Facebook Live – What You Need to Know to Get Started

If you’ve read the full Facebook Live Authority ebook, then you should now
have a full understanding of what live video is and why it’s such a fantastic
opportunity for marketers. Likewise, you should recognize the key
importance of Facebook and why this is so likely to be the platform that
ends up succeeding.
What’s left to do is to get started and actually get started with your
Facebook Live marketing masterplan! But you won’t be alone as you step
out into this brave new frontier. Read on and you’ll find a ton of great
resources that can help you to find your way around and make a real
splash…

Introductions to Facebook Live
There is no official website for Facebook Live other than facebook.com.
This is because you post your live videos directly from Facebook mobile
itself. But if you want to learn all the basics regarding the platform, you can
find that here:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2016/04/26/facebook-liveeverything-
you-need-to-know/#7030be487a82. This is a great guide to
‘everything you need to know’ about Facebook Live from the alwaysreliable
Forbes.com.
For something more official and actionable though, you should also check
out this resource: https://www.facebook.com/facebookmedia/bestpractices/
live. This is a guide to Facebook Live by Facebook and provides
all of the best practices and tips to help you. Some of the top tips include:
• Tell people when you’re going live
• Have a strong connection
• Tell people when you’re going live
• Ask people to follow you
The page also has some great examples of videos created by celebrities
and popular personalities.

Finally, take a gander at this page: http://www.techinsider.io/facebook-livevideo-
2016-3. This discusses not only the impact of Facebook Live and
Mark Zuckerberg’s excitement for it but also some of the more original and
unique ways that the platform is being used.
Of course the very best place to get started with Facebook Live is over at
the Facebook Live Map, which will let you watch other people’s streams
and see what they look like to the users first hand. You’ll find that here:
https://www.facebook.com/livemap
Live Channels
Facebook live is only one channel you can use to stream live video. There
are actually many more similar platforms which include some well-known
ones and some much lesser known ones.
These include:
Periscope
http://www.periscope.tv/
This is the main website for the Periscope App – arguably the most popular
and biggest dedicated live video platform. It’s a very powerful platform
available for iOS and Android but the website is somewhat empty other
than for an inspiring video!
Meerkatapp.co
https://meerkatapp.co
Meerkat is similar to Periscope with some key differences. Meerkat lacks
the very handy map feature found on Periscope and Facebook Live and it
also doesn’t let you save your videos. But it’s still a big and popular
platform, especially among dedicated marketers like Tai Lopez. Again,
there’s not all that much to be found on the site itself.
Blab
http://blab.im
This is a great platform that allows you to create live videos and also invite
your viewers to get involved! This means that they can tune in and take
part in seminars for instance and it means you can use the platform for
some very effective influencer marketing.
YouNow
http://www.younow.com
YouNow has been around longer than Meerkat or Periscope according to
the site. What also makes it interesting is that it actually pays its content
creators. While it doesn’t have huge traction just yet, it’s an interesting
concept and one to watch.
YouTube Live Events
https://www.youtube.com/my_live_events
Here’s where you can learn how to stream your live events on YouTube.
This has a lot of potential for the future, so again keep it on your radar!
Hangouts
https://hangouts.google.com/
In some ways, Hangouts can also be compared to Blab and used in a
similar way to run seminars, interviews and AMAs.
Tools and Tips
Mevo
http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddkenreck/2016/05/02/meet-mevo-the-bestcamera-
for-facebook-live/#7d676bffe87c
Mevo is a wide angle, 4k camera that could change the way we create live
content very soon. This camera allows live streaming through your phone
but what’s even more impressive is that it can zoom in to different areas on
the fly, thereby allowing you to feature whoever is talking or to focus on
particular elements of your scene. It’s a great idea that claims to be an
entire ‘studio’ in one little camera.
Too bad you’re going to have to wait a while until you can try it!
For growing your Facebook page meanwhile, consider using some of the
following tools and services:
Buzzsumo – www.buzzsumo.com
Buzzsumo provides viral content that you can find and easily share to your
own social media pages. This is a great way to provide value and quickly
grow your following.
LikeAlyzer - http://likealyzer.com/
LikeAlyzer is a tool that helps you to analyze your Facebook content in
terms of performance. Now you can see what's performing best for you and
pledge to 'do more of that'! The more you grow your Facebook page, the
more you’ll be able to get people to see your live video!
Fanpage Karma – www.fanpagekarma.com
This lets you see a lot more in terms of advanced stats and feedback for
the performance of your Facebook page. You can see which posts are
getting the most engagement and also learn a bit more about your site.
HootSuite - www.hootsuite.com
HootSuite is useful for automating and syncing a variety of different social
accounts and lets you stack posts up for later.
IFTTT – www.ifttt.com
This stands for ‘If This, Then That’ and is basically a service that allows you
to create lots of connections between your different social sites. For
example, you can get all your Tweets to also get shared to Facebook.
Resources
Stuck for ideas regarding the best types of content to create? Then head
over to either of these sites:
Meerkat Streams
http://www.meerkatstreams.com/
OnPeriscope
http://onperiscope.com/
These provide live streams from the two big streaming sites right on your
desktop. What this means is that you can watch the best content from
those alternative platforms in order to get ideas for your own content. See
what works and what doesn’t and bring it to Facebook Live!