Facebook Lives are among the best ways to engage your audience, build a relationship with them, and grow your brand. Add to it the fact that Facebook live videos have a two billion+ viewer base and get 6x more engagement and 10x more comments than regular videos, and you’ll understand why Live Streams should be a part of your marketing strategy.
To help you jump on the bandwagon and leverage this tool, we’ve prepared an extensive guide complete with Facebook Live tips, examples, and the basics of getting started. Stick with us to the end, and we’ll also tell you how you can make the most out of your live videos—by repurposing and editing them using a simple and easy-to-use tool like InVideo.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
1. How to go live on Facebook
2. 10 ideas for your next Facebook Live video
3. 9 tips for doing Facebook Lives successfully
4. How to repurpose your Facebook Live videos
Let’s begin!
A. How to go live on Facebook
First off, let’s understand how to do a Facebook Live.
You can go live from your phone or computer, and the experience in both is slightly different. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown for you:
1. How to go live from your phone
There are two ways you can start a Facebook live from your phone:
Using the Facebook app
Step 1: Go to the Page, Group, Event, or profile you want to go live from.
Step 2: Tap What’s on your mind if you’re on a profile or Create a post if you’re on a page.
Step 3: Click on Live video in the post options.
Step 4: Click Tap to add a description to write a description explaining what your video is about.
Step 5: Click on the magic wand icon to use a filter in your live video and the three horizontal lines to explore more features like adding a link to your website or restricting comments.
Step 6: When you’re ready, click on the Go Live button to start the Livestream.
Step 7: Tap Finish in the bottom-right corner when you want to end the broadcast.
Using the Creator Studio app
Step 1: On the Home or Posts tab, click on the pen and paper icon in the top-right corner.
Step 2: Select Live from the post options.
Step 3: Add a description for your live video.
Step 4: Tap Start live video when you’re ready.
Step 5: Click Finish to end the Livestream when you're done.
2. How to go live from your computer
You can go live using your computer’s in-built camera and microphone or use streaming software like StreamLabs and BeLive for more engaging and interactive features like custom backgrounds, overlays, and branding elements like your logo.
Either way, you’ll be taken to the Live Producer tool first when going live from your computer or laptop.
Using your webcam
Step 1: Go to the Page, Group, Event, or profile you want to go live from.
Step 2: Click on Live Video below What’s on your mind if you’re on a personal account or the Live icon next to Create if you’re on a business page?
Step 3: You’ll then be taken to the Facebook Live Producer. Here, select whether you want to broadcast to your timeline or a page or a group.
Step 4: Click on Create live video to go live now or schedule your Live Video for a later date and time.
Step 5: Under video source, click on Webcam.
Step 6: Under the Add post details section on the right-hand side, write a title and description for your live video, so users know what it’s about. You can also add your location and a thumbnail for your video here.
Step 7: Use the Audience settings feature to filter who can see your live broadcast—like users above a specific age group or from a particular location.
Step 8: When you’re ready, click on the Go live button in the bottom left to start the broadcast.
Using a streaming service
If you use streaming software to go live on Facebook, the first few steps will be the same as above. All you have to do is select Streaming Software instead of webcam in the video source.
Then, it’ll give you your unique stream key, which you have to copy and paste into your streaming service’s settings. Every streaming software’s requirements may vary, so it’s best to check your particular software to understand how to set up the live.
After doing this, add a title and description and configure your audience settings the same way. Once your streaming source is connected successfully, you’ll be able to click on the Go live button and start your broadcast.
When you’re done, click on the red End Broadcast button below the comments and moderation tools to end your Livestream. You can then go ahead and repurpose your Livestream by saving and editing it to post on other platforms, including Facebook itself. Check out the Facebook video templates on InVideo to create thumb-stopping content for your brand or business.
3. Going live from Messenger Rooms
What’s interesting about Facebook Lives is that you can also turn a Messenger Room video call into a live broadcast. This can be a great way to give your fans and followers a peek into your brand, involve them in fun and casual company meet-ups, and even announce things like a sale or product launch.
The caveat is that you can only go live from a Messenger Room if you’re its creator and are using the Google Chrome browser.
Then, here’s how to go live from your Messenger Room on your computer:
Step 1: In your Messenger Room, click on Live in the upper-right corner.
Step 2: Add a title for your live video (optional).
Step 3: Choose where you want to broadcast your live video—your timeline, a Page, or group.
Step 4: Select your audience and tap Next.
Step 5: Participants then get the option to confirm or leave the room. You can’t broadcast live until this step is completed—the room creator can also remove participants who don’t respond to proceed.
Step 6: Click Start to go live.
Step 7: When you’re done, click Live in the upper-right corner and then End.
Those were all the ways you can go live on Facebook. Now, let’s explore some exciting Facebook Live ideas to inspire your next (or first) live video.
B. 10 ideas for your next Facebook Live video
Whether it’s to build brand awareness, strengthen relationships with fans and customers, or promote your products and boost sales, you can use FB Live videos in a variety of ways to help your bottom line.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Idea #1 - Product launches
An underutilized but effective strategy to create buzz around your upcoming product (and get some pre-orders) or simply promote your most recent launches is to do a Facebook live.
Go on-air to show off your new product and tell viewers what it does and how to use it. For brownie points, you can also take up any questions they may have about the product towards the end of the live.
Benefit Cosmetics did a good job with this—they went live to promote a new product, highlighting its features, ingredients, and the results it brings. What’s more, they even added a link to their product on the live so viewers could take action and purchase it then and there. Refer to this guide to learn more about Live Shopping on Facebook.
Once your live has ended, save the video and create short one minute videos from the whole clip to post before your product’s launch on Instagram and Facebook. Check out this product launch template on InVideo that you can use to repurpose clips from your Facebook live to create a thumb-stopping video for your socials.
Idea #2 - Q&A session
One of the simplest ideas for an FB Live is to do a quick, value-packed Q&A session with your audience.
Hop on a live and give your followers a chance to ask their most pressing questions and get to know you better. By answering their questions, you’ll also get an opportunity to showcase your knowledge and expertise, which can help build credibility and encourage more people to follow you or buy from you.
Benefit Cosmetics is a great example of this, too—they hosted an entire live to answer any brow makeup-related questions their followers had.
The Q&A format works especially well if you have an established user base that engages with you enthusiastically—this will ensure your live sees a good turnout and that your viewers keep the questions coming in, making the session a fruitful one.
Just make sure to call people out by their name, so they know you’re answering their questions. You can also source questions from your audience in advance by putting out an Instagram or Facebook story or post asking them to drop in questions they’d like you to address. To create a promotional Facebook story, check out this easy-to-edit template from InVideo and customize it for your brand:
Idea #3 - Tutorials & How-to’s
Whether you’re a chef, baker, makeup artist—any professional creator or brand, a Facebook Live teaching viewers how to do something (like making a particular recipe or using a makeup technique) can be a great way to educate, entertain, and engage your audience.
Martha Stewart’s FB Live series “Martha Bakes” is an excellent example here. She used to pick one recipe per live and demonstrate how to go about it, creating an exciting experience for all cooking enthusiasts.
As this example shows, what makes live tutorial videos a great idea is their authenticity factor.
Pre-recorded, polished tutorials and how-to videos often skip the challenges people face. But with lives, you’re performing the task in front of the viewers and giving them a realistic picture of the process, potential problems that may arise, their solutions, and the results. You can even share quick tips with viewers while demonstrating to keep them glued to your video.
And of course you can always share the saved live video as a separate tutorial later on. This helps you create two pieces of content from a single video. Simply add your logo, an intro and outro using a tool such as InVideo and you can easily share the Facebook live tutorial on other long-form content channels such as YouTube.
Idea #4 - Product demos
A related but highly effective idea for a live is to give viewers a demonstration of your product.
Take them through its features, how it works, and its use cases to build interest around it and boost sales. When you’re done explaining, take up questions viewers may have about your product to overcome any obstacles and push them closer to a purchase.
This live video from Sephora spotlighting two of their products followed by a Q&A session is a good example of this.
You can also take a leaf out of Benefit Cosmetics’ book and add a link to purchase the product right in your live. And if you want to repurpose your live later on, here are some product demo templates from InVideo that you can use to effectively do so.
Idea #5 - Interviews with experts
What better way to use Facebook Lives than a talk show where you invite industry experts to discuss a topic and share their expertise?
Besides providing you with an enriching experience, this can provide immense value to your audience as you’ll bring them insights, tips, and tricks straight from industry leaders. It can also help you reach new people because you’ll get to tap into the audiences of your guests.
InVideo’s very own FB Live series, “Just Between You and Me,” is an excellent example of this. Our host, Steve Dotto, used to invite a new guest speaker every week and interview them on topics our audience wanted to know more about.
When starting your talk show, brainstorm a few topics you’d like to cover and think your audience would find valuable in advance.
While preparing for every episode, make a list of questions you’ll ask and brief the guest about them in advance—so you both know how the conversation will flow and stay on track. To make the chat more interactive and helpful, you can also open the floor to your viewers and take questions from them.
Pro tip: Start your live interview on a high note with an engaging and excitement-building introduction video, as done in the example above. You can customize one of InVideo’s templates for this or create a video from scratch using InVideo’s collection of stock images and videos. You can then add text, music, and a voice-over to complete your intro video to perfection. Then, just download it and share your screen when you go live from your desktop!
Idea #6 - Broadcast live events
If you’re hosting a conference, panel discussion, or seminar, live-streaming is the way to expand its reach and even make people who are not attending in-person feel like they’re a part of the event.
For instance, this is how Sephora took to FB live when legendary make-up artist Pat McGrath visited one of their stores.
Even if you’re just attending an event, see if you can Livestream important moments of it to engage your online audience and give them a glimpse of your work.
Idea #7 - Go live with an influencer
Teaming up with an influencer from your industry to provide never-heard-before information to your audience is a solid idea for a Facebook Live.
Your influencer doesn’t need to have a massive following—it can just be someone with a higher social media standing than you, so can you leverage their audience and boost brand awareness.
You can partner with an influencer who’s used your product and host a live chat with them where they talk about it and their experience. Or, take inspiration from Grazia UK, who went live with an influencer and nail salon founder to show their viewers some nail art ideas.
Liked the countdown shown at the start of this live? You can create a similar video using a template like this and share it with viewers before your live starts.
Idea #8 - Breaking news
Any industry-specific news or trend that affects your brand and audience should be aware of is good fodder for Facebook Live.
The best part about such live videos is that they require little preparation and no fancy set-up. You should chalk out what you want to say during the live, but you won’t have much time to prepare if you want to deliver the news on time.
Providing useful information to your audience regularly via short and quick lives can help you grow your brand, make users look forward to your content, and help you start a conversation and invite engagement on your page.
Idea #9 - Special announcements
On the same note, you can also ditch traditional formats and deliver company news through Facebook Live.
Whether you are shifting to a new office, expanding your team, have a sale coming up, or just restocked a product, a live can be an interesting way to announce the news and build excitement among viewers.
Taking the example of Benefit again—they’re doing an excellent job at using FB Lives to engage and educate their audience—here’s a live they did to announce their nomination at an award show and tell their fans to vote for them.
During the live, Annie even discussed why she felt they were nominated and what their brand started out to do and stands for—again, a great way to build a connection with your audience.
Idea #10 - Behind the scenes
One of the best ways to use FB Live is to give your fans a behind-the-scenes look at your brand—whether it’s through a day in the life video, or showing them your workspace, how you make your products, the people behind it, or teasing an upcoming product or event.
Besides making for engaging content, this can also help humanize your brand, bring it to life for your audience, and thus, build deeper connections with them.
This live video from Dunkin’ is an excellent example of this. It featured a chef of theirs, who took viewers through their training facility and told them about their brand story, history, and how they make delicious treats, making it a super interesting video to watch.
No matter what the idea, one thing all these Facebook Lives have in common is how entertaining and engaging they are. Keep the same in mind for your next live—be authentic, showcase your personality, and embrace mistakes if you make any, and you’ll provide viewers with a memorable experience. And don’t forget to save and repurpose your live videos for additional content without too much of an effort. Check out InVideo’s Facebook video editor to create multiple videos from your live session itself.
C. 9 tips for doing Facebook Lives successfully
The above examples would have got your creative juices flowing, but as you brainstorm ideas for your next live, keep these tips in mind to increase its chances of success:
Before you go live
Tip #1 - Understand what your audience wants
While the ideas above are evergreen and will give you a good head start, coming up with relevant ideas for Facebook Lives regularly can be a challenge—but not if you do some social listening.
The best source of ideas for your Facebook Lives is your community of followers and customers—understand the pain points they face and the questions they usually ask you to ideate lives.
You can also ask them what topic they’d like you to cover next during your live or through Facebook Stories (using polls or the question sticker) or posts.
Benefit Cosmetics’ live series Tipsy Tricks is a great example of this—the hosts kept track of the questions customers left on their page to understand what beauty tips they could cover next.
Once, they even asked their followers on Snapchat what topic they’d like to learn about next and then delivered an FB Live on it.
Tip #2 - Plan and structure your live
Facebook Lives are all about being authentic and spontaneous, but that doesn’t mean you should dive into them without a plan. Outlining your video’s structure is crucial since a live will represent your brand, and you won’t get any retakes or do-overs in case things go wrong.
The first step here is to understand the purpose behind your live and what message you want to put across. Then, create a list of talking points, topics, or questions you’d like to cover, so you stay on track and don’t have to think about what to say or ask on the fly. Don’t prepare a word-for-word script, or you’ll kill the joy of spontaneity.
Tip #3 - Promote your live
An often-ignored but crucial strategy to increase your FB Live’s success is to promote it in advance.
Facebook Lives are like an event, and you’d want to get the word out about them to see a good turnout and ensure things go as planned.
You can publish teaser posts on Facebook to build hype around your live and stay top-of-mind. Instead of telling users when and where you’ll be going live, give them a taste of what you’ll cover and the tips you’ll divulge to attract them.
And just because you’re going live on Facebook doesn’t mean you can’t promote the event on other channels—make sure to cross-promote your live in your email campaigns, on your website, blogs, and other social media platforms. For example, here’s a post we created on Instagram to promote a then-upcoming episode of our FB Live series: