Live broadcasts: instructions for use

One of the remarks from a cosmetologist at a master class dedicated to the doctor’s personal brand: “How can I show myself alive to patients through Instagram? This is unreal!”

Absolutely real, since there is such an effective tool as live broadcasts. And let someone, mistakenly, say that live broadcasts have “died” and stopped working, but the quarantine period proved the opposite to us: the number of live broadcasts has increased several times. Moreover, they switched to the format of collaborations - a joint dialogue between two expert speakers, during which an exchange of opinions takes place. An example is the account of the aesthetic medicine clinic DEGA (St. Petersburg), in which in April 2020 (during quarantine) 28 joint live broadcasts of specialists were conducted, and in July 2020, when the clinic opened after quarantine, 33 live broadcasts from the clinic in order to attract patients.

Therefore, the recommendation “Systematically conduct live broadcasts” (both in the clinic’s account and in the doctor’s accounts) remains a working technique for promoting aesthetic and medical services.

Why broadcast live?

Live broadcast (in English LIVE, LIVE-television) is the process of direct transmission of a television or radio signal from the recording location to the air, that is, the broadcast is carried out in real time. A feature of live broadcasting is the impossibility of editing immediately sent data, which does not exclude a certain probability of broadcasting an unexpected event. It is for this reason that the main risk of live broadcasting arises: something that should not be shown may be shown. For example, a patient may faint during injection procedures, a doctor may drop an instrument on the floor, an illiterate phrase may be uttered, etc.

Essentially, an Instagram profile is a combination of both print media and a TV channel, and with the advent of IGTV and a YouTube channel. And the doctor begins to act as an expert, a journalist, and a TV presenter.

PROS for promotion

• “Live” format of communications.
• A great way to show your expertise and demonstrate “the product in a favorable light”: products, services, results.
• During the broadcast, the account is in the most visible place on Instagram.
• Free promotion tool.
• Possibility of quickly posting a live broadcast recording on IGTV.
• The number of views of live broadcasts and recordings in IGTV is higher than that of static posts.
• The ability to engage the audience interactively (if the audience interacts, the profile’s coverage will increase).

Main topics on which you can conduct live broadcasts

• A story about the benefits of a particular procedure/operation.
• Demonstration of the procedure with a real patient.
• Recommendations for patients facing a certain aesthetic problem: “Double chin. What should I do?”, “Dark circles under the eyes. How can a competent cosmetologist help?
• Consulting the patient in a dialogue format.
• The story of a real patient who was helped by the doctor’s therapy/procedures.
• Answers to frequently asked questions regarding this or that procedure.
• Announcement of promotions of the month.
• Behind the scenes.
• Announcement of conditions or summing up the results of competitions.

Frequency and timing of live broadcasts

• You can and should conduct live broadcasts as often as possible (at least every day).
• On average, a subscriber watches a live broadcast for about 3 minutes, and then makes a decision: turn it off or stay in the profile and continue watching. Therefore, in order to hold the audience’s attention longer, you need not only a relevant topic, but also dynamics.
• The maximum duration of live broadcasts can be up to 60 minutes. On the one hand, this is a technical limitation of Instagram, on the other hand, after this time it will be more difficult for both the speaker to speak and for the listeners to perceive the information.
• The duration of the broadcast is determined by the type of broadcast: you can sum up the results of the competition in 3 minutes, or announce promotions in 10 minutes, or talk about the advantages of a certain technique in 20 minutes, or maybe you will show the entire process of the procedure and communicate with the patient for 45 minutes. Everything is individual and depends on the situation and activity of the audience.
• The optimal duration of a live broadcast is 15-20 minutes - this is the time from the point of view of psychophysiology that the average person maintains steady attention if the topic is interesting to him.

What if I'm afraid that I won't succeed?

Conducting a live broadcast is a real stress for many doctors. However, the ability to speak online is a skill that is developed in 1-2 months, and the more practice you have in this area, the calmer and more confident you feel.

One of the laws of neurolinguistic programming states that in terms of behavior and communication, you can learn everything that another person can do. Start with a plan. For your first broadcasts, choose topics on which you have something to say. For example, about your favorite procedures, medications, line of cosmetics. Taking the time to prepare will help you feel more at ease mentally, as every brilliant impromptu needs a lot of pre-polishing.

Read the continuation of the article in Les Nouvelles Esthétiques Ukraine 1/2021