Insights

Instagram Live: what it is actually good for

The original version of this post announced that Instagram Live was rolling out to more countries. That was 2016 and it is long since everywhere. So the news is gone and the useful question is the one underneath: what is going live actually good for, and when is it a waste of your evening?

What live does that a recorded video cannot

One thing, and it is worth a lot: people can interrupt you. A recorded video is you talking. A live is a conversation, and the conversation is the product. If your topic does not benefit from questions, record instead and spend the saved time on the edit.

Four formats that hold up

The open question hour. Announce a narrow topic, take questions on it, and stop when they run out. Narrow beats broad: "your bio, live feedback" fills a room that "ask me anything" does not.

The working session. Do the thing on camera. Rewrite someone's profile, build the thing, make the decision out loud. People stay for this far longer than for talking-head advice.

The guest. Bringing someone else in puts your face in front of their audience. It is the cheapest reach there is, and it works best when the guest is adjacent rather than identical to you.

The follow-up. Go live right after a post that did unusually well, while the interest is still there. It converts attention you already have instead of trying to create it.

How to not talk to an empty room

Almost everyone's first live has three viewers, and almost everyone concludes that live does not work. The problem is the announcement, not the format. Tell people the day before, tell them again an hour before in a Story, and start with something worth staying for rather than two minutes of "can you hear me".

Keep it short. Thirty focused minutes with questions beats ninety minutes of waiting for someone to type.

What to do with it afterwards

The live itself is the small part. The recording is a source of clips: every good answer is a short video, and the questions you were asked are your next four posts, written for you by exactly the people you want to reach.

And the honest version

If you are not enjoying it, do not do it. Live rewards people who like thinking out loud with an audience. If that is not you, a well-made recorded video will outperform a reluctant live every time, and nobody will know the difference.