Facebook launched its direct feature in 2016 for all users. Since then, it has become a powerful marketing tool for interacting with viewers in real time. They report the following impressive Facebook Live stats:
- One in five Facebook videos were streamed live in 2017.
- Facebook live streams reached 3.5 billion in 2018.
- Facebook live streams have six times more interactions than traditional streams.
- Facebook live videos have ten times more comments than regular videos.
Make sure you have everything you need to create a successful Facebook Live video and, if necessary, the ability to upload your videos to Facebook. Someone will have to oversee the technical aspects of the show. For simple events, this can be as simple as starting and stopping a broadcast. More professional setup is required for interviews or co-broadcasts.
How to Live Stream to Facebook from Your Computer
Facebook lets you broadcast live directly from your computer You can broadcast to your Facebook pages, profile, event page, or business page.
Before you start streaming to Facebook, prepare yourself:
- Make a clear outline and description of your topic.
- Broadcast from a convenient location.
- Make sure your internet connection is stable and reliable.
- Advertise your live broadcast in advance.
Facebook allows you to stream live from virtually anywhere, anytime. If this is your first time live streaming on Facebook, you will be asked to allow your microphone and camera. Click “Allow”.
- Start by creating a new message. Click Live Video.
- Choose a category from the options offered by Facebook or create your own.
In the options popup, do the following:
- Enter a title.
- Add a photo or video: choose one of the Facebook options or upload your own.
- Confirm the date.
- Give it a description.
- Tag your friends.
- Add location
- Public, including everyone.
- Friends only.
- Friends, except.
- certain friends.
- Specific groups.
- Just me (useful for testing).
- Click what’s on your mind.
- Click on Live Video
- Adding Filters
- Switch to the front camera
- Zip to zoom screen brightness.
- Enter comments.
- Test broadcasts before going live, limiting audiences to business page administrators and editors only.
- Trim the beginning and end of live broadcasts. to remove dead space.
- Live broadcast up to eight hours.
- Watchgroups, which give users the ability to pre-schedule an event and enable video on demand.
- Creator Studio manages, measures and monetizes content on Facebook and Instagram pages in one place.
- On your page, click the “Write a message” field and then […] to open additional options.
- Click Watch Party as shown above. You will then see a screen where you can choose which videos you want to show at the party.
- If you want to add more than one video for your party, click Add to Queue. You can click Preview Queue if you want to preview your playlist before launching.
- When you’re done adding a video or video, click Done. At this point, you will be taken back to your post.
- To get started on the Home tab, select the + icon in the Content Library or Home tab, then click the Include button.
- Select the page you want to stream from. Please note that you will need administrator rights for this page.
- You will see two options for starting the stream: “Camera” or “Connect to another device”. Select Camera to stream from your webcam or phone. Select Connect when you:
- are using broadcast equipment or streaming software.
- Work live from your phone.
- Share the stream with someone else to go live
- Select where you want to post your live stream.
- Add a title and description.
- Select microphone, camera and screen (for screen sharing)
- Select the language of your broadcast.
- Include tags (invisible) for detection
- Select Interactive if you want to add polls to your broadcast.
- When ready, select Go Live to start streaming live.
- Start Facebook Watch Party to re-show the live stream.
- Create a message thanking the members of your livestream to entice them who didn’t initially to view it.
- generate additional engagement by asking questions or leaving comments after the event
Click on the dropdown next to Public and select the audience for your live video. You can choose:
After filling in all the settings and choosing from the available options, click Go Live. When done, click End Live Video.
If you don’t delete the video, it will be automatically added to your timeline.
Live Facebook from a mobile device
The steps below will work on iPhone, Android, tablet or any other mobile device.
If this is your first live broadcast, you will also be prompted on your mobile device to access your device and microphone. Give your permission.
The next steps are the same as when using your computer. When you’re ready, click Start Live Video. Your mobile device will show a red Live indicator in the corner of the screen. You will also be able to see who is watching your video.
There are tools at the bottom of the screen that you can use while streaming, including:
When the broadcast is over, click Done. You can delete the video or share it as a post with your Facebook friends or fans of the business page.
New Facebook Live Streaming Tools
Facebook recently released updates to help publishers and video creators improve, improve, and simplify live streaming.
These advanced features also include enhanced analytics. Some of the updates include the ability to:
Two additional significant improvements to Facebook Live:
Launching Facebook Watch Party
Facebook Watch Party is a way that people can watch Facebook videos together in real time. Members can watch live or recorded videos, and chat with others.
You can throw a party on your personal profile, business page or Facebook group. Follow these steps to start a Watch Party:
Be sure to provide a clear description of the topic your group will address to encourage people to join. Promote it from your page to grow your audience.
Many companies use Facebook Watch Party to play live streams for those who couldn’t make it the first time. It is also helpful to use a previously successful live broadcast.
The latest Facebook Watch Party features include advanced scheduling, replay capability, tagging business partners, and live commenting
Live Stream on Facebook Creator Studio
An updated version of Facebook’s Creator Studio brings together all the tools you need to publish, manage, measure and monetize all your Facebook pages and Instagram accounts in one place.
The following steps will show you how to start a Facebook live stream from Creator Studio
Select the Publish option in the image above to:
As mentioned above, Facebook Live Videos are archived until deleted. This gives you the opportunity to bring back the spotlight on successful events and continue to benefit your target audience.
Here are some ways to do this:
You can also cross-promote your Facebook Live content on other social networks.
Don’t forget to analyze your results. Now it has become much easier with the New Creator Studio, where all the important metrics are collected in one place.
–