How to Optimize Facebook Live Video

As you plan, ask yourself the following questions:

• How will I drive tune-in to the Facebook Live video?
• Will my Facebook Live broadcast keep my audience engaged throughout? How can I make it more engaging?
• What can I do to increase the “shelf life” of the Facebook Live video?

As you prepare your news story, here are some considerations to keep in mind for the Facebook Live broadcast:

Drive Tune-In
Just as television networks drive tune-in to their shows and specials via on-air promos, you should also consider the ways in which you are informing your fans about when you’ll be going live. Though this may not always work given some Facebook Live broadcasts will cover breaking news stories, giving fans insight into when you’ll be going live next will help drive anticipation for your broadcast.

Some things you can do include:

• Post a quick message on your Facebook page announcing when you’ll be going live, along with a short description of what you’ll be covering.
• When possible, schedule your Live broadcast ahead of time on your Page to inform audiences of an upcoming stream. In certain cases, scheduled broadcasts may earn more distribution, and help drive loyalty and intent.

Check Your WiFi Connection
Before going live, we recommend ensuring you have a strong WiFi or internet connection to avoid any interruptions during the Live broadcast.

Give People Time to Join
Many viewers may tune-in during the first couple of minutes of the broadcast. To ensure they don’t miss any of the action, wait to start your coverage until you have a sizable audience.

Interact With Your Audience
The power of Facebook Live lies in the immediate interaction you can have with your audience throughout the broadcast in real-time. Take advantage of the tools available via Facebook Live to increase audience participation - learn more about these tools in Tools to Use on Facebook Live: Rooms to Live, Premieres & Live Clipping and in Tools to Use on Facebook Live: Live Polling, Comment Moderation & Graphics. During the broadcast, remind viewers that they can submit questions as comments and try connecting with them on a personal level by mentioning viewers’ names when responding.

Consider the Quality of Your Content
Our Community Standards apply to live video, just as they do with other types of content on Facebook. These are our high-level rules against sexual, violent, profane or hateful content. Content that violates our policies will be removed. If you are broadcasting from a Page, Group or Event, our Pages, Groups and Events policies apply to you. We also don’t allow static images or looping videos to be a broadcast as these aren’t real live video formats.

Think About Video Length
Research has shown that people on Facebook find value in longer videos that have a storyline. In addition, longer videos provide more time for users to tune-in.

Extend the Reach of the Broadcast Beyond the Live Airing
While Facebook Live allows you to connect with your audience in real-time around an important news story or timely coverage, you can continue to leverage it in the hours and days after the broadcast. From it, you can create snackable content via our live clipping tools - such as short-form clips, longer form recaps, and GIFs - that you can then re-upload onto your Facebook page. You can also re-upload your video content and monetize it as video on demand.