How to Use Facebook Live: The Ultimate Guide

It is no secret that dwell streaming took off through the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

It proved a beneficial instrument for forging and sustaining human connections as I noticed personally internet hosting webinars and digital meetups at my final firm — and it hasn’t slowed down.

Market Research Future predicts that the live-streaming market in the US will develop from about $90 billion in 2024 to almost $560 billion by 2032.

Fb Reside is the second most popular platform for dwell streaming in the US.

Wish to discover ways to livestream on Fb? On this publish, I’ll clarify how intimately and share beneficial tips about easy methods to get essentially the most out of your movies.

Desk of Contents

What’s Fb Reside?

Fb Reside is Fb’s native function for broadcasting real-time video. Viewers can react, share, and remark through the broadcast, and the streamer can reply in real-time. A video recording can also be printed so it may be watched once more later. Going dwell on Fb gives the chance for private interactions together with your viewers and can assist improve publicity and construct relationships.

As a marketer, one of many issues I like finest about Fb Reside movies, is that they’re public. This implies viewers can watch on any gadget with entry to Fb, even with out an account.

However not everybody can stream. Customers with private profiles can go dwell on Fb from their timeline, a gaggle, or an occasion utilizing a pc or cellular gadget.

Nevertheless, I just lately found that Pages (in different phrases, companies and entrepreneurs) face extra crimson tape.

As of June 2024, Fb Pages can only go live when they’ve been up for over 60 days, and they’ve no less than 100 followers.

Fb made this variation to assist fight spam and be certain that these posting content material are reputable. So, if you have not already met this minimal, be sure that to check out this guide that will help you develop what you are promoting web page following.

Why are entrepreneurs so enthusiastic about Fb Reside?

The Advantages of Fb Reside

Nicely, for one, Fb has the most important viewers of any social media platform, welcoming over 3 billion active users. This makes the potential attain of Fb Reside immense.

As well as, Fb is admittedly prioritizing video on the platform, which implies Fb Reside is extra more likely to be served within the newsfeed and in entrance of your viewers than different static mediums.

This implies elevated model consciousness and visibility.

Reside streaming can also be only a enjoyable, memorable technique to talk your model tales and construct genuine relationships with followers and followers.

Entrepreneurs can go dwell on Fb to make firm bulletins, host interviews, subject questions, run demonstrations or tutorials, increase the attain of in-person occasions (like HubSpot did beneath), and, total, have interaction audiences in a extra private, human method.

Plus, it’s all freed from price.

Whereas a reasonably easy idea, Fb Reside has a variety of little nuances entrepreneurs have to be taught to get essentially the most out of the platform.

This information will provide help to be taught the very best methods for making a distinction in how many individuals see your dwell broadcast, how they have interaction with it, and the way it performs.

How you can Livestream on Fb utilizing Fb Reside

Fb Reside began as a mobile-only broadcasting function, however now, it’s accessible on cellular gadgets and desktop computer systems as effectively. Within the sections beneath, we’ll go over easy methods to go dwell on Fb throughout a number of gadgets and apps.

(After you’ve met the standards we mentioned earlier, after all.)

Word: These directions had been made based mostly on the iOS cellular apps. The precise steps and person interface within the Android apps might fluctuate.

How you can Go Reside on Fb by way of the Fb Cellular App

Step 1: Go to the profile, Web page, group, or occasion the place you wish to go dwell.

Step 2: Click on “What’s in your thoughts?” to open publish choices.

Step 3: Click on “Reside video” within the publish choices.

Step 4: Faucet the place it says “Faucet so as to add an outline” so as to add details about the video. You may also tag pals or different pages, a location, or a sense/exercise.

Word: By default, the video will go to the Fb Story, however this may be modified to a gaggle when performing as a Web page.

Step 5: Faucet “Go Reside.” After you’re accomplished, faucet “End” to finish the dwell stream.

How you can Go Reside on Fb by way of Meta Enterprise Suite Cellular App

The Meta Enterprise Suite app is an alternative choice for going dwell from a Fb Web page. This app can not be used to broadcast on private profiles.

Step 1: Within the Meta Enterprise Suite app, choose the Web page you wish to go dwell on by clicking the emblem/picture subsequent to residence on the app residence display.

Step 2: With that chosen, click on the blue plus (+) signal button on the backside of the display to open your publish choices.

Step 3: Choose “Reside.”

Step 4: Add an outline to your video. You possibly can tag pals or different pages, location info, or a sense/exercise.

Step 5: Faucet “Go Reside.” If you’re accomplished, faucet “end” to finish your broadcast.

How you can Go Reside on Fb from a Internet Browser

You go dwell from an online browser utilizing your laptop’s built-in digicam or an exterior digicam and streaming software program (additionally referred to as an encoder like Restream).

Comply with these steps:

Step 1: In your Fb homepage, it is best to see a “Reside” or “Reside Video” choice. If you’re on a profile, it is going to be underneath “What’s in your thoughts?” The icon is a crimson digicam.

Step 2: Select to “Go dwell.” You may also “Create dwell video occasion” for the longer term on this web page.

Step 3: Fill out the small print to your video.

Should you’re utilizing your webcam, this contains what video and audio instruments you’ll use in addition to your video title and outline. It’s additionally the place you choose the place you need your video to be posted. You possibly can select from:

• Your timeline
• A Web page you handle
• A Group you’re in

If utilizing a streaming service, you’ll fill out your title, description, and site, however Fb will offer you a streaming key to make use of in your encoder. Take this key again to your streaming service and full the required setup steps there utilizing it.

Step 4: Click on “Go Reside” within the backside left nook if you end up prepared.

Professional tip: Throughout your broadcast, you should use the “dashboard” web page to create polls for viewers, view and reply to feedback, and total handle and improve your engagement.

Actual-time engagement like that is what makes dwell content material thrilling and completely different, so don’t shrug it off.

I do know that every time I’ve gone dwell on Fb, audiences have cherished listening to responses to their questions or feedback verbally on the published. (And I can’t lie; I’ve cherished listening to them throughout broadcasts I’ve watched.)

Extra on the instruments Fb has accessible to make your broadcast extra participating in our subsequent part.

Fb Reside Instruments

Fb provides many options so that you can additional join together with your viewers throughout your broadcast.

Using these instruments will assist enhance engagement and create the absolute best expertise to your viewers. You possibly can combine and match them to serve your stream in the easiest way for what you are promoting.

• Reside Polls: You possibly can create a dwell ballot beforehand to share if you go dwell. Then, you’ll be able to see your viewers’s responses in actual time through the stream and use outcomes to spark dwell dialogue.
• Featured Hyperlinks: Including one or a number of featured hyperlinks to the stream to advertise your web site or different sources.
• Reside in Tales: These assist you to share your streams on to Fb Tales to succeed in extra of your viewers.
• Reside Remark Moderation: Handle the dialog in your dwell stream’s feedback. With this function, you’ll be able to restrict who can remark and the way regularly. You possibly can even select a selected viewer to reasonable feedback in your behalf.
• Entrance Row: This function permits you to spotlight your high followers in a particular part of your stream. You may give them a particular shoutout to indicate appreciation for them whilst you’re dwell.
• Badges: These are a measure of how a lot your followers are participating together with your content material. Followers can earn badges by interacting together with your content material, whether or not it is sending “Stars” or tuning in to your Fb Reside movies.
• Donations: Certified pages in sure areas can add a “Donate” button to their dwell video. Nonprofits utilizing Fb’s cost platform don’t must pay a charge, in order that they get 100% of the donations.
• Reside With: It is a co-broadcasting function that permits you to host your Fb Reside video with a number of visitors.
• Reside Buying: When you’ve got merchandise on the market on Fb, this function permits you to add product listings to function throughout your livestream.
• Messenger Rooms broadcast: You possibly can flip your Messenger Rooms into co-hosted Fb Lives with as much as 50 individuals.
• In-stream Adverts: In-stream adverts are robotically added to the streams you add as a technique to monetize your content material.
• Subscriptions on Reside: Your audiences can subscribe to your content material and get unique advantages as a part of their subscription.

For extra assist with going dwell on Fb, try our video:

Keep in mind that a dwell stream recording can also be printed to the property the place you went dwell. That content material is nice as a result of you’ll be able to download and repurpose it for further use.

How you can Analyze Your Fb Reside Video Efficiency

Fb Reside video insights provide help to find out how individuals work together together with your dwell streams so you’ll be able to optimize your dwell technique for max influence.

The efficiency analytics accessible for Fb Reside movies are just like these of regular movies on Fb, with some neat additions.

• Video efficiency: An summary of your whole video views and engagements (likes, shares, feedback, and so on.), minutes considered, and internet new followers. ;
• Benchmarking: A comparability of your Reside metrics to different creators and companies in the identical business
• Viewers: An summary of viewers demographics (biographical info) and different stats like progress fee, variety of follower video views, and non-follower video views.
• Loyalty: These are stats to your variety of returning viewers, the movies that encourage individuals to return to your web page, and the variety of engaged followers in your Reside.
• Retention: You may be taught the place your viewers are coming from, the visitors sources that drive essentially the most watch time, and the way lengthy individuals watch (by 3-second, 15-second, and 1-minute views).
• Earnings: These stats present how a lot you earn throughout your movies from in-stream adverts, CPM, RPM, monetizable 1-minute views, and cash earned from Stars given by subscribers (if relevant).

Probably the most complete efficiency information to your Fb Reside movies will be present in Meta Business Suite:

However I wouldn’t blame you if it will get somewhat overwhelming; there’s a variety of info there.

For a fast pulse on how my content material is doing on Fb, I often click on the insights button beneath particular person posts.

How you can Entry Video Analytics on a Fb Enterprise Web page

Step 1: Head to the left-hand column of your web page and choose Meta Enterprise Suite.

Step 2: Choose Insights from the left-hand aspect menu.

Step 3: Click on, “content material,” then set your media kind to “video”

Step 4: Dive deeper into your insights by choosing filters and scrolling down the web page. (Word: We didn‘t have any movies posted to the web page we used on this instance. Should you do have movies, you’ll see them seem right here.)

Step 5: To view insights for a selected video, click on on the video title in your content material checklist. From right here you’ll be able to view metrics from when the published was dwell in addition to over its whole lifetime.

Ideas and Tips for Getting the Most Out of Fb Reside

Now that you simply‘ve mastered easy methods to livestream on Fb, let’s talk about some suggestions and methods on making your dwell content material the very best it may be.

The very last thing you need is to start out a dwell video and freeze up. If you’re dwell, there are not any do-overs or probabilities to start out over. So, put together your self or your host as a lot as attainable.

Define what you wish to talk within the video, then observe the remainder of the guidelines beneath.

Want some inspiration? Try these great examples of Facebook Live videos to assist get your inventive juices stream.

Fb Reside Ideas

1. Brush up on Fb Reside finest practices.
2. Check out dwell video earlier than broadcasting dwell.
3. Don’t go dwell too regularly.
4. Preserve reintroducing your self.
5. Lean into standard matters
6. Make the video visually participating.
7. Roll with the surprising.
8. Don’t be concerned about errors or stutters.
9. Encourage viewers to “Like” and “Share” the video on air.
10. Interact with commenters and point out them by identify.
11. Work with a moderator.
12. Subtitle your broadcast within the feedback part.
13. Ask viewers to activate Fb Reside notifications.
14. Broadcast for no less than half-hour.
15. Finish with subsequent steps
16. Add a hyperlink to the outline later.
17. Repurpose your dwell video content material.

1. Brush up on Fb Reside finest practices.

Entrepreneurs have a lot alternative to succeed in a wider viewers on Fb Reside, so it is price committing to studying easy methods to run a Reside successfully.

In our detailed Marketer’s Guide to Facebook Live, we cowl important finest practices on easy methods to plan, run, and analyze the outcomes of a business-run Fb Reside. Obtain our free eBook to brush up on these finest practices.

2. Check out dwell video earlier than broadcasting dwell.

If you wish to experiment with dwell broadcasting with out sharing it with anybody else, you’ll be able to create a check broadcast by adjusting the viewers to be simply you or a colleague or pal.

To do that, toggle Create a check broadcast earlier than going dwell into the on place after you begin the method of making a dwell video, outlined here in Step 2.

3. Don’t go dwell too regularly.

The artwork of organic reach on Facebook has modified over time, however it does nonetheless exist. Reside video generally is a highly effective instrument in natural attain, as customers will be notified of the content material.

However don’t abuse this. Solely go dwell if you’re ready to supply true worth to viewers.

Should you go dwell too regularly with nothing to indicate, individuals will start to tune you out or, worse, unfollow you.

4. Preserve reintroducing your self.

If you first begin the video, take a minute to introduce your self and what the video’s about, however don’t do it simply as soon as.

If you first begin dwell streaming, you will have zero individuals watching. Even a number of seconds in, you possibly can solely have a handful of viewers.

As individuals discover your video on their newsfeeds or see the notification within the app, they‘ll take part regularly. So, to catch individuals up, you’ll wish to reintroduce your self a second, third, and even fourth time.

Cosmetics model Benefit does a great job with this for the primary jiffy of its broadcast:

5. Lean into standard matters.

Unsure what to speak about it if you go dwell? In accordance with Statista the preferred forms of dwell streaming movies in the US are these associated to breaking information.

As a enterprise, you’ll be able to monitor business information and reply or add to the dialog on Fb Reside.

Different standard choices embody humorous movies and how-to’s.

6. Make the video visually participating.

You need to be visually participating — not simply on the very starting of your broadcast (though that’ll be vital for when people view the video later), however all through the video as an increasing number of individuals take part.

It ought to be no shock that Martha Stewart is a grasp of that.

I really like the colourful graphic she begins her video with (which additionally acts as its thumbnail) and the fashionable set on which the published takes place. She makes use of quite a lot of props and angles to maintain the video attention-grabbing.

The extra visually participating you will be, the extra you’ll be able to entice individuals to stay round and actually focus.

Facebook started monitoring signals of video engagement — like turning on the audio, switching to full-screen mode, or enabling excessive definition — deciphering that as customers having fun with the video.

In case your video engagement is sweet, Fb is extra more likely to present it in additional newsfeeds.

7. Roll with the surprising.

What makes a dwell video particular? The spontaneous, interactive nature of it.

Folks love the power to work together and even influence what occurs in a dwell broadcast.

These moments make dwell video particular and differentiate it from scripted, edited, or in any other case pre-recorded movies.

So, embrace the platform. Plan your principal speaking factors, however don’t run off a script and be able to pivot with the surprising.

That mentioned …

8. Don’t be concerned about errors or stutters.

Hear, we’re all human. When people and expertise combine, there can generally be technical difficulties.

Actually, that’s one of many positives I feel got here out of lockdown. With distant work and digital conferences from residence, all of us grew to become somewhat bit extra comfy with little interruptions or mishaps.

Should you‘re recording a dwell video, issues would possibly go flawed — your gear might malfunction, you possibly can lose your practice of thought, or you possibly can get photobombed by a random passerby.

If issues occur, you’ll be able to’t name “lower” — it’s a must to roll with them and maintain filming and speaking.

The excellent news? This stuff assist maintain your broadcast human and actual.

In case your cellphone wobbles whereas filming, snicker and name it out. Should you neglect what you had been saying, make a joke.

The hot button is to maintain the published like a enjoyable dialog, so if errors occur, maintain it gentle and maintain the traces of communication open together with your viewers.

9. Encourage viewers to “Like” and “Share” the video on air.

One of many main methods Fb‘s algorithm ranks a publish is by how many individuals “Like” and “Share” it. The extra individuals who do, the extra it’ll present up in individuals’s newsfeeds.

When individuals are watching a video, they might be extra distracted from “liking” and “sharing” than they might be with a static publish.

That is really one thing the folks at Facebook noticed about video content material early on, so don’t be afraid to say it verbally throughout your broadcast and even show the message on the display.

10. Interact with commenters and point out them by identify.

The variety of feedback in your broadcast is one other technique to get Fb to give it a higher relevancy score — one other nice technique to get into newsfeeds.

So, encourage your viewers to remark by asking questions like Tastemade does on this video:

Interact with people who find themselves commenting by answering their questions and calling them out by identify. Not solely will it get extra individuals to remark, however it’s additionally a enjoyable technique to embody your viewers within the dwell expertise and make it extra memorable.

11. Work with a moderator.

If you‘re the one on digicam for a Fb Reside video, it’s actually onerous to concentrate to all of the feedback popping up on the display.

If the feedback are coming in quick, it‘s particularly simple to lose sight of them as they disappear beneath the fold. Plus, you’re in all probability occupied by recording and entertaining viewers.

Due to this, it is at all times a good suggestion to have a further particular person logged into the first account to observe the feedback on a desktop laptop.

That method, they’ll maintain responding so the particular person recording the video can consider creating an amazing expertise.

12. Subtitle your broadcast within the feedback part.

Your viewers could also be tuning out and in to observe your video through the work day, or they may merely be watching your video with out sound. Some individuals might even have listening to limitations.

Regardless of the purpose, periodically subtitling your Fb Reside video within the feedback part is a good way to maintain individuals engaged and make your content material extra accessible.

This additionally permits people who find themselves tuning in late to atone for what is going on on.

Instruments like Verbit can assist.

13. Ask viewers to activate Fb Reside notifications.

Along with asking for likes, shares, and feedback, ask viewers to subscribe to dwell notifications. You may also ask them to “like” your model on Fb in the event that they haven’t already accomplished so.

This will increase the probability of their being notified of your subsequent dwell broadcast.

14. Broadcast for no less than half-hour.

As quickly as you start recording your dwell video, you‘ll slowly however certainly present up in individuals’s newsfeeds.

The longer you broadcast — particularly as likes, feedback, and shares begin coming in — the extra doubtless individuals are to find your video and share it with their pals.

As a result of timing is such an vital issue for engagement in these dwell movies, Facebook suggests going dwell for no less than half-hour. Nevertheless, you’ll be able to keep dwell for as much as 4 hours utilizing the Fb cellular app and eight hours utilizing a desktop.

Bloomberg Enterprise repeatedly goes dwell on Fb for hours at a time:

15. Finish with subsequent steps

Earlier than you finish your dwell broadcast, remember to end with a closing line, like “Thanks for watching” or “I will be going dwell once more quickly.” This retains your dwell video pleasant and conversational.

Whilst you’re at it, give the viewer steerage on their subsequent step. What ought to they do with the knowledge they only acquired out of your video? Would you like them to subscribe? Make a purchase order? Now’s the time to share that decision to motion.

16. Add a hyperlink to the outline later.

As soon as you’ve got completed the dwell broadcast, you’ll be able to at all times return and edit the outline, change the privateness settings, or delete the video, identical to you’ll every other publish.

You possibly can add a trackable hyperlink to the outline within the publish, which might direct future viewers to your dwell video sequence web page, the positioning of no matter marketing campaign you are utilizing the video to advertise, or elsewhere.

We hope this has been a useful information. We’ll maintain you posted with any new developments and suggestions for connecting together with your viewers in different cool methods.

17. Repurpose your dwell video content material.

To maximise the attain of your streams, it can save you your movies after which add them to your profile. You may also repurpose the movies by sharing clips as profile highlights and creating quick movies to share on different channels like Instagram Tales and even TikTok movies.

Professional tip: Brief on time? AI can assist you repurpose. For instance, OpusClip can assist throughout any video into bite-sized clips for social media. Or you’ll be able to transcribe utilizing ChatGPT then use HubSpot’s Content Remix to create social media posts and weblog articles amongst different issues.

Use Fb Reside to its full potential.

Social media might have been invented for enjoyable, however it’s grown into an important enterprise instrument. Fb as a social community is very beneficial for the methods it enables you to hook up with an viewers, and Fb Reside is a good extension of that.

Use it to the good thing about what you are promoting as a technique to promote your product, construct model consciousness, or develop your viewers.

Editor’s notice: This publish was initially printed in Might 2020 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.