to one channel either.

Let’s say that all of your traffic comes from Google AdWords.

Straight away, you’re leaving all the traffic you could be getting from other channels like SEO or Facebook Ads on the table.

And if for whatever reason your Google AdWords account gets shut down, you’re left with zero traffic - and zero sales.

But by maintaining multiple sources of traffic, you can keep a constant flood of leads coming to you. You’ll have a much larger audience to work with.

And with more traffic sources, the less likely you are to be affected should one of those sources dry up.

It’s really important when using multiple traffic sources to start small. Start with just the one channel.

Build up that channel to the point where you have an offer that’s converting profitably (as in you’re making more than you spend) and then calculate your cost per lead (CPL) and cost per acquisition (CPA) for that particular channel.

Then, take the profit from that channel and open up a new channel.

Repeat the process across different channels and compare the various CPL and CPAs so you know which of your traffic sources are the most profitable.

Once you know which traffic sources convert best, you can choose the three most profitable sources and spread your resources across them; that way, if your main traffic source has problems, you still have two other sources of traffic that are bringing you leads leaving you to work on getting your main source of traffic back up and running.

In today’s society, the idea of a 9-5 job for life is becoming obsolete. Technological advances such as Whatsapp and Skype mean you don’t have to be in the same office as your colleagues. While the increasingly popular ‘Flex Appeal’ campaign has demonstrated the growing need for flexible working.

But with half of the UK’s workforce predicted to be working in this ‘new way’ by 2020, what does this mean for ‘traditional’ jobs such as doctors, dentists and beauticians? In this blog post we explore the exciting world of the ‘side hustle’ and what it means for your career.

Swap bustle for hustle

When we think of a medical or aesthetic career, we tend to imagine long hours in a super-busy hospital or surgery. This can lead to boredom, financial strain or lack of control over the direction of your career. That’s where the side hustle comes in. It’s a great outlet (or even alternative) for medical professionals. It can offer:

-Creative freedom
-Extra income
-Independence to make your own decisions
-More time with patients
-A chance to expand your skills
-More flexibility for family time or other commitments
-The opportunity to work for a cause you’re passionate about

So if you’ve become disillusioned with office politics, want to specialise in an area not offered by the NHS or desire the freedom of being your own boss, a side hustle could be the solution.

A closer look at the side hustle

Essentially a side hustle means setting up a small business that fits around your main job. It’s also a great way to revitalise and reclaim your career. Empowering stuff. Some practitioners are happy for their side business to simply bolster their paycheck, while others use their entrepreneurial spirit to seek a life outside the NHS.

Often, professionals set up their side hustle as an ‘escape route’ from a traditional career path, starting small and building a client base through word of mouth and the power of social media. When they’ve built a strong foundation, they ditch the day job and take their business full time. Talk about a recipe for success!

Practice makes perfect

There’s plenty of reasons to take the plunge, but now you need to make your side hustle happen. It may seem like a huge task, so break it down into these easy steps:

• Invest in the right training for your niche
• Ensure your paperwork is up to date
• Triple-check you’ve met all the health and safety criteria
• Seek support from the appropriate medical organisations
• Research funding you’re eligible for
• Plan your marketing strategy
• Build a network of support and strong client base
• Establish the right location (it could even be at the bottom of your garden!)

Our tip? Don’t neglect your social media. Building a presence online is a highly effective way to let more of the right people know what you do, turning your followers into raving fans. Just take a look at treatment specialist Shane Cooper for inspiration.

Support to make your side hustle successful

Setting up a practice can bring up a range of emotions but the rewards are almost always worth it. Whether it means you can finally afford that dream holiday or you love the feeling when you boost a client’s confidence, your side hustle is sure to make you smile.

At Delivering Demand, we work with all kinds of practitioners to help their businesses thrive.

We’ve worked in the aesthetics industry ourselves and we know how to take something that starts as a part-time interest, take it to full-time interest and into a business that provides the freedom to quit other jobs and employ others to work with you.

If you’re after digital advertising, social media posts, email newsletters or a bespoke marketing plan to take your side hustle to the next level, support from our friendly experts is just a few clicks away!

Click here to book a call for a no obligation chat.

Making beautiful visual content that you can share with your patients on your social media platforms has actually never been easier.

Creating your own styled graphics and infographics is actually the perfect way to stand out, considering people are more likely to share content that has amazing imagery.

It will also make your website rank higher on Google search results.

Another reason why you should use graphics is that people spend 100% more time on pages that have photos.

Have you ever wondered how some clinics just have such brilliant marketing?

They’re probably spending a fortune, right?

Wrong! I’m going to show you a few tools you can use to create amazing images.

Canva

This is a free tool that we cannot live without due to the quality of services that it offers!

It’s a free marketing tool that offers great value and can be compared to services that are offered by paid tools.

We do pay for Canva as we use the Pro version but the free version should be good enough for you to start with.

You can use Canva to create different kinds of social media posts.

For instance, you can create Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Instagram posts.

You can choose from lots of different free images and backgrounds.

You are likely to find what you need, But even if you don’t, you can buy high-quality 99p images each.

Google

If you search for images on Google you’ll see you have just about every image possible appear.

But be careful as most images are licensed and not free to use. If you use an licensed image on Google you could get a fine through the post from whoever that image belongs to. Most companies make more money in fining people than they do from selling the actual images.

One way to make sure you can use the image is to do this. Go into google and select “settings” then click on “Advanced Search” Go to “Usage Rights” and select “Free to Use, Share or Modify, even commercially” this will then filter the images you are allowed to use for free.

Ripl

You can use Ripl to create customised designs and animated collages and even slideshows.

You can use the basic version for free which provides 8 template designs to choose from.

If you want all the extra features that this app offers, full-feature access to all their designs, then you will have to pay $9.99 a month.

Once you pay the required amount, you will have access to their entire music selection, their designs, and different font types.

You will even be able to schedule your posts and add your logo to your designs.

Shutterstock

Social media posts that have high-quality images tend to have better engagement rates and get more clicks and comments on them.

However, it can be quite challenging to find high-quality images to use on a regular basis.

The perfect place to do this is to head over to the Shutterstock and choose an image that you want to use.

You can use them as they are, or you can edit them.

Whether it’s demographics, patient experience, insurance, or any other unique aspect of your practice or clinic that patients enjoy, patients need reasons to choose your practice, stay loyal to it and tell all their friends and family about your practice in order to keep growing.

Here are a few ways that you can differentiate your practice from the others; they will give your patients an experience they will delighted with and will readily promote to their friends and family.

It’s often what’s considered the ‘small things’ that cause most patients to go to a competitor.

You’ve no doubt heard this before but you have to ‘wow’ them with your customer service so that they find it impossible to go anywhere else.

Always be on time for your appointments – respect people’s time and try not to overrun.

Provide them with a guarantee to help remove any fears.

Have a range of different teas and coffee for them to choose from.

Give them an Ipad and headphones with music or tv shows while they have their treatment.

Treat all your patients like VIPs – everyone wants to feel like they are your most important patient.

Practices offering amazing customer service make every patient feel this way.

Give some thought to what you can do differently in your clinic or practice to give your patients the VIP experience.

What would you appreciate if you were visiting a dentist for example?

Imagine you were a customer visiting your own practice, how would you judge your own business?

Would you like how you were greeted by the receptionist? Are you greeted with a smile and made to feel welcome?

What about how you treat your out of hours enquiries? Do you leave them to call you back when you're open or do you let them leave a voicemail and you'll call them back when you're ready?

Or have you invested in an automated chatbot that can respond to most of their enquiries, give them the information they're likely to need, maybe even book an appointment online without them having to speak to someone?

What aftercare services do you provide? Do you hand them a leaflet as they walk out of the door or do you set up an automated aftercare chatbot that issues them with timely text reminders about what they need to do following their treatment?

The value-added 'small things' that you might think aren't necessary or take a lot of effort are what will separate your practice from everyone else's and will keep them coming back.

So answer honestly, would you be 'wowed' by your own business's approach to customer service if you were one of your customers?

You're probably reading this blog because you want more patients and to do that you need to do more marketing but also have absolutely no idea about where they want to start.

You're overwhelmed with the possibilities of all the various marketing options.

You don't have a clear plan of how you are going to get new patients and how much it costs to acquire them, the chances are your vision will never happen.

This 5 step marketing roadmap will take you from just starting out to dominating your marketplace in 6 months.

1. Create an SEO optimised, mobile friendly website

According to official Google statements, more than 50 percent of search queries globally now come from mobile devices. You have a limited amount of time to capture a website visitor’s attention.

This is even more so the case with mobile devices because users are accessing your website while out and about on the go. If a visitor is able to easily navigate your pages and the content is written mobile friendly, you increase the chance of converting visitors into customers.

2. get online patient reviews

The social proof in reviews and star ratings helps shoppers shortcut their research and make decisions faster and with greater confidence than ever before. A positive reputation is one of the most powerful assets a business has, and those 5-star reviews can help influence new customers to buy from you.

If you want your practice to rank higher on Google, having reviews is the fifth top ranking factor to getting a business listed on Google’s Local 3-Pack

3.invest in paid ads

Investing in advertising that attracts high-value prospects and then converts that traffic into sales and patients is the most profitable investment you can make. Word of mouth is great. It’s free and it comes with social proof that you’re good at what you do. But you can’t plan your growth just through word of mouth referrals.

It’s passive, unreliable, you can’t control it, measure it or turn it up or down when you need to. And that is a huge sign that you are playing it small. Advertising is an investment that makes more money than anything else.

4. social media presence

Use the power of Social Media to improve your reputation & increase your presence online. Social media marketing is the ultimate way to build relationships with your audience. For a dentist or medical practitioner that means convincing your patients that you can deliver a pain-free experience.

Use social media to help patients feel more comfortable before they even visit your clinic.

Showcase your authority, track record and industry experience by letting patients know they’re in safe hands.

It's all about building trust.

5. OMNI targeting for complete market domination

Retargeting Ads lead to a 1046% increase in branded search.

Retargeting works really well if you are already doing Adwords or have a good organic ranking or both.

Someone visits your website but they get distracted and leave without making contact.

Before they know it they start seeing ads for your business on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linked In, You Tube etc.

People who see retargeting ads have a heightened awareness of your business. As a result, they come back to search for you the next time they want a product or service.

Retargeting ads are the lowest cost yet highest yielding ads possible.

CLAIM YOUR FREE PRACTICE GROWTH SESSION

I have given you a 6 month roadmap to dominate your market. If you have any questions or you would like any help with anything then please feel free to get in touch.

Even better, for a limited time only we are offering you a 45 minute practice growth session where we discuss your business goals, check out what your competitors are doing and draw up an actionable marketing plan for you for FREE.

WARNING: Before you claim your free practice growth session you must understand that this is NOT for everybody. This is only for people serious about setting up their business for long term success and are willing to invest in growing their business.

Facebook and Instagram are two out of the top 10 social media platforms.

Facebook has 2.07 billion estimated active monthly users, while Instagram has 800 million.

These two platforms have similarities and differences. So building your business with Instagram or with Facebook might pan out differently.

Facebook has been around much longer than Instagram and therefore has a larger user database than Instagram. As a general rule Facebook is also more popular amongst the older people whilst Instagram is more popular among the younger generation.

It’s not always about your visibility as such, but more about being visible to the right people.

So, it really depends on who your ideal client is as to where you should be concentrating more of your efforts.

A big mistake that companies make is treating Instagram like Facebook. Content that works on Facebook doesn’t always translate well to Instagram. I would recommend testing your content on both Facebook and Instagram to see which platform returns the best performance.

There are benefits to both:

Instagram is generally better for engaging with customers, spreading awareness, showcasing new products/services, comparison shopping, and influencer marketing. Furthermore, Instagram is a powerhouse for the under 30 demographic, especially teenagers.

Facebook, on the other hand, remains the best for visibility with older age groups, even more so if you’re using paid advertisements. It’s also worth noting Facebook makes it easier to funnel users to a third-party site like your website for example.

Instagram prohibits link sharing in posts and comments, and any outside links appear in your bio only; the extra steps required to visit your site make it harder to generate traffic and get leads from Instagram unless they message you.

Because Instagram is very visual, it makes Instagram better for influencer marketing and free exposure; users on Instagram more often sign on actively looking for product recommendations, as opposed to Facebook where they actively ignore them.

So using Instagram influencers or even people in your local area with a large number of followers to spread the word about your treatments or business by offering them a free service.

One strategy that might work well for you is to post your business content like news, offers, new procedures and advice on your Facebook business page and use your Instagram account for posting more personal content for example what you use on your skin and treatments you have, what products you take on holiday etc.

Best ways to use Instagram for the best engagement

1. Use it as your portfolio to showcase you work
2. Use it for more personal content
3. Find some influencers or local people to recommend you

One of the most common questions I get asked by dentists and aesthetic practitioners is ‘How do I promote botox on social media?’

The short answer is you can promote it but you need to be careful. The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) and GDC (General Dental Council) both allow botox to be advertised but only under certain conditions. Facebook as it’s own strict rules as well but let’s look at the ASA & GDC definitions.

The ASA indicates that advertisers are allowed to make references to Botox online but they “have to reflect the content of the ‘Summary of Product Characteristics’ that are authorised for Botox as part of the product’s medicine license”.

Furthermore, Botox is only licensed for cosmetic use on the ‘glabellar’ lines – the vertical line on the forehead between the eyes. Despite Botox being used to treat other lines and wrinkles, it is actually not licensed for that sort of usage; therefore, any claims that don’t contain entirely factual information will breach the Advertising Code.

The GDC definition states

"Advertising of botox is not considered acceptable if the proposed wording of the advertisement focuses directly on botox and its effects. Best practice is to focus on the consultation with the trained clinician and give reference only to the possibilities of using botox as a treatment option”

The key points here that both the ASA and GDC want you to focus on the outcomes of the treatment, not the product.

So neither the ASA or GDC prevents you from promoting botox but they do not want you to refer directly to botox

Which means you can refer to it indirectly.

So you can promote it and even run Google AdWords campaigns by referring to it indirectly on your social media pages.

But how does this work in practice and when can you use the word botox and when can’t you ?

To get a little more specific, “Botox", as a treatment, should not be directly referred to on:

• Any advertisement campaigns
• Any social media pages
• On the website home page
• In a patient testimonial
• Any practice logos

The word ‘Botox’ can be included in your price list BUT don’t give it prime position on your Home page.

So how do you get to promote your Botox treatments without using the word ‘Botox'?

Simply speaking, it goes back to focusing on the outcome of the treatment and not the product.

By focusing on the benefits of a treatment, you can use different phrases or descriptions without using the word botox.

Examples of some of the phrases we use when promoting some of our clients treatments would be:

• Wrinkle Softening
• Wrinkle Removal Wrinkle Relaxing
• Wrinkle Softening Injections
• Wrinkle Relaxing Injections
• Wrinkle Removing Injections
• Anti-Wrinkle Injections
• Anti-Aging Injections
• Forehead Smoothing Injections

So by using different words -  e.g. ‘skin rejuvenation treatment’  you are focusing on what happens and avoiding the use of the word ‘botox’.

As an example, you can put up a post on your Facebook page using before and after images showing the effects of your ‘skin rejuvenation treatment’ (with patient’s consent of course) taking care NOT to use the word botox.

BUT this is for Facebook posts only.

Don’t try and boost the post or it will get rejected. You are now entering the realm of paying for your post to be seen and this will get rejected by Facebook.

Similarly, do NOT include before and after images in any Facebook ads - they will get rejected.

If you decide to run a Pay Per Click campaign, make sure that the web pages you use don’t imply that Botox is the only treatment option.

To repeat, make sure you use phrases that focus on the outcome e.g. ‘younger looking skin’.

If this is something that you are going to design and manage yourself, it’s definitely worth checking the most recent version of the ASA guidelines as well as becoming familiar with Google and Facebook’s rules on advertising aesthetic products.

One final point - as dermal fillers aren’t classed as Prescription Only Medicine, these rules restrictions don’t apply so you have much more freedom to advertise them however you want to.

In mid-January 2018, Facebook announced yet another change to their algorithm. So what?

Facebook changes their algorithms all the time. What’s special about this one?

Well this change is a big one. Facebook has changed the news feed aspect to give preference to posts shared between friends and family.

It’s been well understood that over the past couple of years, the number of people that see your organic posts had been reduced to around 30% of your reach.

This latest change will reduce it to around 1% - 2% of your organic reach.

Advertising on Facebook will not be affected however.

What this means to you as a business, is that you will now have to work harder if you want your posts to be seen ‘organically’ i.e. not paying to reach people on Facebook.

With over 2 billion active users, Facebook is not a social media platform that can be ignored so how can you respond to this shift?

There are some that believe this latest change from Facebook is a direct result of the over-supply of low quality, meaningless content that fills up people’s inboxes designed simply to drive engagement for brands.

Facebook has often stated that it is a social media platform and not a media organisation.

Reading between the lines, what this means in reality is that as long as you are creating content that provides value to people, is original and encourages meaningful conversation, then your posts will continue to be shown.

It also means that managing organic posting campaigns on Facebook will require greater research, planning and execution to have the same impact as before.

Your posts announcing your latest treatment or the opening of a new clinic will now get lower priority and be pushed to the back of the queue to make way for family members sharing moments online.

This change will frighten some whereas others will see it as an opportunity to change their approach.

Your alternative is to start paying for advertising on Facebook.

And for those that are advertising on Facebook or thinking about advertising, there is no better time to sharpen up your skills and start creating ad copy that is designed to engage and motivate your audience into taking action and becoming a customer.

The most successful method is ‘Direct Response’ marketing.

What is Direct Response Advertising?

Direct response marketing elicits a specific, measured response resulting from a consumer's direct response to a marketer. It facilitates the delivery of a call to action and outcome via direct online interaction for immediate feedback and response.

It’s in total contrast to most adverts that we see on television that are often highly creative but are designed to stick in the mind to raise brand awareness. Television adverts for Guinness and Coca-Cola are good examples where it’s often just the imagery or a catchy song. You’re not told the price, the ingredients, who it’s for, what it can do for you or even that you should buy it.

Often the more left field and creative the idea; the more brand awareness campaigns are deemed as successful.

Direct response advertising on the other hand, requires less in the way of abstract creativity and more about following a process.

This process is actually very simple and is based along the lines of:

• This is your problem
• I have a solution to your problem
• This is how I prove my solution works
• Buy it now

The creativity direct response advertising requires comes in how you format the advert. Story-telling and information-giving are two of the most popular and successful methods.

Story telling works because it creates interest and seeks to connect with and ultimately engage the reader. Information giving works because it provides value straight away.

Now although following a process may seem easier than developing a ‘mind-hook’ brand awareness campaign it is not easy.

The following tips should however prove helpful when you are constructing your direct response copy.

• Respect the reader. Don’t try to be clever, mislead, coerce or impress people. Speak to them on a level; be neither superior nor overly keen to gain approval.
• Use the language your audience would use. Especially the opening statements. The first few lines have to connect with people quickly.
• Don’t be scared to use bad grammar. You’re not in an essay writing competition. You’re communicating with people so write in a way that you would speak with them if you were talking face-to-face. If that means using slang or colloquialisms then do so. It’s more important to be understood than grammatically correct.

Equally don’t get too sloppy, over familiar, use too much slang or attempt to be too clever.

• Use everyone’s favourite word—YOU. Why is this important to them? What’s in it for them? Why should they continue to read? Why should they take action? Too much about yourself and people switch off.
• How will their life improve? Generally this will be how it can save them time, save them money, make them money or improve results in an area of their life they want to improve. It can also be a combination of any or all of these things.
• Is the audience Cold or Warm? Be aware how much your audience is likely to know about the problem you are looking to solve. If they have little awareness of the problem, you will need to construct your copy in such a way that they can quickly relate to the matter.
• Are you addressing a previous or existing customer? If so, then it’s important to recognise their value and your relationship but don’t over-indulge. You will still need to get to your point quickly.
• Less isn’t necessarily more. In fact it’s ok to write more than one page. People love stories so give them the chance (as well as a reason) to get to know you.
• Always keep the end result in mind. Build up to a call to action but make it flow by following these steps:
  • Get their attention in the first couple of lines
  • Build their interest
  • Get them to make a decision
  • Make it clear what action you want them to take
• Is it easy to read? Everyone scans first before deciding to launch into a full read. Like a newspaper article, use headlines, sub-headings and even a P.S. at the end.
• What do you want them to do and when? Make sure you have a clear, unambiguous call to action: ‘Book A Consultation’, ‘Call this number’, ‘Visit this website’
• Use urgency. The threat of scarcity or Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) works. Deadline dates, limited spaces etc. are effective. Some adverts even have an animated countdown clock.

If you really want to go into detail about direct response marketing, then David Ogilvy’s (of Ogilvy & Mather) 1983 book ‘Ogilvy on Advertising’ will give you the perspective from one of the most recognised world experts as well as some great examples.

Facebook’s Rules on Advertising

In addition to our own industry guidelines on what we can and can’t say when promoting our businesses, Facebook has some very comprehensive rules about what is and is not permitted.

I’d need several more pages than the word limit of this article will allow to put them all in here so I’ve picked out some of the most important ones:

• Adverts must not contain "before-and-after" images or images that contain unexpected or unlikely results
• Advert content must not imply or attempt to generate a negative self-perception in order to promote dietary, weight loss or other health-related products
• Adverts for health, fitness or weight loss products must be targeted to people aged 18 years or older
• There are also guidelines around what is ‘prohibited’ vs. what is ‘restricted’ content

Relevance, Accuracy and Related Landing Pages

When online advertising first started, you could put up any headline that would get people to click on it and it could take you to an entirely unconnected product or service. Today, Facebook will test your advert for relevance, accuracy and related landing pages before it gets published. The following standards are taken directly from Facebook.

1. Relevance

All advert components, including any text, images or other media, must be relevant and appropriate to the product or service being offered and the audience viewing the advert.

2. Accuracy

Adverts must clearly represent the company, product, service or brand that is being advertised.

3. Related landing pages

The products and services promoted in an advert's text must match those promoted on the landing page, and the destination site must not offer or link to any prohibited product or service

No one will know your business like you do so although there are many reasons to outsource ad creation to a copywriter or someone like myself, your knowledge of your own business is one big reason to write your own adverts. I hope this guide will help.

In 2015, You Tube was the go-to platform for Internet video.

It’s a hugely popular medium and although they had been streaming some live events for a few years, it primarily relies on users recording a video before uploading it onto the platform.

Facebook had wanted to compete with YouTube in the Internet video market for some time and in April 2016 they introduced a new service called Facebook Live.

Facebook Live gives the user the ability to stream video live and direct to their Facebook newsfeed.

In less than two years, Facebook Live has managed to overtake You Tube to become the number one Internet video streaming service.

So although You Tube is still popular with the younger generation, the sheer scale of Facebook (it has an audience of over 2 billion users who engage for an average of 35 minutes per day) makes it a substantial advertising platform for any business.

Facebook Live does still reach the younger market, but it is the adults that tend to use Facebook more with 79% of all online US adults being Facebook users.

Spend on social media marketing is forecast to be around $50bn by 2019 putting it level with newspaper advertising demonstrating just how big social media is for businesses today.

Live streaming video gives businesses the ability to not just reach out to their ideal audience but to also engage in live conversations with them.

With Facebook Live and other live streaming video services becoming the trend, there’s no better time to make sure that we get maximum benefit from it.

So How Can It Benefit Your Business?

Properly done, it is a fantastic way to increase engagement with a brand’s Facebook page.

Like any form of communication aimed at your potential customers, you really need to be creating content that is both valuable and will appeal to them; neither of which is easy.

These tips should help increase your exposure, audience engagement and ultimately customer base.

1. Host A Competition Or Offer A Prize

You’re probably running various offers on other advertising channels so why not Facebook Live? It should be fun and something that people would want but also needs to have some connection to your brand. Free consultations and assessments work well as do discounts or even free treatments.

2. Stream Live From An Industry Event, Conference Or Seminar

Give people who can’t be there the chance to experience what is happening from the day.

3. Chat With Influential Industry Figures

Ask the most prominent to be a guest on your live stream. Make sure you plan your questions beforehand so you know what you’re going to talk about

4. Plan It Well In Advance And Promote It

Put together an image and put it across your Facebook pages, social media accounts, website and any other online platform you can think of to generate interest. Make sure you set a specific date and time.

5. Build Anticipation By Counting Down To The Event

It’s not enough to announce it once and expect people to remember to tune in. Keeping sending out reminders and when it comes to the actual day, send more as you get closer to the start to increase enthusiasm.

6. Have Regular Interaction With Your Followers

Live streaming lets you answer questions and get instant feedback. But interaction doesn’t only have to be in the event. Regular engagement gives the appearance of being authentic, easier to approach and people are likely to trust you more.

7. Insert The Facebook Button Onto Your Website

If you have a lot of traffic to your website then adding a Facebook link is a must and easy to do. Even those with hardly any followers yet, the more places that people are able to find your Facebook page, the easier it is going to be for them to watch the event. A lot of people overlook this tip.

8. Include Details Of The Event In Your Email Signature

It doesn’t have to be a permanent change but adding details to your current signature for the run-up to your Facebook live video will increase awareness. You’ll probably send hundreds of emails in the lead up to the event so why not use them to help?

9. Make Your Facebook Header A Promotion For Your Event

It should be attention grabbing, creative and catch a user’s eye. As long as the image can do this it doesn’t need to be a picture of the event itself; it just has to promote it.

10. Promote Your Facebook Live Event To Your Email List

Mention the event in any newsletter as well as sending out promotional emails specific to the event itself.

11. Ask People To Follow, Like And Share

Adding the Facebook ‘Like’ thumb to your post or Ad might get some following you but actually asking people in the live stream to follow your Facebook page will help grow your following in time.

12. Record Podcasts

If you have a podcast channel then record the event via another microphone to cross-reference live events on your podcast.

13. Get Networking

Not just in the lead up to the event but afterwards as well. Continuing to refer to your live events gets the word out and the more you refer to it, the greater the likelihood others will mention it to their friends. Get colleagues and friends sharing your event on their timelines too.

14. Develop A Theme

Creating some form of continuity between each live event instead of streaming one-off sessions will generate greater interest and awareness. When something is of interest to your audience, continuing the story into a series will get people tuning into the next session to find out what happens next.

15. Make Connections With Pages Similar To Yours

Get in touch with about twenty Facebook pages that are similar to yours and inform them of the event that you are about to host. Ask them if they would be willing to promote it to their followers and offer to do the same with any events they might be running.

16. Start Sharing Details Of Your Event With Facebook Groups

As long as the group allows it, this is a good way to increase awareness.

17. Promote Across Other Social Media Platforms

Sharing information about the event via Linked In groups will help. Asking friends to tweet updates and a link whilst your event is going on lets people join in once it has started. Share concepts and ideas from the live event in bright and eye-catching Pins to keep your brand at the forefront of customer minds.

18. Use Your Personal Facebook Page To Promote Your Live Event

Don’t go quite as heavy from your personal page as you might annoy personal contacts that aren’t connected to your business.

19. Advertise On Facebook

You can target potential customers who might be interested in your live event using Facebook Ads. You can quickly increase your page following and the number of people who watch the live stream using this method.

20. Analyse The Results

Once you’ve completed the live stream, take a look at the figures to understand how your audience felt about it.

How To Use Facebook Live

Using Facebook Live is easy:

• Step 1 – Go onto Facebook on your mobile phone
• Step 2 – Underneath the Status bar (the bit where is says ‘What’s on your mind?) click the button that says ‘Live’.

That’s it. From this point onwards, Facebook uses your smartphone camera to stream live video directly onto your newsfeed.

Once the live broadcast has finished, the video will be saved to your timeline. Some other benefits of using Live streaming are:

• It’s free.
• People can continue to like and share it as a saved video from your timeline.
• You can ‘boost’ your saved live video for minimal cost.

Before you start live streaming just check a few things first:

• Check your Internet connection (ideally Wi-fi) to make sure your stream is smooth. People will switch off if your broadcast breaks and jumps.
• Have a trial run and watch it back just to check everything works and there’s nothing untoward in the background.
• Facebook Live has a streaming limit of 30 minutes so make sure you end it before your time is up and not halfway through your closing lines.

When you’re ready to go, please remember that in order to keep people watching (and ultimately increase your audience), share and give a lot more than you ask of your audience. So try not to spend more than 10 per cent of the session ‘selling’ and use the majority of the session for giving value.

It does take some effort to grow your Facebook Live audience and it won’t happen overnight. But it’s fun to do and a great way to engage with people that don’t know you yet and deepen the connection with those that already do.