5 Reasons Live Videos Are Better Than Recorded Videos

Eeeeeek! is often what I hear from people when I tell them that I want them to start doing live videos on their social media.

Like it or not, they have many benefits over the recorded type. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, even LinkedIn all have live video features.

I bet you didn't know!

The reason they have them is because they work. All those platforms are driven by user engagement and live video does the best job of that.

Who doesn't want more engagement on their social media pages?

In business, we face the fact that we can't get by only doing the things we are comfortable with.

For the growth of our business and our income, we need to step outside of that circle (or square) that we are comfortable in.

The facts speak for themselves with numbers and stats and studies. Instead of boring you to death with those, I'm giving you five reasons of my own why I recommend live video to my clients.

Reason no.1

You show up more because you know you only have one take. When you record videos, you know that you muck around and then cut it together to show your best to your audience.

Live videos will have more skin in the game. You need to bring the goods 100%. You might think that's a lot of pressure to put on yourself, think about it. Do you want to deliver something half-arsed to your followers?

No.

With live video you don't have a choice and your audience deserve your full attention an best effort.

Reason no.2

You need less perfectionism because you know it's a one off.

Nothing cures perfectionism more than knowing that your audience's expectation will be that you deliver something imperfect.

That is what live videos are. Your audience aren't expecting anything polished, over-scripted and edited to death.

They are watching live and they know that it will be spontaneous and real.

That realism and imperfection will give them the permission to be that as well. Imperfect.

Your relateability will go through the roof when you deliver your imperfect live video in an imperfect way.

And that is good for business!

Reason no.3

You come across more authentic because you're in the moment. You're feeling the feelings. You are in the midst of it.

When your audience sees how passionate you are about something while watching you, it provides something very real piece of you.

Not just passion but all emotion is great to share with you audience in your live video because that shit is contagious.

When you're recording and you have to cover parts of the script over and over and over because you don't like the take, your emotions and your authenticity tend to get lost in translation.

Reason no.4

You interact with your viewers in real time. You are receiving their reactions as they happen. You can respond to them straight away and make your video a two way conversation.

You know your audience better than anyone else. What do they want to talk about? What's bothering them?

You have a chance to create engagement and dialogue. That is a great relationship builder.

Not only that but you'll also have a chance to demonstrate you expertise and your wisdom in real time.

That's gold!

Reason no.5

This is a bit of a biggie and you might find it a little harsh and confronting.

If that is so, it means that this is what you need to hear the most.

No one is going to rescue you and no one is going to hand you a business and say, here you go, all done for you, you just need to sti back and reap the rewards.

That is the reality of business.

If you are running a business and you want to grow it, you nee to be prepared to come out of your shell and make decision about how you are going to grow that business.

When you look at recorded videos, people often have that perception that you need a bunch of stuff. Things like expensive equipment, editing and tech knowledge to mention a few.

And you're right.

Businesses who use recorded video for marketing often spend $$$ on all those.

That would be enough to put anyone off recorded videos. And it's easy to use those things as excuses to avoid video altogether.

You only need four things to do a successful and engaging live video:

-a topic

-a video capable smart phone

-internet connection

-you actually hitting the Go Live button

Sounds completely doable? You betcha!

I could list more but these above make my point the best.

You might say that live video is just not your thing.

I get that!

Live videos are not about you or even for you.

They are there for your audience. The fact that your business also benefits from them is a bonus.

Serve your audience with live videos, even if just once a month. Who knows? You might get bitten by the live video bug and decide that it's now your "thing".

Here are some free downloadable aids that will help you create and deliver live videos to your followers confidently.