How To Create Live Event On Facebook

how-to-go-live-on-facebook

How to stream your event/class on Facebook Live.

A complete beginners guide for every event type.

In this guide, we'll show you how to go live on Facebook. There are a few options available depending on the event/class you're hosting. Facebook Live has been used for a while now by organisers of every shape of form. And especially now, when you want to share your event with people at home, it's even more important to learn how to stream your event/class on Facebook Live.

Why Facebook Live?

Facebook Live allows you to reach a wider audience that is already interacting with you on Facebook. Possibly the best advantage of Facebook Live is the fact that your participants don't have to register or download any software in order to participate (when compared to Zoom, for example) - all they need is a facebook profile. It does require a little more preparation on your side, but we'll touch upon this.

You can also reuse your Facebook Live videos to promote your event/classes further. This also doesn't require you to re-upload your video to Facebook - it's just there when you have finished streaming. This makes for great video content

So, where does one start?

Step 1. Decide on the format for your event/class

You can stream your event/class on Facebook Live to a Facebook event, Facebook page, or on to a Facebook Group. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of different Facebook Live streams:

Facebook event

If you create a Facebook event on your Facebook page or account, you need to make this event Public (unless you only want to steam to your friends). This is great if you want anyone on Facebook to discover and take part in your Facebook Live. Do this, if you'd like to promote your events/classes and stream them for free (or post-event donation, we're touching upon this later).

Pros:

Public Facebook Live stream to people that have responded to your event
Participants will get a notification on Facebook that your event is about to start

Cons:

Public Facebook Live stream does not allow you to limit who will see the stream
The stream will not be available after the event ends

Facebook page

You can start or schedule a Facebook Live stream on your event page. This is also similar to the Facebook Event live stream, however, you can reuse the Live video after the event is over.

Pros:

Public Facebook Live stream to people that follow your page.
People that don't follow your page can also find your stream on Facebook
Reuse the video after the stream is over

Cons:

Public Facebook Live stream does not allow you to limit who will see the stream

Facebook group

You can create a Facebook Live stream in a Facebook group. This is ideal if you want to limit who can see your Facebook stream. Simply create a new group and invite people that you'd like to watch your Facebook Live. This is ideal for private classes or if you'd like to create an event for members-only.

Pros:

Private Facebook Live stream that's only visible to group members
Reuse the video after the stream is over

Cons:

Facebook Live is not discoverable outside the group

So, look at the cons & pros of all these options & decide which suits your event/class best. Before you move on to the next step, make sure that you have one of these set up:

Facebook page (to do a Facebook Live on the page)
Facebook event (to do a Facebook Live in an event)
Facebook group (to do a Facebook Live in a private group)

Step 2. Plan your Facebook Live stream

Now that you have decided where you want to host your Facebook Live, you can start planning it. There are three ways you can plan this:

Schedule your Facebook Live stream and invite people. The advantage of scheduling a Facebook Live stream is that your followers can "attend" it just like a normal Facebook event & they will get notified when your stream is live.
Create an event for your Facebook Live stream. This is a simple option & you can also create a Facebook event in your private Facebook group too. This way, your followers will also be notified about your event and you can start a Facebook Live stream without any additional technical set up.
Send out invites or promote your Facebook Live stream. This is the simplest way to organise a live-stream, however, you'll be relying on your followers to receive your communication or to remember to join your live stream on time. Remember - not everyone is online all the time. If you want to make sure that more followers notice and remember your event/class, we'd recommend the first two options.

Step 3. Schedule/start your Facebook Live stream

Let's dive into details on how you schedule a Facebook Live stream using all the options we mentioned above.

Facebook has just updated its Facebook Live tool. It's now even easier for you to schedule or start a Facebook Live stream.

To go Live right away:

Go to Facebook Live Producer
Here you'll find all the options for starting your Facebook Live stream. Start on the left-hand side
To go Live right away, simply keep the setting as-is & choose where you'd like to start your Live stream. Here you can choose a Facebook Page or a Facebook Group
Once selected, pick a name for your stream. This is not required, but it helps to describe your stream
Then, add a description to your stream. Tell people what they can expect from your live stream.
If you would like to stream to multiple Facebook pages, you can also do it here - just pick Crosspost to More Pages option
You can also limit the Audience for your stream (f.ex based on their age or location)
Now, in the "Get Started" section in the middle of the screen, select "Camera" from the drop-down menu. You should see your camera preview. Here you can test the camera and your microphone before you go live.
Additionally, you can add a Poll or ask Questions during your Facebook Live stream. Simply follow steps in the 2 options above.
If you're ready to go live, simply press Go Live on the bottom-left hand side.

You're now in your Facebook Live session!

To schedule your stream for later:

Go to Facebook Live Producer
Here you'll find all the options for starting your Facebook Live stream. Start on the left-hand side
Select "Schedule for later" as an option, pick a date and time & choose where you'd like to start your Live stream. Here you can choose a Facebook Page or a Facebook Group.
Once selected, pick a name for your stream. This is not required, but it helps to describe your stream
Add an image to illustrate your stream. This is not required, you can simply leave your page or group preview image as a default.
Then, add a description to your stream. Tell people what they can expect from your live stream.
If you would like to stream to multiple Facebook pages, you can also do it here - just pick Crosspost to More Pages option
You can also limit the Audience for your stream (f.ex based on their age or location)
In the "Get started" field in the middle of the screen, select "Camera" from the drop-down.
When you're ready to schedule, simply click on "Schedule Live Video".

You've now scheduled a Facebook Live video for your page/group. You'll find a link to your live video on the right-hand side in the "Quick Links" section.

When you're ready to go live. Simply find the link you have copied in the "Quick Links" section or find the post that announced the Facebook Live session & click on "Admin edit" link on the bottom-right of the post. You will also get a notification a day before and a few hours before you are due to go live in your notifications with a direct link to the settings.

You now will enter the preview for the Facebook Live event. Make sure that you have "Camera" selected in the drop-down menu. Check your camera settings & your microphone.

You can wait until the live stream start at the time you have scheduled it for or if you'd like to start it earlier, click "Manually update settings". Check the camera settings again and click "Manually start live video".

You're live!

To post a stream in a Facebook event:

Open your Facebook event
Start creating a new post & pick "Go Live" option.
You will see a preview for your camera and microphone. Test these and click "Go Live" to launch a live stream.

You're live!

Step 4. During the stream

Great, you're live! Now what? Keep an eye on the comments that come in and make sure that you interact with your viewers. You'll see comments coming up on the left-hand side of your screen on a computer and over the video on mobile.

Step 5. End the Facebook live stream

To finish Facebook Live stream, simply press "End broadcast" at the bottom-left. You then will get a few options.

See the post. It will take Facebook some time to process your live video after you have posted your Facebook Live, so bare with it. The post will be available to your page/group followers after the stream is over. You can choose to hide the post if you wish (if it's an exclusive preview, for example, or if you want to make sure that this video is only available when you're live)
Delete the post. If you don't want to keep the live broadcast, simply choose to delete it.

Extra: How to charge/sell tickets for your Facebook Live stream

If you're hosting a class or a webinar on Facebook Live and would like to charge a fee or collect donations for the class, you can do so with Billetto.

If it's a private class that you're hosting for your members, we'd suggest you create a new private Facebook group that you can use to invite members after they have paid for access.

If you want to make the class public, but would like to collect donations during or after the class, you can set up a Donation page on Billetto.

We're created 2 templates to show you how to create ether of these options. In order to create on these pages, simply follow the steps in the template description.

Create a Facebook Live event payment page

Create a Facebook Live Donation page