How To Live Stream On Facebook And YouTube For Newbies

Learning how to go live on Facebook or YouTube has become an essential part of marketing for a lot of small business owners and solopreneurs.

If you want to reach more people and increase your engagement with your target audience, this marketing strategy is the way to go. But sometimes going live can be a scary experience for newbies. So here’s a simple BeLive guide for you to start live streaming without any hassle.

Why You Should Start Live Streaming

Live streaming has been slowly becoming known as a cost-efficient but highly effective marketing strategy even before the coronavirus became a pandemic.

Neil Patel predicted that it will double in growth from a $30 billion industry in 2016 to an estimated $70 billion in 2021. That’s way before the global health crisis forced the entire world to look at video conferencing and live streaming as a solution to both business and personal needs.

Because of the imposed social distancing, businesses and entrepreneurs who rely on daily interaction with customers are scrambling to find ways to keep afloat while avoiding the dangers of infection. That’s where live streaming has become useful.

Through live streaming:

• Retailers can continue selling clothes, pieces of jewellery, and other items to their customers online
• Coaches with recurring appointments can create private groups on Facebook and do remote consultations instead.
• Speakers with cancelled events may start a virtual summit or conference as well.

How to Go Live on Facebook with BeLive

The best thing about going live on Facebook using BeLive is that you don’t have to download any complicated software to start streaming. All you need are:

• A stable internet connection
• Chrome or Safari browser
• Your computer or laptop

Step 1: Set Up Your BeLive Account

Sign up to BeLive using your Facebook or Google account. You have to also give BeLive permission to access your account.

After signing up, you will be able to see the pages and groups you’re an admin of in the destination button.

Step 2: Choose Destination

Once you’ve logged in, click on Set Destination and choose Facebook. You will then be given a list of all the groups and pages that you’re an admin to. You can go live to any of those on the list.

Make sure to tick on the “Show all my groups” box to find the page you want to go live to. You may also go live right on your timeline.

Step 3: Schedule Your Live Show

Once you’ve set your destination to Facebook, you now have the option to schedule your broadcast.

Scheduling your broadcast will help you inform your followers and target audience that you plan to go live at a particular date and time in the near future. This is a great way to market your broadcast and raise the excitement for it days before the show.

Interested viewers may click on “be reminded” to get a notification for your live show. This way, they won’t forget your live stream and be able to create watch parties for it within their own circles.

Step 4: Prepare Your Assets

Before you go live, make sure you have all the photos, videos, and assets you need during the broadcast. Upload them into the studio before going live.

Remember, you can upload videos for up to 100 mb in mp4 format into the studio for intros, extros, and even adverts in the middle of your live stream.

This is also the time to share the guest link to an interviewee or whoever you want to bring into the show. Here’s how you can invite another person to join you during your broadcast.

Encountered some problems with your guest? Here’s a quick troubleshooting guide you can follow.

Step 5: Double-Check Your Checklist

Create a checklist of the things you need to make sure are working before you click on that Start button. Some of the most important items on that list should include:

• Strong internet connection
• Internal or external camera
• Built-in mic or USB mic

Go through your list a few times to make sure you don’t have any technical blunders during your show!

Step 6: Go Live!

Now that you’ve checked everything, you can finally click on the Start button and begin engaging with your audience!

If you’re not as confident to show yourself on camera yet, don’t worry, that stuff can be learned. Here’s what Camera Confidence coach Molly Mahoney has to say about owning your broadcast. 

How to Go Live on YouTube with BeLive

If you choose to widen your audience to people beyond your circle, then it’s worth a shot to go live on YouTube!

YouTube is the biggest video-streaming site in the world and diving into it may help you monetize your content on top of increasing your reach. But, instead of slaving away on the editing table to create one YouTube video, you can start engaging with your subscribers on a more personal level with live streaming. You can even repurpose your show into several different formats once you’re done!

So how do you begin YouTube streaming? Here’s how!

Step 1: Choose Destination

Once you’ve logged in to BeLive, you can choose your destination. Similar to the step in Facebook, you just have to click on YouTube as your live stream destination and set a caption for your show.

Note that once you choose YouTube as your destination, you will be asked to choose your Google account to connect with BeLive. You also need to allow BeLive to access your account for the tool to work properly.

Step 2: Schedule Your Live Show on YouTube

Like on Facebook, you can also announce your show in advance on YouTube. All you have to do is click on “Schedule” next to YouTube in the studio and choose the date and time you want to go live at.

Upload a thumbnail, write a caption, and save your schedule.

Here’s an example thumbnail or a “show card” for a scheduled live stream

Step 3: Start Promoting

Once you’ve scheduled your live stream, you can start promoting your show already!

Share your scheduled broadcast to your other social media pages to inform your followers and your target audience. They can also click on “Set a reminder” to be notified when it starts.

Additional tip: Add trending hashtags related to your live stream to attract people who search for it. You may also include high-ranking keywords to be seen on search rankings in Google.

Step 4: Go Through Your List

Before starting the live stream, go through your checklist for a smooth-sailing live broadcast. Check on your guest’s audio and video aside from your own. You should also upload all your multimedia assets into the studio. And make sure they work, too!

You can also run through your show by going live in private or through offline recording. This can help you prepare for the actual show.

Step 6: Go Live!

Practice done, checklist completed. It’s time to start your actual live YouTube streaming!

Click on the “Start” button and talk with your viewers in real-time!

For more detailed instructions, check out this post on how to go live on YouTube!

Time to Go Live

Is this your first time to live stream? Don’t let anxiety take over! Just follow the steps and you can start live streaming easily.

Keep in mind though that you may experience some blunders on your first few streams. However, you don’t have to beat yourself up about it. Just improve on your next ones! With that said, here are some things you should not do on live stream according to the awesome Owen Video!

Check out these informative links to help you kick off your live streaming career in style:

• Free BeLive Course
• BeLive Masterclass
• BeLivers Facebook Group Units Section
• Our Help articles