There is no doubt that live Q&A sessions are one of the content formats that most generate engagement amongst Digital Marketing strategies.
That format allows you to be in contact with your audience and create more interaction.
Q&A has the advantage of being a real-time event, as well as webinars and live blogging, which generates greater interest from the target audience.
It is a great opportunity to explore a specific topic, answering questions about a company or its market segment.
Right platforms and a good structure are essential to ensure an attractive session.
Before going live, it is essential to check if your team can provide all the necessary settings for a great session.
In this post, we will present details on the following topics:
- What is a live Q&A?
- What are the benefits of that content strategy?
- How to run a successful Q&A session?
- What platforms can be used to run a Q&A session?
Read on to find out!
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What is a live Q&A?
Live Q&A are real-time online sessions where attendees can ask questions answered by those who host the event.
This format can be used by companies, or by people, as digital influencers.
This strategy aims to connect audiences with those who generate the content to educate and, mainly, create interactions. One of the main goals of this format is, no doubt, the engagement.
When brands go live, there is a specific interest in the content. This is because the audience understands that the real-time format can bring specifics information and insights.
Also, live interaction brings a feeling of closeness.
Companies and content creators can do a FAQ on pages of their websites or blogs, but this certainly generates less engagement. Live Q&A sessions allow answers to be given in a dynamic way, which can be much more attractive.
Topics
If you are asking “should I go live?” the answer is simple: just do it if you feel it is necessary for your audience.
The main point is that you can talk about several topics, as long as the public is interested and your team is prepared to respond.
From that, it is essential to know that various topics can be defined in advance and discussed.
Participants may be interested in wanting to know more about such subjects:
- general information about the company;
- how to buy online from your website;
- specific product or service;
- how the manufacturing of a product works.
When you define the main topic, or those to be addressed, you take away the risk of losing control of the session.
Without these definitions, participants may, at some point, decide to ask questions that hosts will not be able to answer.
What are the benefits of that content strategy?
A live Q&A session can connect companies with their audience in a more intimate way and generate a dynamic interaction.
With planning, it is possible to take advantage of valuable benefits in your content strategy.
Check how that content can be useful and what gains it can provide when running properly!
Reach engagement
Engagement is one of the main assets of Digital Marketing. Without it, your company will have an online presence full of empty numbers. No matter how many followers and views your company has on its social media if there is no closeness to the public.
When a real-time session starts, people can be part of that moment and put their doubts in the spotlight. The answers validate this possibility of interaction, solving doubts, and generating value for the brand.
Generate interactions
Interactions are also valuable when compared to engagement. They are the beginning of a loyalty relationship between brands and their audiences, but they are also a way to develop this proximity.
Nowadays, customers want much more than just to consume. They are looking for exclusivity and want to be part of the brands they follow and consume. These interactions are essential for this close relationship.
Live Q&A sessions can generate interaction that strengthens brands and educates consumers on various subjects.
Grow your online business presence
Being online is essential to survive in the current market. There is no business sector in which web presence is not relevant, so it is necessary to explore channels and their strategies.
Live streaming is a really solid option for web users. The estimate for this format was 82% of overall internet traffic by 2020, which may increase after the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is easy to see how live Q&A sessions are a great opportunity to grow this online presence by generating engagement and still educating your audience.
How to run a successful Q&A session?
As important as hosting the live Q&A is to make sure this session will be successful.
For that, there are essential points that need to be secured, from the technical part to the content organization.
The planning will make all the difference for good results!
If you have never been live or are looking for tips on how to do a good job, check out the main points to run a successful Q&A session!
Get the proper infrastructure
You will need some essential equipment and adequate infrastructure to perform the live Q&A.
Remember: the more qualified it is, the higher the chances of the session working well.
Some of the main equipment is:
- good internet connection;
- a powerful computer;
- a good camera (the ones integrated with computers are not always good);
- microphones;
- a streaming platform to run the session;
- a channel to receive questions (chats, a social media comment section, or an app);
- an environment where all hosts can be accommodated;
- a comfortable infrastructure for hosts.
Plan the topics
Defining subjects in advance is fundamental. As we say, this prevents the live goes off-topic, creating a mess, and making interaction difficult.
The best thing is that the hosts dominate this topic. Thus, the team should be appropriately selected.
The planning of subjects should also make sense to the company. For example, if you want to know the customer’s preferences, you can develop a Q&A with this purpose.
Another good opportunity to go live is to promote a new product or service.
This way, with a prepared team, customers can clear up their doubts, qualify, and advance in the Digital Marketing funnel.
Develop a list of potential questions
With the topic decided, it’s time to think about what questions will be asked. To do this, make a list of possible doubts and curiosities of the audience.
This way, Q&A hosts eliminate the risk of being taken by surprise by not knowing any answer.
From this, it is enough to study the right answers generating knowledge and satisfying the attendees.
Properly promote Q&A
A successful live Q&A is one where there are a good number of interacting participants. Thus, it is necessary to carry out a broad and intense promotion, focusing on the company’s channels.
You can send emails to your customer mailing list and promote the event on the company’s social media channels.
Ideally, this work should be done in advance to generate expectations and allow the subscription of those interested in the session.
Remember to inform things such as time, day, and channel in which the Q&A will take place, and the live subject.
Choose the streaming platform
Finally, choose on which platform the streaming will take place. It is important to consider some essential points, such as:
- channels that are available to the majority of the public;
- channels where your audience is;
- channels that offer the best technical infrastructure;
- channels that allow chats, since they can be used to send questions.
After considering all these points, testing is essential. Remember to run those tests privately, just to check if everything works well.
What platforms can be used to run a Q&A session?
The ideal platform is essential for live Q&A to run correctly. There are some options available that can bring good results.
Check out the main ones below!
Facebook Live
The official Facebook platform is one of the most popular and, of course, stream the live Q&A directly from your Facebook business page.
It is one of the easiest to use and has a comment session where you can get the questions.
YouTube
Youtube is another popular tool for those who use videos in their Content Marketing strategy.
YouTube also has a simple tool, and the advantage of being an interface that your audience is certainly used to.
There is also a comment session, which makes it easier to send questions in real-time.
Twitch
Widely used by gamers, Twitch is the streamers’ paradise. The platform has many interesting features that help to make streams in various formats. You also have the comment session.
Live
Live is the perfect tool to go live in a Q&A session. Besides the easy use, it is possible to check the metrics related to the streaming and check essential information.
The Live tool also allows some actions, such as:
- reproduce social networking pages;
- create quizzes and polls;
- create storytelling content for pre and post live Q&A.
There are several possibilities in content strategies, but we need to think increasingly in interaction.
Therefore, a live Q&A is one of the best formats to achieve all these results and also increase the online presence of brands.
The webinar is another great format to go live. It is educational and helps the target audience to reach their goals. If your company intends to invest in it, check the checklist we prepared for a perfect session!
