That’s where women get exposed (quite literally, quite often) to sexual harassment from others.
Twelve minutes ago, I hopped onto Periscope to “share” a beer with my viewers and chat about going to see Wonder Woman tonight with my daughter. Less than three minutes in, I get this:
My face hadn’t quite yet registered my reaction. Go to rachel.live to see that. I refuse to edit it because stuff like this is shouted from sidewalks to passing women anyway, so get woke.
Lovely. A random viewer decided his question about my personal hygiene was a perfect segue from my alliteration about Blue Moon and Business Unusual. Because, why not, right?
Later in the broadcast, after I lit into his comment, he told me, “Oh, lighten up.”
No. It’s my broadcast and I don’t need to lighten up. You, sir, are welcome to go find another broadcast where you can assume the woman on the other end must really want you to ask her questions about her genitals.
Different Day
This isn’t a new thing. It’s a new harasser on a new day. Usually it’s just a matter of if you get the comments earlier in the day or later.
A few weeks ago on Snapchat, a random new “friend” decided to go straight from friendly banter Snaps of “How are you today?” and “How’s it going?” to a picture of his hand reaching into his tidy-whities asking if we could have some fun.
Well, I’m a woman on social media… surely that means I’m up for anything that will make a man sexually happy, right? Wrong.
NBD, right?
The most infuriating part is that many will read this blog and think just like RichStan7835 did: “Lighten up, Rachel, it’s not that bad.”
Or worse: “Take it as a compliment, can’t you?”
No.
HELL no.
No chance.
What’s amazing is that I was chatting a few seconds prior about taking my daughter to see Wonder Woman. Women empowerment and breaking glass ceilings, here we come! Except, first, don’t leave the house without being reminded that any man should be able to ask you about your personal grooming without you getting offended.
Again, hell no.
I’m not here for it. I’m sick of it. The only man who deserves my attention after making suggestive comments is the guy who vowed to share my life with me and all it carries with it. I don’t have to put up with “same harassment, different day.” And neither do you.
If you still think harassment doesn’t happen and I’m overreacting, watch this:
How about you? Let me know how you’re doing and what you do to combat the harassment. Blocking only goes so far, because it’s easy for someone to create a free handle and try again. I’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions for how to make a change for the women out there.
You may be thinking the last thing you’d want to do is get on a live video. I get it. Really, I do.
There are tons of reasons to not go live. You may not like your appearance. What will you say? What if you stutter or misspeak? What if no one watches? What if you start getting spammed by trolls? What if you think it went great, but the higher-ups don’t like what you did?
Fair enough. Those are all completely valid reasons not to go live. For 2016, those excuses worked just fine and held off the inevitable. But guess what?
It’s 2017. Time to livestream.
Your content is probably pretty good… maybe even great. Your audience and fans may have loved it thus far. But here are some hard facts about why video matters to you:
Facebook users are 10x more likely to comment on your livestream than on any other type of post;
Your live video will get watched 3x as long as a video which is pre-recorded;
If you’re into anecdotes, I have one for you: regardless of what I’m broadcasting about, every single Facebook Live video from my Page has achieved at minimum 3x more reach and engagement than every other type of post.
In our weekly #LetsLivestream chat + broadcast, we welcomed nuggets of wisdom by Brian Fanzo, each of which reinforced why livestreaming is going to continue to be a big deal into this new year.
Now that you’re taking livestreaming seriously (begrudgingly or otherwise), let’s break this down: it doesn’t have to be hard to go live. No one is expecting you to take to the camera like a 30-year broadcasting veteran. In fact, the more authentically you livestream, the more your fans will want to interact.
To get you started, here are 4 ways you can easily plot your livestreams into your brand’s strategy in 2017:
Demonstrations & How-To’s
You’re the expert at your business, so naturally you understand how your products and services function. Remembering that your customers aren’t yet experts is important to how you perform your sales and service. Figuring out how to translate what’s in your brain into something they can use is always a challenge.
Livestreaming video can give you direct access to show your customers, in real time, how to use what your company provides. As you use live video to demonstrate, viewers can comment, ask questions, and even share the video with their friends and fellow customers.
YOUTUBE is a natural platform for videos which provide how-to instructions and demonstrations. As the 2nd largest search engine, next to Google, your branded and instructional livestreams can be watched and circulated repeatedly.
Be.Live launched their livestream community site via Facebook Live press release.
Announce News
Not so many years ago, hiring a public relations expert or using a press release tool was the proper way to get the word out about your business or brand. You’d have it written up, complete with headline and eye-catching information, and issue it in the hopes that news outlets or journalists would find it interesting enough to “pick it up.”
Welcome to the future! Now companies can generate their own news by publishing announcements and deliver it to the masses through social media. By announcing your major updates via livestream, you can hold your own press conference to established brand fans and potential customers and connections. Take questions, provide links, and tag/mention any partners who collaborate with your company.
TWITTER is an outstanding choice for announcing news with its instant connection to journalists, news outlets, and just about everyone. You aren’t restricted by friends or connections on Twitter, and now you can #GoLive from within the Twitter app.
Broadcast Events
When your brand holds an event, you have a unique opportunity to give your customers a new level of access. Instead of reaching you via phone, email, or even social media, they can now shake hands with the staff who serves them and the masterminds behind manufacturing your products.
However, as with any event, you will inevitably have those who would like to attend yet can’t make it. You may also have customers on the fence about attending your events to partake in the activities. By livestreaming teasers and highlights of your company’s event, you can increase anticipation, promote attendance, and give access to your audience.
PERISCOPE is well-established as a platform for livestream events. With its connection to Twitter and the ability to go fully public to anyone online, start broadcasting your event and field comments, questions, and remind viewers to share to their circles so more can partake of the access.
Look to Your FAQs
Whether or not you have a list of frequently asked questions, you know the ones we’re talking about: you can recite the answers by heart because the queries happen so often. A FAQ is the perfect place to start for when you don’t know what to go live with.
Mine your reviews, online comments, customer service cases, and sales notes to learn what most customers ask as they discover your products and services. Once you go live with the question and answer, you’ll have a timeless resource—via video—to refer your customers to when they need answers.
FACEBOOK is a natural fit for engaging with just about anyone (since just about everyone uses it), and going live with the goal of explaining concepts about your brand will serve you well. You can go live from your Facebook Page, a Profile, a Group, or even an Event.
Still not convinced? That’s OK.
But do me a favor: will you at least lurk a bit in a place where we chat about live video and why it has tons of potential?
The LetsLivestream Twitter chat is for anyone who:
hasn’t yet livestreamed their own broadcast;
is starting livestreaming but could use some pointers;
livestreams regularly and wants to share expertise;
wants to network with other Twitter and Periscope users!
Join us each week for an engaging and informative chat session which will increase your knowledge of livestreaming as well as your Twitter and Periscope community.
John Kapos has a masterful following on Periscope, and we’ll learn how he shares content on Periscope, Instagram, and Snapchat which resonates with his followers & friends.
Have you heard about Livestreaming Video, but aren’t sure what it is or how to use it for marketing your business online?
In this advanced workshop, we will go through the platforms & help you determine which tool fits your business best. We will walk your through setting up your accounts, brainstorm topics, & get you LIVE on VIDEO!!!
