Life without personal live streaming seems like eons ago, but in reality, it’s only been a year since Periscope and Meerkat were the hot new tools on the market. “Go live from ANYWHERE!” they told us.” With “they” being Silicon Valley geniuses and “us” being mere mortals, thirsty for anything to make our public lives even more accessible.
Enter Facebook Live, the OG social network’s answer to live webcasting, which in just nine short months, has made those other platforms about as relevant as quoting Charlie Sheen’s “Winning!” in regular conversation. Facebook Live has made brands more accessible, media companies more available, and a celebrity out of a mom laughing in a Chewbacca mask. Of course, Facebook won’t stop there—take a look at the platform additions they just announced:
- You can now broadcast from your laptop or desktop. So long, weebly-wobbly camera movements, and so long motion sickness!
- Contributor Status for Pages. Geared mostly toward publishers, this update will come in handy for outlets looking to go live from different events. For brands, this is a great way to facilitate influencer takeovers and partner campaigns.
- Video Insights for Profiles. Facebook is famous—in social media circles at least—for having top-notch analytics for Pages. This is great for brands, as it allows for in-depth reporting and thoughtful advertising strategy. With this new feature, personal profiles will benefit from live video insights as well. Get ready for more Chewbacca moms!
- Live Comment Pinning. In an effort to allow brands more control over the comments section of their live videos, this update will create a more curated discussion for those watching and participating. Users will now have the ability to pin comments to the top of the video’s thread in order to highlight specific audience members.
- Video Permalink for Pages. This feature is great news for brands looking to drive traffic to live videos currently in progress. Using the URL convention “facebook.com/pagename/videos” when promoting the broadcast will bring viewers right to the video in session.
- Cross-Posting of Previous Live Videos. Most marketers know that cross-promotion is key when developing a multi-layered marketing strategy. Now, Facebook will allow pages to post a recently completed live video to multiple pages at the same time, therefore enabling brands to make the most of their content.
With all these new updates, one can’t help but wonder—are we still thirsty for more?
Do you think Facebook Live’s expanded capabilities will help boost the platform? Tweet us @socialfly and let us know!
