Why I Started a Facebook Live Show Instead of a Podcast

When I started my Facebook Live show, I didn’t realize it would stir up controversy and potential scandal! But I’m getting ahead of myself…

While FB Live is great for short live videos to help document your entrepreneurial journey or showcase events and specials, it’s also perfect for scheduled events to help build a following. I recently started a weekly Facebook Live show to help my followers learn from the experiences and mistakes of others, and also to encourage networking between members of my private group, Adaptable Entrepreneurs.

I knew I wanted to start a show but kept procrastinating for several reasons:

  • I kept waffling on what my topic would be,
  • I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy doing it, and
  • I was worried that I would be getting myself into something I didn’t have time for.
One example of why I love doing my show!

Now that I’ve got 4 shows under my belt, I can tell you one thing for sure: I wish I had started earlier!

As you can tell in this video clip, my guests and I have way too much fun for this to feel like work 🙂

Although I’m doing the shows for my followers and clients, I’ve found that I enjoy them so much they’re just as much for me!

Each week I get to talk with different people who have varying experiences and skillsets. So far they’re all people I already knew so it’s a great chance to catch up with friends that, unfortunately, I often don’t make time to talk with. The show actually forces me to be more social, which is especially important now during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Several years ago I was planning on starting a podcast but ended up not doing so for the same reasons that I procrastinated about doing the FB Live show.

The big difference that made me jump in is that with FB Live, you don’t have to worry about editing and delayed posting like you do a podcast.

For better or for worse, you’re live and whatever happens happens… the good, the bad, and the ugly. Since I’m a perfectionist, though, this fits my personality so much better than a podcast would have. I know I would have spent so much time trying to get everything perfect for each episode, it would have become a burden that I resented.

Since a podcast has to be edited & packaged for publishing, you also have the delay before it’s available to your followers. I love that my show is available live, and the video is also there afterwards for anyone who missed it live.

I also download my live show recording and upload it to a playlist on my company’s YouTube channel. That gives my guests more exposure (since YouTube battles back & forth with Google for #1 search engine!) and gives me a central place to share the show from and embed it my site as on this page.

I have a booking page where guests can request a Thursday night spot to be on the show with me. When someone expresses an interest in appearing I can just give them the link and let them find a date that works for them. We don’t have to do the back-and-forth email dance to figure out a date, which saves both of us time.

Now that I’ve started my weekly show, I get to have what feels like a social visit to me! It forces me to pull away from busy work and is fun and relaxing but valuable for others. It also helps me expand my knowledge and generate awareness for my own expertise.

Hope you’ll join me on Thursday evenings at 7pm!