Facebook Live & Periscope

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Tips for Success

Before Your Broadcast (One Week or More):

• Contact social@uwo.ca to book the tripod and cellphone mount.
• Frame the shot, practice your script and any props or signage.
• Test the wireless network, lighting and sound quality of your planned set.
• Draft a caption that will accompany the "We're Live" post ahead of time and email it to the phone that will be broadcasting.
• Have "We're Live" promotional social media messages saved in draft, ready for you to add the link when you’re live.
• If you will be taking audience questions during your broadcast, have some planned questions or talking points that will get you started.
• You will need a phone to run the stream, and a laptop to monitor incoming social engagements (and post promo posts).
• Note: Facebook Live broadcasts can be a maximum of 90 minutes.

Before Your Broadcast (One Week or More):

• Plug your broadcast phone directly into power!
• Have everyone in the room turn off their phone sounds!
• Turn on Do Not Disturb (prevent buzzing).
• Turn on air plane mode (prevent phone calls).
• Turn on wifi (get back online in order to stream).
• Open Periscope or the Facebook Pages application and make sure you’re on the right page.
• Create new Live post, check your shot frame & paste in your caption (keep it on your clipboard, you might need to do this more than once).
• Go live!
• Check on computer to make sure it’s streaming.
• Copy live post link on computer and promo to your social media accounts, event page, and social-comms@uwo.ca mailing list. Retweet yourself on @westernuLive if you have access.
• On the laptop, monitor incoming social engagements and read allowed to presenter if possible.

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#Testing123: Notes on Facebook Live

Facebook is making bold moves to put its live video offering front and centre.

7 Tips Straight from Facebook for Success with Facebook Live:

https://www.facebook.com/facebookmedia/best-practices/live

1. Promote your upcoming broadcasts ahead of time
2. Only go live when you have a strong connection on your phone
3. Put some thought into your description text (it's secretly your permanent video title)
4. Ask your audience to follow & subscribe to your go live notifications
5. Say hi to your commenters by name and response to them on air
6. Longer broadcasts reach more people
7. Be creative & go live often

How to?

Facebook Live only works from the Facebook Mobile application - either from personal profiles or from Facebook Pages. You're going to need a well charged cell phone with a strong internet connection. Get a tripod if you're going to be holding the camera still - and this includes a special mount that can hold your cell phone instead of a camera.

• Instructions from Facebook
• Advanced? Fancy multi-camera setup? Instructions for that too.

 

Fast Facts from a Live Test:

• You get started by hitting the Live icon in your status update window - but it won't go live right away. There's a happy little pre-launch screen and you'll have a chance to pick between front and rear facing cameras, as well as enter your description text - before going live.
• Once you go live, you can flip back and forth between front and rear facing cameras. The stream may briefly freeze on the last frame of one camera before switching to the live feed from the new camera.
• Facebook Live may be mobile but it's not vertical. Your broadcast video will be almost a perfect little square.
• Comments from your audience will pop up in the lower third of your screen - make sure you're close enough to read them! Consider using an iPad if you'll be a few steps back from the device.
• Facebook is going to give you stats on your broadcast when you end - and the opportunity to save your broadcast as a video onto your mobile device. Your video will also be available in an archive on your Facebook Page, and will appear on your Page timeline - even after you are off the air.