Live streaming has quickly become one of the best ways to reach your current and potential customers.

This week, I have partnered up with Michi from Pretty+Profesh and I’ll be taking over her Periscope stream every day at 4:30 pm EST to talk about some of my most effective live streaming tips!

On today’s (Monday) stream, we’ll discuss keeping it real. Specifically – how to inject your personality into your streams. If you miss the broadcast, that’s ok! Here are my top tips for being authentic on live streaming:

Introduce Yourself

It’s crazy how often people forget to introduce themselves when they stream. The most important thing you can do to get off on the right foot is let the viewers know who you ARE! Name, reason for streaming, and a little personal anecdote – short and sweet but perfect for every intro. For example:

Hey guys it’s Rachel from Belle Strategies! Today we’re talking “Keeping it Real on Live Streaming” and I’m extra excited because this topic is super fun AND…after I’m done, I’m going to get some tacos.

Now don’t go off on some random taco tangent of course! I’m simply saying that sharing something a little silly about yourself is an easy way to break the ice and not go into robot broadcaster mode.

Don’t Overdo the Pre-Production

Ladies I’m talking to you here (mostly). Live streaming is supposed to be in the moment. You don’t need “night on the town” hair and makeup or the perfect outfit. People are going to connect with you a lot more if you’re just being the real you – it makes you so much more relatable. That’s not to say you shouldn’t look put together if you’re streaming for business purposes, but don’t feel like you need to overdo it.

Ignore the Trolls

This might not seem like something you need to do to “be yourself” but consider the alternative: You’re in the middle of a stream where you’re delivering awesome content…then you stop to engage in the negativity. You end up wasting time and energy blocking the accounts; and worse, you’re wasting your viewers’ time. In my opinion, ignore the trolls. Engage with the supporters, and forget the rest!

Be sure to check out the the tips from the rest of the week: Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

For more on this and other social media marketing trends, keep up with me on Twitter and Periscope @bellestrategies.

Belle Strategies is a boutique Social Media Marketing company based in South Florida. Our team mixes innovative strategies with attention to detail for an online presence that produces tangible results. For assistance growing your brand on social media, contact us!