Information in this blog post was obtained from the HubSpot Blog, SproutSocial.com, and Moz.com.
We all have had that moment where we are scrolling our for you page on TikTok and a live stream pops up. Maybe it’s a small business packaging orders, a girl doing a get-ready with me before a night out with friends, or even a guy working his bartending shift. We have all seen them. Have you ever wondered why they are going to live and what they are getting from it? There are many advantages for businesses and creators when it comes to going live.
Before you can go live, there are a couple of qualifications one must hit before you can press the go live button. The first is the age restriction; users must be 16 years or older before going live on TikTok. Next is a requirement of at least 1,000 followers. Once you have both of these your profile will be able to go live. While also staying within TikTok Community Guidelines while live streaming.
To find the TikTok Community Guidelines go to your settings first. Then scroll down to terms and policies. After pressing terms and policy you will be directed to the Community Guidelines. As well as the copyright policy. Listening to music on TikTok live can cause you to break the copyright policy, but you won't lose access to going live. Breaking community guidelines will restrict your access to live and you could even lose your account. Don't break community guidelines, they are in place to keep everyone safe.
After you have met the requirements it is time for you to see the benefits of going live. We have composed a list of a few of the positive effects that will come from going live on TikTok.
Expand your Audience
Going live is a great way to expand your reach and tap into new audiences. When going live you can set the topic of discussion from things like daily life, beauty and fashion, and even music. Setting these topics helps the algorithm to align you with those who view related content. Helping you to reach different accounts and hopefully have them follow you for even more future engagement. The average U.S. citizen on TikTok spends an average of an hour and a half on the social media site every day. There are people to engage with so going live with help you reach them.
Engage with your Audience
When going live it allows you to have a real-time discussion with those engaging in your life on TikTok. You are able to avoid that delay in communication. For businesses, this is huge because you can connect with those who are using and purchasing your products. Going live on TikTok also allows you to have really deep conversations regarding one topic that could not be covered in just one video that is posted on the feed. If you want to have a deep discussion live is a really good place to have it.
Connect with your Audience
Along with allowing for real-time conversation between the host and those viewing the live stream. TikTok also offers a poll feature where the host can ask a question to those viewing the live stream and viewers can vote on what they think is the right answer. This is a great way for the host to get a vibe for those viewing and gauge how they should move forward with the live stream. It is also a way you can connect with followers and those who engage with your account a lot and shout them out for being loyal followers. Reminding the viewer that you see them and their support does not go unnoticed. As well as connecting with new followers and new people on the live stream. Commenting back on those gifting you and commenting helps to build the connection between the viewer and the person going live.
Promote to the Audience
Whether you are selling a product or yourself to the audience, going live on TikTok can be a great way to get the audience member to buy in. Whether that be by purchasing the product or following the creator. TikTok pages that go live can monetize off the live stream itself. Being in the TikTok Creator program you can earn badges during live streams which are someone giving you money.
How to Go LIVE on TikTok
Getting Started
Now that you know just some of the benefits of going live, you may not be sure where to start. Consider the following suggestions.
Set a Goal
Having a goal for your TikTok live is important. Like anything in life, setting and goal and an intention behind what you are doing is a great way for you to stay focused and be able to manage and track your progress behind your TikTok. Each life should have a purpose and goal with what you're wanting to get out of it. Whether it be sales, new followers, or just overall engagement with the live. TikTok analytics offers you a great way to track the progress of your lives. Using tools like the live creator hub on TikTok can be a great way to get inspiration for your lives. Tools like the live center are a great place for you to see how your lives are doing and get the analytics for each one. Here you can see who the top viewers are, average watch time, and more. These tools can be really useful to help you make those goals and intentions for your page moving forward.
Select a Topic
You will then set a title for your live and select a topic for the live stream that will allow you to connect with those who haven't already seen your content but are liking related content. Coming up with a topic for your live can seem difficult but don't try to overstress it. This could be getting ready with me, packing orders, or anything just describing what you are doing in your life. Take what you would normally do in your day and just hop on live. People want to see what day-to-day is like in your life. Propping your phone up and just going about your normal routine is a good way to get comfortable being on the live stream. Hosting a question and answer a “Q&A” is a great way to get the conversation going. This lets the viewers know that you are reading their comments and interacting with them, allowing you to form a better connection with your audience.
Timing is Key
Timing your live streams right is also important. Depending on your type of content and the lives you are wanting to do making sure that your audience is active during those times is key. Making sure to not live during times when most people are working or sleeping is a great way to increase the viewers in your lives. Though if you're just starting out go live at different times with different featured topics. Keep track of those analytics and use them to help you shape your lives moving forward.
Go LIVE!
Now it's time to go live! You’ll want to go to the camera like you are about to record a video. Next, you are going to swipe over to the right where you will see live and it's time to hit that live button. THREE… TWO… ONE… you are live. When starting your live, it is best to be engaging with your audience and excited to be on the live. Make sure to ask questions to those viewing and explain what you are going to be doing on the live stream. Just make sure to always stay talking or at least engaging in what you are doing on live. Setting up good framing and lighting is also important. You want the viewer to be able to see you clearly and in the frame. Another helpful tip is to make sure that your phone is charged. You don't want to be in the middle of your live and have a 20% notification pop up on your phone. This would then cause live to pause and you could potentially lose viewers. Also making sure that you have a good connection when you start the live stream. If the connection is bad, viewers could have a hard time hearing you or it even could cause the live stream to lag.
Overall there are many benefits to going Live on TikTok whether you are a large corporation or a small influencer looking to grow. Going live is a great way to build relationships, enhance your brand, and grow your TikTok page. Meeting the requirements for going live is the first step. Then, set a goal, select a topic, and pick an optimal time to go live. Then, go live to engage with viewers and help to build your brand or your business. Most of all, make it fun! TikTok is a community of creatives coming together. So embrace your creative side. Stay interactive and engaging but remember to have fun. The only negative to TikTok live is not doing it. So what are you waiting for?
Resources
Zote, J. (2022, June 29). How to go live on TikTok and engage your followers. Sprout Social. Retrieved March 21, 2023, from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/how-to-go-live-on-tiktok/
Bretous, M. (2022, November 22). How to go live on TikTok + top features you should use. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved March 21, 2023, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/going-live-on-tiktok
TikTok Seo: Understanding the TikTok algorithm. Moz. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2023, from https://moz.com/blog/tiktok-algorithm-seo
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