Episode Summary: Facebook Live 101 — just how big Facebook actually is, what Facebook Live is and how to start one, the gear that helps, and real content ideas to get started.
What You'll Learn
- Facebook usage stats as of late 2016: users, engagement, and security trivia
- How to actually start a Facebook Live broadcast on mobile or desktop
- The gear that upgrades a basic Facebook Live setup, mobile and desktop
- 6 concrete content ideas for using Facebook Live as a podcaster or creator
Facebook Facts (2016)
Over 1.71 billion active monthly users, 1.1 billion logging in daily, 1.5 billion on mobile — mobile users check Facebook roughly 15 times a day. Traffic peaks mid-week between 1–3pm, with Thursdays and Fridays running 18% higher engagement than the rest of the week. An estimated 83 million fake accounts exist, so scam awareness matters. Tech tip: if an email account starts sending strange messages, check Facebook first and change that password immediately — roughly 600,000 hacking attempts hit Facebook accounts daily. (China has blocked Facebook and Twitter since 2009, for context.)
Other numbers: 300 million photos uploaded daily, 20 minutes average time spent per visit, 100 million hours of video watched daily. Facebook's monthly active user base exceeds WhatsApp (500 million), Twitter (284 million), and Instagram (200 million) combined. Trivia: the first face ever on Facebook was Al Pacino. Facebook remains the #1 social network; YouTube is #2.
What Is Facebook Live?
A feature letting any user broadcast live video from a smartphone, tablet, or computer (the computer route takes an extra step). Followers see the stream at the top of their feed, and the video posts to the page afterward, with title/description editable or fully deletable.
Tip: switch the phone to Airplane Mode before streaming to avoid interruptions. Call to action: while live, actively ask viewers to subscribe so they're notified next time — growing that subscriber base directly grows brand visibility.
Equipment to Get Started
- iPhone/iPad: the Live icon appears right on the camera screen.
- Computer: OBS Studio, Wirecast, vMix.
- Mobile: MeFoto Sidekick 360, Manfrotto Pixi Mini, Rode Smartlav+, Rode VideoMic Go, Rode VideoMic Me, and an extension cable for the Smartlav+.
- Lighting: LumeCube, Manfrotto Lumimuse LED.
Facebook Live Content Ideas
Promotion — a podcast, website…
Read the complete show notes and resources on mikemurphy.ai.
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