In an extension of the Facebook Mentions app launched last year to allow site-recognized celebrities to connect with fans worldwide, the social media giant has announced a new feature known as Live. While Facebook Mentions has enabled actors, musicians, politicians, sports persons and other famous personalities from across the globe to reach out to the site’s 900-million strong user base, Live takes this level of engagement a notch higher by allowing celebrities to share live videos with their fans. The Live version of Facebook Mentions can be used to offer fans a behind the scenes sneak peek and making important announcements in real time, besides interacting with them through Q&A.
How Live Makes Facebook Mentions Better
Live basically offers a real time extension on the various key features of Facebook Mentions, besides adding several new ones. Here’s what public figures can use Live for:
- Widening Their Fan Base: Live offers a great opportunity to expand one’s fan base or interact more effectively with existing fans. It allows celebrities to connect with fans more authentically right in the moment. Starting a Live video automatically makes it visible on the fans’ news feed, allowing them to share, like or comment on it in real time. Users who have been interacting with celebrities on an ongoing or regular basis will receive notifications every time a new broadcast is initiated using Live.
- Direct and Real Time Interactions: There is an option of interacting with fans or viewers tuning into one’s broadcast in real time. Celebrities can see the comments being posted even during the course of an ongoing broadcast and choose to either reply to their fans or hide unwanted comments.
- Saving Videos: Once a live broadcast of a video has concluded, it automatically gets saved on the celebrity’s official Facebook Page so that the fans can tune into it later. Of course, celebrities can use their discretion to decide which videos remain on their Page and remove the others.
How to Get Started
Using the Live feature on the Facebook Mentions app is fairly easy. Celebrities can initiate a live broadcast by following these few simple steps:
- Live broadcast can be initiated by tapping on the Live Video button present in the Post option on the updated Facebook Mentions app.
- The next step requires filling in a brief description about the video before hitting the Go Live button
- During a live broadcast, celebrities can view the comments being made by their fans on the ongoing video, and can choose to reply or delete them.
- There is also an option to switch between front and rear smartphone cameras while shooting and streaming the videos live.
- A live broadcast can be concluded by hitting on the Stop icon.
- At this stage, the video is automatically posted on the celebrity’s Facebook Page. They can use their discretion to retain or remove the video.
The Live feature offers an unprecedented and immersive way of interacting with one’s fan base. So far, interaction between celebrities and fans was more like a one-way street where the latter were bombarded with information about the former. However, Live is all set to change that and make way for more well-rounded interactions between celebrities and their fans.
