Facebook & Instagram
If you have to postpone or cancel an in-person event, try hosting a Live on Facebook or Instagram instead. Live is a great way to broadcast real-time video on Facebook with just your camera on a desktop or mobile device. Think of it as a chance to take your customers behind-the-scenes.
5 ideas for going Live
Host a Q&A
Go Live with someone in your audience and interview them
Showcase and explain your products or services
Teach your audience how to do something
Create a Live series
Tips for your Live:
Go live with Wi-Fi instead of cellular data for a smoother video.
For steadier shots, use a tripod or prop your phone up against a wall or a book.
Interact with your audience and respond to comments during your broadcast.
To get more viewers, post about your event ahead of time. You can create an event post on Facebook, or a Story with the countdown sticker on Instagram.
When your Live concludes, you can save or post the video to keep it.
YouTube
YouTube Live is an easy way to reach your community in real time. Whether you’re streaming an event, teaching a class, or hosting a workshop, YouTube has tools that will help you manage your stream and interact with viewers in real time.
Plan ahead for your first live stream. Enabling a live stream for the first time may take up to 24 hours. Once enabled, your stream can instantly go live.
You can go live on YouTube via webcam, mobile, and encoder streaming. Webcam and mobile are considered great options for beginners and allow you to go live quickly. While encoder streaming is ideal for more advanced live streams.
Here’s a quick overview:
Webcam: Live streaming via webcam is an easy way to go live without the need for an encoder. Start streaming from your laptop/desktop computer using your webcam. Anyone with a YouTube channel can livestream from webcam. Learn more.
Mobile: Streaming on mobile lets you stream from the YouTube app. YouTube Live is available on Android 5.0+ and iOS 8+. To be able to live stream on mobile, your channel will need to have at least 1,000 subscribers. Learn more.
Encoder streaming: Encoders allow you to capture content, including your desktop, camera, microphone, and more, and send it to YouTube Live to be streamed to your audience. Learn more.
When your stream is live, you can interact with your audience using live chat, and share the link to your live stream across social media platforms using YouTube’s SHARE tool. When the stream is over, an archive of the stream up to 12 hours is automatically created on the host channel.
All content in live streams must adhere to YouTube’s Community Guidelines and Terms of Service. If a user suggests that they will live stream content that violates our Community Guidelines, we may age-restrict or remove the live stream. YouTube also reserves the right to restrict a user’s ability to live stream at its discretion
Learn more about live streaming in our Help Center.