Case Study: Customising a Magic Show on Facebook live

This is a real case study of our thought processes and steps which we went through to customise a magic show on Facebook live for a client.

I hope you are staying safe during this time. As of now, during phase 2, big gatherings in Singapore is still not allowed. Some are worried that this is the new normal while others expect this to last.

With schools, stores, restaurants and theaters closed, everyone is looking for ways to entertain themselves. The great news is that more and more people are welcoming online entertainment. They are also more receptive than 3 months ago. A lot of the magicians have jumped on the bandwagon to provide virtual magic shows.

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On the flip-side is that a lot are going into this area without thinking that much. Whenever we create something new, we plan a lot, in fact, overdoing it sometimes. In fact, it took so much effort to do this Facebook Live show that my wife commented (since I had to film this from home) that I should have charged more. That is despite that I am already charging 1.5-2 times compared to my competitors.)

Abraham Lincoln is often quoted for having said, “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe.”

Understanding the Objectives of Your Client.

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Yes, most clients want a magician to entertain their audience. In normal circumstances, we try to get venue information so we are prepared for it. For online shows, every platform is different! In this case, this client wanted to book us for a magic show on Facebook live, and not on zoom which is a private setting.

Having done Facebook live before, we know that it is NOT as interactive as it can be. A question posed may get a reply perhaps 5 to 10 seconds later due to the lag. 10 seconds in a show is like an hour on stage! However, interactivity in a children show is important. If you study our magic shows, we have almost 1 type of interaction, every 10 seconds, like asking questions, doing actions, shouting the magic word, making them laugh, etc.

Hence we went about asking for the guidelines from the client needed for the show and worked around it.

Facebook Live Magic Show

I think it would be a lie if the client says she doesn’t care how many views the show get. Unlike a zoom performance which is catered to a closed group of people, Facebook live is a totally different ballgame. To get people to join in the live is not as simple.

Luckily, I had mentors to give advice and teach me for Facebook live.

But before we even go there, let’s look at the goals.

What are the client’s goals for Magic Show on Facebook Live

In this case, my client couldn’t open its facilities for their members. Hence virtual events is the only way for them to connect with their members and also to support its tenants through this effort.

In other words, engagement is important in this case. There may be very little I can do to reach out to their members. Knowing Facebook’s algorithm is important to achieve your end-goal.

In fact, I made SMART goals based on my client’s requirements. What is a SMART Goal? It is:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Time Bound

For instance, I monitor my client’s previous live session and how I can surpass their views by 10%.

I went ahead to think about what I hope to achieve with this ‘live’. It felt a little strange since the show is live and yet I cannot interact with the audience. So I wrote down my goals:

• Although I can do my existing Magic in a Bottle show which is my magic show for families without any changes, I wanted to customise it. In other words, it is specifically designed for them to be not just another magic show (I can just use a pre-recorded video if that is so.)
• I hope all the children watching will remember me.
• I hope to ‘interact’ with the audience during the show.
• I want to retain at least 50% of the audience to watch the full 30min show. (Drop out rates for social media live are super high.)
• Based on past results of their views on the club’s page, I hope to achieve 1000 views.

Interactivity in the magic show on Facebook live

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There are just so many things which are possible on TV (or facebook Live) which may not be possible in a face-to-face magic show.

We opened with a surprising visual costume change as though Mr Bottle walked in the Facebook live unknowingly. (Don’t we always video bomb someone else’s zoom sometimes? :P)

@mrbottlemagician

Ask me any questions and I may not know every answer but I’ll try my best. ##paparazzi ##superstar ##costumechangechallenge ##costumechallenge

♬ Paparazzi – Lady Gaga

My ‘Magic in a Bottle’ show has a lot of segments, which will make children remember me. There is a running gag in the show in which a bottle will appear and disappear.

I added a segment in which I tell the story of Mr Bottle using an iPad. (I did an experiment and realised that children nowadays are so into such devices that if you use them in your show, they become more engaged naturally.)

Other than my usual interactive segments, I designed a magic trick related to emoji in which children can participate over the screen. (Something like what David Copperfield did over TV.) Why emoji? It is something kids can easily can relate to.

@mrbottlemagician

It may be difficult to understand your friends’ feelings. Always be caring towards others ##emojichallenge ##emojimagic ##readmindchallenge ##empathy ##😎

♬ original sound – Inspiring Magic show

Increasing Views and Engagements

I wrote the show script to make people ‘like’ and ‘share’ the video. For instance, a very social media thing to do is to tell audience to click 👍 or❤️ ‘if you can hear me’ or ‘ if I can got the answer correct’.

Audience may also come in at different timings so the script may need to be repeated or must not be something understandable at any point they join.

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I told the club that I will give away 1 magic set, which I am using as a hook to retain audience. They have to key in the answer in the comments, creating a super increase in engagement. (Almost everyone commented!)

I designed a magic trick around the magic set so people will remember. This magic set which is available for sale online so it is free awareness for me too!

As a bonus, kids can download and learn the customised magic trick which I performed over the screen. They just have to go to my client’s Facebook page to download it. That means there’s additional engagement even after event is over!

You can see from the example all these things I am doing is about engagement, engagement and engagement. Make use of Facebook’s algorithm to get more views.

Client is super happy with the results and repeated 4 times that they are amazed with the quality.