Five Tips to Conducting an Engaging Live on IG

You’ve heard of Instagram live, right? Since launching in August of last year, it has grown to be used by more than 100 million people every day!

Used effectively, lives can enhance your social media portfolio and improve your engagement with your followers. But how do you make sure your live is engaging? Is there a way of getting your followers on board and making the whole experience worthwhile?

Let’s take a look at five tips that will ensure you conduct the perfect live on the Gram.

Ask your audience for topic suggestions

To make sure your live is on point and relevant, ask your followers what topic they’d like to see you present. You could launch a poll or send direct messages to your top engagers and ask for their thoughts and advice. You can get some super helpful tips and ideas from your followers, and if you ask for their advice, you can be sure that you’re producing content they want to see.

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Remind your followers a week in advance

Make sure you give your followers enough notice before you go live. If you tell them a week in advance that you’re going live to discuss a particular topic at a certain time, they can schedule it into their diary.

It’s also useful to share some posts in the week leading up to the live reminding your followers about the time, so they know when to expect you!

Say ‘Hi’ to people who join and start a conversation

When people pop up and join your live, be sure to greet them and welcome them. It immediately makes them feel welcome and will encourage them to engage with you throughout.

If you don’t acknowledge them, they’re less inclined to engage.

Striking up a conversation with early viewers can also be an excellent icebreaker at the start of the live and can get things moving.

Guide their comments in the chat box

The chat box feature is a big part of lives and something you should capitalize on. You can direct the conversation and encourage people to post specific things.

You can ask questions, seek their advice, and encourage them to interact about the topics that you share.

When the live is over, you can run through the comments and pick up some useful tips from your followers.

Smile and maintain open body language

If you’re not used to being in front of the camera, you need to remember to smile and maintain open body language. If you’re slouched in your chair and looking surly, people will back off and won’t want to engage with you.

By sitting straight, smiling often, and looking down the camera lens, you’re inviting your followers to interact with you and are much more likely to enjoy the experience.

Closing thoughts

Lives on the Gram are an excellent way to boost your engagement and to interact in a positive and vibrant way with your followers. These super simple tips will ensure that your lives are memorable (for the right reasons!) and will encourage your followers to engage with you throughout the session.