Instagram Live is literally a shortcut to the pinnacle.

Hither'due south how: Instagram Live works equally role of Instagram Stories , which at present has more than 500 meg daily active users .

instagram stories usage

What'due south more, Instagram Stories are displayed at the top of the feed, so they're far more probable to grab users' attending than regular content.

It gets better.

When you use Instagram Live, you're bumped to starting time place in the Stories that are shown in a higher place the feed.

Instagram Live 1st Place

So forget about losing out to Instagram's algorithm – Instagram Alive is a shortcut to the front of the line.

And that's just the beginning.

How can you harness this phenomenon to capture attention, make connections, and build your make ?

In this article, I'll take you lot step-past-step through everything you lot need to know to produce a successful Instagram Live stream. You lot'll learn all about Instagram Live's features and settings, besides as how to programme and promote your broadcast.

Buckle up.

Post Contents

  • What is Instagram Live?
  • The Power of Instagram Live for Businesses
  • How to Utilise Instagram Live
    • Step 1: Ready a Schedule
    • Step ii: Identify Your Goal
    • Stride 3: Cull a Format
      • → Host a Q&A Session
      • → Launch or Announce Something New
      • → Take Viewers Behind the Scenes
      • → Do an Interview or Collaborate
      • → Practise Something Unexpected
    • Footstep four: Promote Your Stream
    • Footstep v: Access the Instagram Story Camera
    • Pace 6: Select Instagram Live
    • Footstep 7: Configure Your Instagram Story Settings
    • Step 8: Go Alive on Instagram!
    • Stride 9: Switch Betwixt Photographic camera Views
    • Step ten: Go Live with Another Business relationship
    • Step 11: Use Face Filters
    • Pace 12: Interact with Comments
    • Step xiii: Share Your Instagram Live Stream
    • Stride fourteen: End Your Instagram Alive Video
    • Step fifteen: Salvage and Share Your Instagram Live Video
    • Step 16: Post Your Instagram Live Video to IGTV
  • Conclusion
  • Learn More!

What is  Instagram Live?

Instagram Live is a feature that works within Instagram Stories and allows users to broadcast live videos to other users on the platform.

Instagram Stories are shown at the elevation of the feed. Whatsoever accounts that are currently live volition include the "Live" icon.

Instagram Live in Stories To view an Instagram Live video, simply tap on the Story thumbnail. The epitome below of John Mayer performing on Instagram Live shows the viewer's interface.

Instagram Live John Mayer

So why should y'all utilise Instagram Live?

The Power of Instagram Live for Businesses

More than 500 million people utilize Instagram every day.

That'southward a lot of eyeballs.

Instagram has 500 million daily active users

The platform has ane billion monthly active users. Additionally, according to Instagram, 50% of users say they follow at least one brand on the platform.

But hither's the best part:

According to Instagram stats for 2021 , at to the lowest degree 80% of Instagram users rely on Instagram to decide whether to buy a production or service.

Okay, and then Instagram is a powerful marketing channel – but what nearly Instagram Alive ?

Instagram Live

Remember, Instagram Live bumps your content to the outset position in Stories at the acme of user'southward feeds.

This is awesome.

What's more, followers who haven't turned off Instagram Alive notifications volition go a message telling them when y'all go alive.

Instagram Love Notifications

This notification can be a huge help in exposing your broadcasts to more of your followers.

Plus, your audience can submit their questions and comments on your video in real-time. This can be a great way to get insights and feedback direct from people who matter to your business.

Moreover, you tin now mail Sticker Q&A'southward into your Live Instagram Stories.

Before, it was overwhelming to get through all the questions in the comments during a live session, but now a uncomplicated question box allows you to easily sift through questions to respond throughout the live video.

Sticker Q&A's Instagram Live

You can take advantage of this characteristic by posting a Question Sticker on your Instagram Story earlier hosting a live session on Instagram.

One time Alive, tap on the "question mark button" at the lesser of your screen to beginning answering.

To acme information technology off, after you've finished dissemination your Instagram Live video, you can mail information technology to your Story, where information technology will be bachelor for 24 hours.

Still, Instagram Alive's potential goes far beyond these tactics.

For case, you tin can stream Instagram Live to both mobile and desktop users.

For the purpose, you just need to go live, and Instagram will place a magenta-colored "Alive" button at the right of your account in the Instagram Stories console.

So, when someone opens Instagram on the spider web and views the Instagram Stories console, they'll know that you are hosting a live session.

Accessing Instagram Live from Desktop

Source

Instagram Live video does away with the crevasse that sits between those who broadcast and those who eat. Information technology provides intuitive real-time interactivity and collaboration. This means it'south the ultimate tool for building strong relationships with customers.

It'due south no wonder 80 percent of people would rather scout a alive video from a brand than read a blog.

All in all, Instagram Live is a powerful style to attain and appoint with your target audience .

Sold?

How to Use Instagram Live

Now that you understand the potential of this marketing tool, allow's take an in-depth look at how to use Instagram Live.

Get-go thing's commencement:

Step 1: Set a Schedule

Like many things in life, consistency is central.

To reach more people and build potent relationships with your audience , you demand to go live regularly.

The best style to do this is to set up a schedule and stick to it.

For case, if you program to go live every Thursday at 7 pm, you can promote this weekly result to your audience. Then, in time, your more engaged followers will await forward to each Instagram Alive video.

Pace 2: Identify Your Goal

To get the most out of your Instagram Live videos, it's important to know exactly why you lot're doing them.

In other words, what are yous hoping to achieve from your broadcasts?

Perhaps you want to strengthen customer relations, grow your following, increase e-mail signups, or boost sales of a specific production.

And although you might similar to do all of those things, it's best to prioritize ane per broadcast. That fashion, every role of your Instagram Alive stream will be aligned with achieving your goal.

It's also important to make sure that your goal is in line with your overall marketing strategy .

Once you're articulate about your aim and the master call to activeness that y'all'll employ throughout your circulate, y'all can determine how long you lot want your broadcast to be, and which topics and themes you'll cover.

Step 3: Choose a Format

Ain't nobody got fourth dimension for "ums" and "ahs."

By sticking to a format, viewers volition know what to expect and you'll take a basic framework to continue things interesting and moving along.

Here are iv popular Instagram live stream formats that y'all could starting time with:

→ Host a Q&A Session

Q&As are simple to execute and extremely effective. The entire format is about collaboration with viewers.

By openly responding to questions in existent time, viewers can find the answers to the questions they're most curious about while getting to know the people behind the make.

→ Launch or Announce Something New

If yous're launching a new product or service or announcing some large news, why not make it a party? You tin can promote the launch, interact with your followers, and maybe even give away some prizes!

→ Take Viewers Behind the Scenes

Humans are innately curious beings, and we all love to know what goes on behind closed doors. Thankfully, in that location are tons of ways you can accept viewers behind the scenes, such equally:

  • Show your audition how things are made
  • Accept them on a tour
  • Innovate them to the team
  • Show off the set of your latest video

→ Do an Interview or Collaborate

Collaborating is a great way to create engaging content and abound on social media. It'southward a win-win situation: You lot promote your collaborator to your followers, and they promote y'all to theirs.

Plus, Instagram Live is perfect for collaborations as the app lets you go alive with other accounts – more on this in a minute.

→ Practise Something Unexpected

If you typically record Instagram Live videos in your home or part, consider surprising your audience by going live from an exotic location.

Or, come up up with a competition during the broadcast and give viewers a chance to participate and win in real-time.

By using an element of surprise in your Instagram Live sessions, you lot'll leave people intrigued and wondering what you'll do next.

Step 4: Promote Your Stream

Don't simply go alive and promise people show up. Instead, whip up some excitement beforehand.

This can be every bit elementary as posting on your other social media accounts or sending an email to your listing about your upcoming Instagram Live stream.

For instance, Sassy Antler Boutique shared this Instagram mail to promote i of their Instagram Live streams:

Promoting Instagram Live

When it comes to promotion, having a regular schedule is extremely helpful.

That style, you lot're non just promoting a one-off event, and you don't have to drum up an audience from scratch every time you go live.

Step v: Access the Instagram Story Camera

Okay, now let's take a look at the nuts and bolts.

As I mentioned before, Instagram Live is a feature inside Stories. To access the Story camera, tap the camera icon in the height-left of the screen or swipe right.

Instagram Stories Camera

The outset time that you lot use Instagram Stories, you lot'll need to enable your phone'south camera and microphone access.

Enable Access Instagram Live

Step 6: Select Instagram Alive

The Instagram Story camera allows yous to create and share ix unlike types of content.

  1. Blazon
  2. Live
  3. Normal
  4. Boomerang
  5. Music
  6. Focus
  7. Superzoom
  8. Rewind
  9. Hands-gratis

Use the sliding menu at the bottom of the screen to select "Alive."

Instagram Stories Live Setting

Step 7: Configure Your Instagram Story Settings

Earlier yous go live, you lot'll desire to check your Instagram Story settings. To do this, tap the settings gear icon at the acme-left of the screen.

Instagram Stories Settings

Here, you'll run across Instagram'south "Story Controls."

The first setting allows y'all to hide your Stories from specific people, and underneath, y'all tin can cull who tin answer to your Story.

As a business, you'll desire to brand sure that replies can exist sent by anybody, as this volition allow you to better interact with your audition.

Instagram Stories Messages

Next, Instagram lets you automatically save your Stories to your camera scroll or your Instagram archive.

If you lot don't want to use up valuable phone space, only turn on the archive feature and you'll exist able to view your Stories in the annal when they disappear after 24 hours.

Save to Stories

The concluding feature allows you to automatically share Instagram Stories to your Facebook Business organisation folio .

Take advantage of this opportunity to engage your Facebook followers without having to create more content on Facebook Stories .

Share Your Story to Facebook

Ready?

Pace eight: Become Live on Instagram!

Tap "Start Live Video" and Instagram will notify your followers that you're live. To double-check that you're live, look for the "Live" icon in the acme-left corner of the screen.

Instagram Live

If you'd like to check how long you've been live, just tap the "Live" icon and it will show you lot the timer.

Instagram Live Time

Step 9: Switch Between Camera Views

Today, well-nigh all smartphones are equipped with both front-facing and rear-facing cameras.

Instagram Live allows yous to switch between these cameras while you're live – but like you would on a video call with a friend.

This is awesome.

When you're live, you'll ofttimes want to share what's happening in the moment, and your reaction and comments.

So don't be afraid to switch it up to keep it interesting!

Instagram Live Camera View

Step 10: Go Live with Another Account

In Baronial 2017 , Instagram released the "Become Live with a Friend" characteristic. It enables you lot to add another Instagram account to your broadcast.

This characteristic is especially useful for conducting interviews or collaborations.

To go live with another business relationship, tap the icon featuring two smiley faces and select who you lot'd like to go live with. So tap "Add." Go Live with a Friend

The other user will receive a notification telling them that you desire them to exist in your live video. They can then tap "Go Live with @yourusername" or reject the invitation.

Go Live with a Friend Plus, if whatsoever of your viewers want to bring together your Instagram Live video, they can hit the "Request" push button in the comments section.

When this happens, you'll see a notification for each asking in the comments department.

Simply tap "View" and and then accept or decline the request. If you accept, you'll have a moment to gear up before the screen is dissever in half and yous are live together.

Go Live with a Friend

The icon with two smiley faces will as well accept a carmine number showing how many requests you have.

Only tap the icon to see both requests and current viewers. Here, you can either accept a viewer'southward request or invite a viewer to join you.

Step 11: Utilize Face Filters

Your Instagram Alive streams won't ever get according to program – it is live subsequently all.

And then, if you encounter a deadening patch or you feel the excitement drop, take advantage of face filters . This characteristic lets yous inject a little fun and humor into your broadcast.

Instagram Live Filters To utilize them, tap the smiley icon with the stars. And then scroll along to discover new filters to try!

Instagram Live Filters

If you're looking for a prophylactic bet, start with the puppy ears face filter. Instagram revealed information technology to be the most-used confront filter followed by:

  1. Sleep mask
  2. Bunny ears
  3. Beloved with heart-shaped darts
  4. Koala ears

Instagram Live Effects

Instagram Live streams are all well-nigh connecting, engaging, and relating to your audition in real-fourth dimension.

So don't forget to interact in the comments.

Instagram Live Comments

If possible, have someone dedicated to answering comments during the circulate. If this isn't possible, y'all can withal enquire viewers to submit questions and answer them every bit you lot go along.

And don't forget to address commenters and give thanks some individual viewers past proper noun for joining the stream.

Plus, you tin can attempt and utilise a few Question Stickers to see if it improves your overall date.

These uncomplicated techniques tin can be extremely powerful.

Non only will yous receive more comments, the dynamic will become more than intimate and you lot'll besides make viewers feel valued. At this point, it's not yous broadcasting to them – instead, information technology's a collaborative conversation where you're all hanging out together.

While y'all're live, make sure to ask viewers to share your alive stream and invite others to join you.

If there's someone in particular that you'd similar to share your Instagram Live stream with, you tin can notify them direct.

To do this, just tap the paper plane icon and select who you'd like to share your Instagram Live with. So add a message and hit "Send."

Instagram Live Share with a Friend

Stride 14: End Your Instagram Live Video

Before you go, be sure to thank viewers for tuning in.

This is too a good time to present a telephone call to action, such every bit asking viewers to sign up to your mailing list to be notified about future Instagram Live videos, or to follow you on Twitter where you'll answer questions for another 30 minutes.

When you're ready, just tap "End" to finish your Instagram Alive video.

Ending Instagram Live

Once you've finished your circulate, you tin can salvage your Instagram Live video to your phone's photographic camera gyre by tapping the "Salve" icon.

Save Instagram Live

This can be useful if you recall you might like to apply snippets of the Instagram Live video in futurity content. Plus, after a few broadcasts, you tin can compile the best clips to create an Instagram Live trailer which you can apply to promote upcoming broadcasts.

Continue in heed that only the video is saved, and not interactions similar comments, likes, and views.

Next, tap "Share" at the bottom of the screen to add your Instagram Alive video to your Story so users can view it for 24 hours.

Share Instagram Live

If you don't want to share your Instagram Live video to your Story, only tap the toggle and choose "Discard," and your live video volition disappear from the app.

Once yous've shared your Instagram Live video to your Story, followers will run across the "Play" icon added to your Story image.

Instagram Live Replay

And then, they tin can tap your Story to watch the video and see comments and likes from the original broadcast.

Cool, right?

They can also tap the right or left side of the screen to jump frontward or back 15 seconds or tap "Send Bulletin" to reply. If you share multiple Instagram Alive replays, viewers will run across arrows at the pinnacle of the screen to easily spring betwixt videos.

Lastly, when watching your own replay, the number of viewers shown will include everyone who saw it live and in Stories.

Footstep 16: Post Your Instagram Live Video to IGTV

Until May 2020, you could merely share Instagram Live videos as Stories, merely they'd be cleaved upwardly into 15-2d clips and disappear afterwards 24 hours.

Today, yous tin share your Instagram Live video to IGTV every bit before long equally the broadcast is over, courtesy of new updates to the video awarding.

The option comes at a fourth dimension when a number of creatives and users are turning to Instagram Alive in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic .

Whether it'south a yoga lesson, a recipe course, or a virtual concert alive video has become an important channel for creators and audiences to connect with each other.

Given this increase in consumption of alive video, sharing your content on IGTV is a great way to reach new audiences and extend the availability of your broadcasts.

To share a recording of your Instagram Alive video, select the "Share to IGTV" option afterward your broadcast ends, select a cover photo for the video, and hit publish.

share Instagram live videos to IGTV

When using IGTV for Instagram Alive, keep these things in heed:

  • Your viewers volition be recounted once y'all share the Instagram Alive video to IGTV.
  • Alive video recordings won't include whatever comments or reactions from your original Instagram Live video.
  • There's no way to trim or edit your alive broadcast earlier posting information technology to IGTV.

Despite the few shortcomings, sharing live videos to IGTV is a cracking way to archive your content so your audiences can catch them more than 24 hours later.

Conclusion

Instagram Alive is a fantastic tool to achieve and engage your audience in a compelling and intimate mode.

And with alive video condign a larger office of people'southward daily communications, getting to grips with this powerful medium at present is sure to pay dividends in the futurity.

For best results:

  • Program ahead of fourth dimension. Make certain you lot know what yous promise to achieve, what call to activity yous'll promote, and what format you'll use.
  • Make sure to promote your Instagram Live stream before and after the effect.
  • Finally, have fun and don't worry besides much about making mistakes – remember, it's live!

"It's important to remember that viewers aren't expecting to meet a Broadway actor recite a powerful monologue," says Jasmine Star , a marketing and branding consultant.

"Don't feel the force per unit area of perfection (namely considering perfection doesn't exist in the online streaming globe), and instead opt for: 1. Clarity of bulletin; and ii. Approachability."

Go for it!

Earlier you leave, take y'all used Instagram Live before? Let u.s. know about your experience in the comments beneath!

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