5 tips for executing live video

Are you looking to take advantage of the eye-popping engagement delivered by live broadcasts on social media? Here are some tips to avoid sharing a fiasco.

Ragan Insider Premium Content
Ragan Insider Content

Picture it: A room set for a festive holiday gathering.

The empty room contains long industrial-style tables adorned with beautiful place settings and colorful fall-themed centerpieces. For the first eight minutes, we see only this static image, offset by ambient noise from people talking off-camera. A stream of hipsters then starts to slowly file into the room and take their seats. This goes on for another eight minutes—a full 16 minutes—before biscuits begin to hit the table.

Is this a scene setter for a new Richard Linklater film? A modern-day adaptation of “My Dinner with Andre?”

It’s the first 16 minutes of a Facebook Live Video for Taco Bell’s fourth annual “Friendsgiving,” a live broadcast from a couple years ago that exemplifies some of the worst traits of poor live videos. The broadcast features bland speeches with poor A/V, elevator music (which drowns out the aforementioned speakers), and play-by-play commentary from a “guest” who sits next to an empty chair meant to represent the viewer.

To read the full story, log in.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today

Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.