Hi there! We’re thrilled to have you join us for our upcoming Virtual Pop-up. On this page you will find some helpful tips, talking point ideas, and technical details for going live and pre-recording your video. Don’t feel like you have to use every talking point, but we hope they will help spark your imagination as you make your plan. Making a plan for your Virtual Pop-up is the number one most important thing you can do.
Tips for going live or recording a video:
- Consider your lighting. If you’re able to use natural light, that’s always your best option.
- Your background is important too. What’s behind you in the shot? Do you have a way to display your logo and some products?
- Regularly encourage viewers to become shoppers by clicking on your shop link on the Virtual Pop-up page.
- If you’re going live, break your hour into segments and give each segment a time limit.
- Take some time to write down your plan. How will you start? How will you transition to each segment?
- For pre-recorded videos, you will probably want to plan a recording time of 15-20 minutes.
- Introduce yourself a number of times throughout the Virtual Pop-up. Just like at Made Market, people will be popping in to see what you’re doing throughout the hour that you’re live.
- Thank viewers for coming and shopping
* EXTRA TIPS FOR MAKERS GOING LIVE: - Periodically check in with your comments to see if viewers have asked questions. Viewers won’t be able to comment or ask questions on the Virtual Pop-up page itself, but feel free to direct them to your Facebook page.
- Consider practicing your live event beforehand. It may provide that extra bit of confidence.
- Don’t sweat the mistakes, and don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself. Anyone watching is likely going to be a fan. They want to see the real you, and they value that authenticity.
Talking Point Ideas:
- Share your story. What made you want to start a small business? Had it always been a dream or did it kind of fall into you lap?
- Spend some time talking about what you make. Why do you love the medium that you work with?
- Show an item or piece that is special to you. What makes it unique? Is there a memory associated with that piece that you could share?
- Talk about a time that was uniquely challenging for some reason. How did you overcome that challenge, and how did it make you/your business stronger? You are in the middle of a challenging season right now with all of the Coronavirus restrictions. People want to hear about it. What are you learning? How are you spending your time? Keep your tone warm and optimistic; we’re going to get through this!
- Think of one person who has influenced you the most along your journey and thank them. Do you have a specific memory with that person that you cherish in a special way?
- Take viewers on a tour of your workspace. Let them get a behind-the-scenes look at what you do.
- Give a demonstration about one aspect of your making process. You won’t keep viewers’ attention if your entire hour is a how-I-make-this seminar, but a short segment dedicated to your process will inspire real appreciation for you and your products.
Technical details for going live:
- You can go live on Facebook from either your profile, or your business page. Click on a link for instructions.
- If you’re using a mobile device, make sure you are in landscape mode (this is for the aesthetic of the Virtual Pop-up page).
- Make sure you have a strong internet connection.
- We can only retrieve the embed link after you’re live, so you’ll want to go live 10-15 minutes before the Virtual Pop-up starts.
- If this is your first time using Facebook Live, you may want to do a test run. All you have to do is change who can view the live stream to “Only me.” Just make sure you change it back to “Public” before Saturday.
- If you’re using a computer, Facebook live seems to like to use the latest Chrome Beta version the best, but you can test your current browser if you want to.
- If you’re able, it’s helpful to have someone off-camera that can monitor your live video for comments, questions, or technical difficulties. They will preferably be logged into your Facebook account on another computer.
Technical details for pre-recording a video:
- It will probably be best to use a mobile device to record your video. If that isn’t an option for you, let us know and we can help you find an alternative.
- After your video is recorded, you can upload it to Youtube or Vimeo (click to create an account with one of them).
- Share your video link with us via email (make sure that your privacy settings say “public”).
- If you run into any problems, please let us know.
