Going Live on Facebook

You know you want to start going Live on social media, but you're hesitant to start. 

You don’t have a stand to hold your phone.

You don’t have a clean work space to create your projects.

You think nobody will watch you.

You don’t like talking in front of people.

You don’t know what to say.

You think your projects are not “pretty” enough.

Do you resonate with any of these phrases? Let’s change that this year, shall we?

In this post I want to cheer you on to make your very first Facebook Live!

We’ll cover everything you need to do to feel confident enough to press Live on whatever device you have and wherever you can create a project.

And I'll be there right along with you.

Create Your Facebook Page

First of all, if you want to make a Facebook Live, you obviously need to have a profile on Facebook. 

Now, you can do a Live directly from your profile, or you could create a Facebook Page where people need to follow that specific page to watch you create. 

A benefit of having a Facebook Page is direct customer engagement. When you share on this page, the people who follow your page will get notified (if they select that option in the settings) when you go Live. The interaction between you and the people following you is more personal, intimate.

To be honest, you don’t really need a Facebook Page to go live, you can do that from your personal profile if you wanted to, but it’s less private and available to ALL your friends.

I would highly recommend a Facebook Page though because you can post everything about sup on that page and keep it contained to the people who are sincerely interested in your hobby.

If you do it on your personal profile, ALL your friends will have access to your Live. And that’s totally fine if you’re okay with that. Just think about your friends list, do you have anybody on there that doesn’t really care about your cards?

If you create a Facebook Page, then only the people interested in your craft can join that page even if you’re not friends. 

This way, you can track your followers and have an idea of the size of the audience you are reaching. This if for another time, today, we just want to press “Go Live”!

I encourage you to give yourself a few trial runs by going Live on your page before making it public. To do this, all you have to do is change the viewing of your page to private. 

Have fun practising, but don’t wait too long before presenting your amazing projects to the world. 

After a few practices, make it public and share with the world!

We can’t wait to see what you create.

Tools you’ll need to go Live

I use my iPhone and my computer, but the laptop is not necessary at all. I simply use it to read the comments and reply to them as I am creating. Before I got a laptop, I would just keep an eye on my phone and read the comments as they come in.

So basically, all you really need is your phone, to place overhead of your workspace so that your audience can look at your hands create the card.

You’ll also want a spot to place your phone, or you can make a stand or buy one.

You could place your phone on a shelf above your counter and zoom in once the video is live.

You could make a stand, I started out with one I made with my Dad, inspired by this video. 

Now, I have the Arkon, here. (if you purchase the Arkon using this link, I will get a small commission, but at no extra cost to you. This is an affiliate link)

Be yourself

This article here is very easy to follow along when it’s time to go live.

Ok, it’s time to press Live! You can do this.

It is normal to feel nervous and stressed, especially for the first few times. I still get nervous sometimes.

Be yourself, and have fun crafting. 

Talk about yourself, and if that’s not comfortable for you, then tell us what you are making and what your plan is for the project you are featuring. Talk about everything you are doing. Why did you choose this stamp set? What inspired you to make this card?

I agree that it’s awkward sometimes talking to yourself while you’re explaining everything you are doing. But it’s much better than hearing crickets!

I’m sure you’ve watched plenty of videos on Facebook or Youtube of your favourite crafters making a project right in front of you. What do you like about them? Why do you keep watching their videos? Tell yourself that you are inspiring other crafters, that people enjoy watching you create a card.

Take that for inspiration for making your own videos, and you’ll be surprised at the amount of people captivated by your stories and projects.

If nobody is watching you Live, remember they can always watch the replay, so keep on crafting. Pretend your best friend is there while you are making your project and tell her what you are doing so she knows how to replicate the card if she chooses too.

I understand it's weird when no one is there with you during your video, but I can guarantee somebody will watch the replay eventually.

I went back on my Facebook page to find my first Lives.... check it out. This way you can compare your first live to my first live. Never compare your first live to somebody's 100th live.

Check out my very first Facebook Live:

Technically, it was my second Facebook Live, my first one was in French, you can click here to watch it. 

For this video, I had my phone set up on a shelf above our countertop in the kitchen. I was working upside down so that you could see the items right side up! I didn't make a project, I just presented a product from Stampin’ Up!®️.

It was nice going back in time and seeing the progress I made. As I am writing this article, I have a collection of over 150 videos. I made myself go Live even on days I didn't feel like because, CONSISTENCY! To me, that's impressive because I started with ONE! 

I love seeing my personal growth over the years, trying new techniques, asking your help for specific ideas, working with you and for you.

Tell me in the comments where I can watch you, I will be happy to stop in to say hi and be amazed by your talent!