With video expected to account for as much as 74 percent of all Internet traffic in 2017 according to Google’s BrandLab, the emergence of live streaming video across major social media platforms offers brands an opportunity to drive user engagement, increase brand awareness, and provide a steady stream of fresh content to hungry consumers.

Brands across all verticals have embraced Facebook Live and other platforms to offer viewers everything from access to well-known influencers and celebrities, to makeup tutorials over cocktails. Cramer developed a roadmap to help brands more effectively live stream their company events for remote attendees through social media apps like Twitter’s Periscope.

Is going LIVE worth it? Well, the results so far are promising. According to Facebook, user engagement on live stream video significantly outpaces regular video, with live stream videos generating 10 times the number of comments.

While one of the draws of live video is the perception of spontaneity and the accessibility to your brand that it offers consumers, embracing a few classic principles from traditional broadcasting will help your team to keep it professional, create quality content, and better prepare for the unpredictable nature of live video.

5 Broadcasting Tips for Live Streaming on Social Media

1. Create a Script

Even traditional live broadcasts such as the evening news and sketch comedy shows like ​“Saturday Night Live” and ​“The Daily Show” begin the process by brainstorming ideas, writing, editing and finally rehearsing their material before delivering it to a live audience.

2. Mind the Body Language

As seasoned broadcasters and experienced on-camera personalities know, the subtleties of body language can convey more than your actual words. Everything from fidgeting, to awkward hand gestures and bored or strained facial expressions will appear especially jarring on a casual medium like Facebook, YouTube or Snapchat.

Traditional PR professionals recommend practicing delivery and stance before releasing a live broadcast to make sure your ​“on air” personality is as natural and engaging as possible. In his popular live stream follow-up to a video broadcast, Detroit Fox 2’s Jason Carr is streaming from behind the wheel of a car, but appears as poised and professional as if he were still in the studio.

3. Have an Interesting Message and Unique Point of View

Whether you adopt the popular Q&A or a traditional interview format, the point of live streaming is to offer your audience interesting and compelling content that further connects them to your brand or products. Public radio show ​“Science Friday” created a regular live stream of an education manager performing interesting and offbeat science projects for kids and adults alike.

4. Consider Your Background and Surrounding Visuals

Although your video will most likely be viewed on a small mobile or tablet screen, the aesthetics of your background and surrounding images will have an impact on your viewers. Some of the most popular live stream videos are filmed in a traditional studio setting or even in a car, but experimenting with locations and running some test shots can drastically improve your video’s production quality and appeal to a broad audience.

5. Let the Audience Know Where to Find You

Include a call to action by asking viewers to comment and subscribe to your Facebook page or YouTube channel in order to help build your audience and user base with each broadcast.

Speaking of that, do you follow Cramer on Twitter and Facebook? Our team will be experimenting with fun LIVE strategy sessions and more so be sure to ​“like” and tune in!