Facebook Live: a tool or distraction?

The new media is not stopping. The famous social media network Facebook has added yet another empowering feature for publishers, enthusiasts, personalities, bloggers, news agencies and practically to anybody to broadcast live. Facebook live broadcast is now enabled in the Philippines.

Will you leave Youtube for Facebook Live broadcast? Let’s find out.

So, what is Facebook Live?

It is the latest feature enabled by Facebook allowing anybody to do live video broadcast to connect and interact.

You can use your smartphone to share a moment instantly through a live video feed

According to Facebook:

Since launching Facebook Live last summer to public figures via our Mentions app and more recently to everyone in the US using our iOS and Android apps we’ve been surprised and delighted with how people are using live video to connect and interact with each other all over the world. People are letting their friends discover their hobbies. Parents are using it to share moments in their kids’ lives with their extended families. Athletes are giving people a window into their training. Chefs are bringing their fans into their kitchen. Journalists are hosting global conversations on topics they care about. Aspiring musicians can now put on a live concert for their friends. Many people all over the world are using Facebook Live in many different ways to talk to and interact with the people that matter most to them.

How to enable Facebook live broadcast

Getting an updated Facebook app enables the feature. If you are on iOS, just go to the App store and update your app. On Android, you should go to Google play and update to the latest version of Facebook.

Once your app is updated you can start broadcasting.

Here’s how it looks like in the mobile app.

How to start broadcasting

To start broadcasting, choose the Facebook Page you want to use for the broadcast, click post and wait until you see the newly-added icon. You will see the fourth icon added aside from photo, emoji, and location. Tap the LIVE icon and name your live broadcast. Wait until you are properly connected to the server and then you are live.

Now: Facebook Live on Facebook page

When this feature was rolled out, it was initially available to public figures in the US. They used this medium to communicate to their fans and followers. Locally, this was made available first through the media outlets. Currently, you can enable this on your Facebook page.

Next: Live for Groups and Events

Could this be the future of online press conference? Why not. When Facebook Live is enabled for (Facebook) Groups and Events, brands, groups, enthusiasts, family, offices, and practically anybody on Facebook can do the live broadcast on Groups and Events pages.

Interactive for audience

The receiving end of this feature was also considered by Facebook. That’s why it is interactive which makes it fun too. The audience can express their feelings with live reactions.

So the audience is also empowered as they can express their emotions through the reaction icons when they say Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad or Angry!

According to Facebook:

Live Reactions appear in real time and disappear quickly so broadcasters and other viewers can get a sense of how people are feeling at different points during the live video – it’s like hearing the crowd applaud and cheer. When your friend reacts to your video or to a video you are both watching together you’ll see their profile pic and a little starburst before their reaction appears.

The audience can really be interactive and very vocal during your broadcast. This was noted by Facebook in their study that with Facebook Live, people comment more than 10 times versus the regular Facebook video posted.

Filters are enabled too

Your broadcast should not be a boring episode. So Facebook allows you to broadcast in full color or monochrome, or any color from the filter enabled.

In the future, Facebook will also enable the broadcaster to doodle in their image.

Subscribe! Please…

For you to get notification from your favorite Facebook personalities, brands, blogs or news outfits, you can hit the subscribe button during the live broadcast. Facebook will notify you once another broadcast is happening.

Facebook Live Map

Why limit yourself in the live broadcasts of your favorite personalities or brands. Check the map and find out where are the other live events in other places.

To find out other Facebook Live broadcast type this on your browser — https://www.facebook.com/livemap

Metrics for Facebook Live broadcast available

This is the digital world and almost everything you do can be measured. So this is good news to publishers — you can measure how well you did in your broadcast because Facebook Live is not a complete experience without the numbers. With the metrics, the broadcaster will be able to know the total number of unique people who watched the video while it was live, and also a visual representation of the number of viewers during each moment of the live broadcast.

To know the metrics of your broadcast you can visit the Page Insights and your Video Library.

Can you monetize your content?

Youtube videos can be monetized through Google Adsense. Ads can pop-up at the bottom of the screen or take over the whole screen before the video starts. With Facebook, we have not heard of this development yet.

So the quick answer is not yet. But we are sure that this will be also enabled in the future. Of course, the giant social media network also wants to get a big share of what Youtube is enjoying right now.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Facebook Live brings another reason for people not to leave the famous social networking site. You will be hooked again to this new development. For publishers, bloggers, news agencies, and PRs, you can make use of this tool to communicate to your audience.

In a place like Metro Manila with traffic is terrific, Facebook Live can help in holding quick press conferences, meetings, webinars, collaborations and many others.

Just like any other tools, Facebook Live can either make or break you. Either you use this as a tool to help you in anyway your life will improve or just distract you by watching non-sense broadcast. You have a choice.

Finally, we would like to share with you the Facebook Live event by FB’s Chief Product Officer Chris Cox below:

https://www.facebook.com/facebook/videos/10154558273596729/

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