Episode 127
The Facebook Live Show
February 9, 2018 · Mike Murphy
EP127: THE FACEBOOK LIVE SHOW Today is Part 3 of 3 Social Media Mini-Series. Episode Summary: What is Facebook Live? How do you use it? What type of Facebook Lives can you create if you are a personal brand, content creator or small business?
Episode Summary: The final part of a 3-part social media mini-series with livestreaming expert Ross Brand — this episode covers Facebook Live: what it is, how to use it, and content ideas for personal brands and small businesses.
What You’ll Learn
- What Facebook Live is and how to go live from both mobile and desktop
- The tools available for professional-grade Facebook Live production in 2018
- A long list of content ideas for Facebook Live shows, from Q&As to behind-the-scenes
- A tip for repurposing Facebook Live recordings into podcast episodes
Part 3 of the social media series with special guest Ross Brand from LivestreamUniverse.com — Episode 125 covered LinkedIn and Episode 126 covered Twitter.
Special Guest: Ross Brand
Ross Brand is a pioneer in the livestreaming field, transitioning from terrestrial radio to founding LivestreamUniverse.com, where he showcases and empowers other live video creators — including his own shows, Ross & Nez and Livestream Universe’s Best of BeLive.TV. Named the world’s #1 livestreaming expert to follow by Klout and one of “5 live video experts to follow” by Switcher Studio, Ross has spoken at Summit Live, Summit on Content Marketing, and NYU’s Division of Programs in Business.
What Is Facebook Live?
A livestream, by definition, is a live broadcast of an event over the internet. Facebook Live is Facebook’s feature for sharing live video directly on the News Feed in real time — viewers can join, comment, and interact live, and the video saves to the timeline as a replay afterward. It rolled out to beta testers in August 2015 and opened to the public in January 2016.
How to Use Facebook Live
On mobile: open Facebook, tap “Live” from the post-creation screen, add a title and description, optionally add emojis or effects, invite a friend to co-host if desired, and tap Start Live Video. Shoot in landscape mode when possible.
On desktop or laptop:
- For full professional production: Wirecast by Telestream ($700-1,000) or OBS Studio (free, open-source).
- Browser-based, easy setup: BeLive.TV ($12-20/month).
- Mac/Windows app, easy setup: ECamm Live ($40, one-time).
Mobile is the simplest way to go live. For TV-studio-quality production, Wirecast or OBS Studio are the tools to explore. For something professional but easy — especially with guests or screen sharing — BeLive.TV or ECamm Live are strong picks. Whichever route, a decent HD webcam and microphone round things out, and all of these tools make syncing external gear straightforward.
Types of Facebook Live Shows
There are no fixed rules — content should align with the brand and connect with the target audience, or lean entertaining, interesting, and informative if there’s no audience yet. Ideas:
- Q&A sessions — gather questions in advance on other channels, explain the topic while waiting for more to come in, and keep a consistent schedule.
- Bring people along — livestream from Podfest, Podcast Movement, a sporting event, a concert, or any live event with commentary.
- Vlog-style/behind-the-scenes — livestream a workout (health space), an open house (real estate), a recording setup (podcasters), a workspace tour (designers, artists, writers), a lighting/camera setup (video makers), an unboxing, or a trip.
- A recurring live show — as Gary Vaynerchuk often says, brands need to act like media companies. Start a weekly show with a co-host, daily news updates, weekly reviews, community spotlights, live coaching calls, or design/editing tutorials.
Bonus tip: turn a finished Facebook Live recording into a podcast episode — strip the audio, clean it up, publish it, and share clips of the video across social channels too.
Q&A With Ross Brand
Is Facebook Live beginner-friendly, or does it require broadcast experience?
“Absolutely. I would recommend anybody who’s just starting out livestreaming to go to Facebook Live as your first destination, because you have your friends, you have your family there — it’s the easiest place to build an audience. And if you have a business page and you livestream there, you already have people who’ve kind of opted into wanting to see your content and learn about your business. It’s much harder to build an audience for newcomers on YouTube and Periscope and some of the other platforms.”
How do you manage a livestream — especially if nobody shows up, and how do you get people to interact?
“That’s a common fear a lot of people have — what if I go live and nobody shows up? You execute the game plan that you came up with. Whatever it was that you wanted to talk about, you talk about, and then people may find you on the replay — replays often get more views. You also use it as an opportunity to develop your skill. When I first started out, I honestly hoped not too many people showed up, because it was a chance to make some mistakes without it being seen by as many people. Look at it as an opportunity to learn, but once you commit to going live, even if nobody shows up, you do what you planned to do. You may not stay on quite as long, but don’t just hang up because attendance is low — everybody who watches is valuable, so acknowledge them, ask them questions, make it an engaging broadcast even if it’s just for one person.”
Is Facebook Live a passing trend, or does livestreaming on the platform have real staying power?
“I think it’s only going to continue to get more popular, because as Facebook makes it harder and harder for businesses to get traction in their news feed, live video is one thing that still generates a lot of conversation and engagement. It’s an opportunity to get your business and your brand in front of a lot more people by going live rather than posting an image or text, which just doesn’t facilitate the same kind of conversation that live video does.”