Facebook Live Woos Streamers With Tipping & Improved Tools
The world’s leading social media channel is courting live streamers like never before with brand-new features in Facebook for Creators.
This recently launched initiative offers brands and video content creators a library of information and training resources, as well as specialized tools that add new assets to Facebook Live videos — and it’s all available free of charge.
Facebook appears to be especially interested in becoming a go-to platform for the booming live eSport world, announcing that streamers will soon be able to generate revenue from live streams by collecting tips that viewers can contribute during their stream. Tipping has long been a staple feature of Twitch, the leading live streaming video service for gamers in the U.S.
Facebook for Creators debuted in Nov. 2017, and anyone with a Facebook account is eligible to sign up. Signing up not only grants you instant access to current resources and tools, it also allows you to be considered for early access to new features, such as tipping, as soon as they become available.
The ability to receive tips during Facebook Live streams is in its infancy and not available to everyone. While this feature is being rolled out on a limited test basis, there are plenty of other features currently available to all.
Basic Training
As soon as you sign up, you’re directed to a series of step-by-step guides on how to prepare for and create a great live video. These short lessons are easy to follow for first-time streamers, and Facebook provides links to additional resources if you’d like to dig deeper into any of its tools.
Facebook Creator App
Facebook has created an entirely new app for live video creators. This is a standalone app and not the same as the general Facebook or Facebook Messenger apps you currently have on your phone.
Facebook describes this app as:
“Your one-stop shop to grow as a creator. Capture and share videos, talk with your fans, and get easy access to insights.”
The app provides instant access to your live video analytics, giving you valuable data to evaluate what works well and what doesn’t. It also pools your various messages from Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger all in one place, making it easy to interact with your audience and fans.
As of writing, the Facebook Creator app is only available for iPhone. The app will reportedly launch for Android in early 2018.
Live Creative Kit
One of the best new features introduced through Facebook for Creators is the Live Creative Kit, which comes packed with tools designed to help you up the production value of your live video broadcast.
The Live Creative Kit allows you to upload pre-recorded video intros and outros, giving creators the power to add an opening sequence and closing credits — just like a TV show. You could also use these assets to start your video with a pre-recorded introduction or something more interesting than the typical “the video will start soon” message many streamers use as they get ready to go on.
Additionally, the Live Creative Kit allows you to create a graphical overlay frame for your live video, similar to video frames you may have seen on Snapchat. Creators can also incorporate live stickers for the audience to use during the broadcast.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Live Creative Kit also includes a watermarking feature, giving you to branding power to add your logo to all your live videos without any special software.
Know Your Copyrights
If you’re a brand that wants to maintain control of your videos, you should check out Facebook’s new Rights Manager features.
Want to add some music or sound effects but don’t want to worry about royalties or copyrighted material? Check out the new Facebook Sound Collection. This is filled with audio Facebook has acquired for you to add to your videos without any threat of copyright violation.
It’s plain to see that Facebook is dedicated to becoming the premier live streaming platform, and we’re excited to see how the company’s future updates continue to elevate the Facebook Live experience!
Interested in adding Facebook Live to your live video marketing toolkit and stepping up your streaming game? Not sure where to start?
