It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day, so my thoughts are naturally drifting toward luck. Luck of the Irish! Do you believe in luck? We read the stories about people who win lotteries multiple times. Are they lucky? Some people scoff at luck, choosing to live by the words, “The harder I work, the luckier I get!” I for one believe that we all get lucky now and then, that Lady Luck shows no favoritism and is certainly fickle.
I’ll tell you what is lucky — having your golf ball end up closest to the flagstick in a helicopter ball drop. Helicopter ball drop? What’s that? It’s a fun and ingenious way to raise money for charity at a golf outing. People “purchase” golf balls and get corresponding numbers that are written on the balls. Then, a helicopter hovers over a designated golf green and drops the balls from a net, and the ball that ends up closest to the flagstick wins! Talk about a dramatic way to ratchet up the fun at a golf outing — an already fun event.
This actually took place last summer at StoneWater Golf Club in Cleveland, Ohio at the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s annual golf fundraiser. The event raised over $100,000 for collision students and schools, and the helicopter ball drop certainly helped, with the winner receiving a $1,000 gift card and a Golden Tee arcade game!
Now how do you cover a helicopter ball drop? You certainly don’t take photos and post them after the fact. You do live video! And that’s exactly what BodyShop Business did on its Facebook. This kind of event is exciting, dramatic and special, and live video is the only way to capture all of those elements.
Live video tells your audience that you’re hip, cool and trendy. Plus, all of your followers on social media will be notified when the live video starts, which can increase engagement. People tend to freak out over live video because it’s live and unscripted and God forbid they make a mistake, but that’s the point: it doesn’t have to be polished. It creates its own excitement, alerting your audience that something special is going on and they should tune in.
Facebook Live was the perfect vehicle to deliver all the anticipation and excitement of the ball drop, complete with the sound of the helicopter’s whirring blades and participants running out to the green after the balls were dropped to see who won. Have you thought about live video? It might seem intimidating and scary at first, and you definitely have to read up on the instructions and guidelines if you’ve never done one (note to self: hold your phone horizontally prior to starting the Facebook live video to get more in the shot — because once the video starts you can’t change the orientation!). But if you really want to hit a home run and make a big impact with your social audience, you should give it a try. It sure beats a photo gallery!
Jason Stahl is the Editor of BodyShop Business
Contact Jason at [email protected]
