Live streaming has become quite popular in the past few years. It’s a new fun way of connecting with your audience, because, contrary to a regular video that you create and post, during a video live stream you can involve your followers by allowing them to leave comments in your chat and reactions as your video is being broadcast. Participation and interaction are the ingredients that make live streaming so special and appealing, and this can be proved by taking as an example video live streaming platforms such as Twitch, one of the first services of this sort to gain extreme notoriety thanks especially to its many videogame content streamers.
And when a new trend receives lots of attention and acclaim, other social media platforms – see YouTube and Facebook – want to join in by starting to offer those same new exciting features to their users: today, we’re going to see how we can start live streaming on Facebook.
What to know before going live on Facebook
Before you can start live streaming on Facebook, you’ll need to waste a couple minutes installing and setting up a streaming software on your computer. A streaming software – also referred to as encoding software – will allow you to show a computer screen and use broadcasting equipment when streaming. The streaming software most fit for you may depend on the type of content you plan to stream.
Two of the best programs that you can use are:
But if you want to check other softwares, go here to get a full list.
How to set up the streaming software
The process to set up your streaming software depends on the software you’re using; you’ll have to copy and paste the Server URL and stream key to your encoding software. Remember that each encoding software has its own configuration.
In most cases, you’ll need to find and edit stream settings and configure a Custom Streaming Server or RTMP Server as the type and enter the copied server URL and/or stream key. Consider enabling a secure connection if your encoding software supports RTMPS.
And if you’d like to learn more about video format guidelines for live streaming on Facebook, click here.
Live streaming on Facebook
Now, let’s get into the fun stuff! Here are the steps you have to follow to create a live stream on Facebook:
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first, go to https://www.facebook.com/live/create
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click on “Create Live Stream”
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now choose where you want to post your live broadcast
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select “Use a persistent stream key” if you want your stream key to be permanent. If this isn’t selected, you won’t be able to use this stream key again after the stream ends
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next, copy and paste the server URL and stream key or persistent stream key into the settings of your streaming software and start the video stream from your encoder; a preview screen will appear
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write a description and title for your live stream
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and finally, click “Go Live Now”. There’s also the possibility of scheduling your broadcast for later, just click “Schedule a Live Video”
Audience interaction
During your live stream, people will be able to react and comment, and when they do, you can write replies to comments or respond to them in your streaming broadcast. If you’re live streaming to your timeline, you’ll be able to choose your audience – Public, Friends, Only Me, Custom. Once you end your live stream, it will stay where you shared it as a video post.
Stream Key and Persistent Stream Key
Sharing your Stream Key or Persistent Stream Key means that anyone who has access to your stream key information can stream video to your post. So, we advise to never do it unless you completely trust the person and you agreed to it.
Keep in mind that you won’t be able to use a stream key again after your live stream ends, therefore it’s better to select “Use a persistent stream key” when creating your live stream. A persistent stream key is handy since it’s permanent and can be used again after a live stream ends. You can only broadcast one live video at a time with your persistent stream key.
Embed Live Stream
You can embed your live stream on a website: select a page for your live stream, then click “Stream” below “Settings” to get an HTML code that you can copy and paste to your website.
