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Big changes are coming to Facebook Live. The social network will let broadcasts run for up to four hours – or even continuously in some cases. Plus, you can now hide reactions and comments, view livestreams in full-screen, and restrict who sees your broadcast.
Here’s a quick roundup of all the changes coming to Facebook Live that marketers need to know.
1. 4 Hour Live Streams
Since Facebook Live launched, livestreams have been limited to 90 minutes. Now Facebook is more than doubling that.
Yes, broadcasters are now restricted to a mere four hours for users when broadcasting via the Facebook app or using the Live API.
2. Hide Reactions & Comments
Don’t want to see comments and reactions while you’re broadcasting or watching? Facebook will now let you hide both in a video-only mode.
All you have to do is swipe right to hide comments and reactions. Swipe left to bring them back.
In theory, this will help reduce distractions and help keep viewers focused on the broadcast.
3. Full-Screen Live
One significant change that is more geared toward viewers than broadcasters is that viewers can now watch broadcasts in full-screen mode, rather than as a square we’ve become used to over the past several months.
Although Android users will have to wait for full-screen mode until summer, iOS users can enjoy this new feature right away. Full-screen will work with both landscape and portrait viewing when fully rolled out.
4. Continuous Live
Want to go live indefinitely on Facebook? Now you can.
Continuous live video was actually added a couple months ago, but this one slipped under the radar of many marketers. “Some great use cases for continuous live include live feeds of aquariums, museums, and zoos,” according to Facebook.
The catch with continuous live? Your followers won’t receive a notification that you’re live. Also, once you end broadcasting, it’s gone forever. Your followers have to literally watch it when it’s live – there’s no rewinding or reliving it.
5. Geogating
Want only men to watch your livestream? Or people who are located in certain places?
New audience restrictions, what Facebook calls “geogating,” were added to the Live API at the same time as continuous streaming. Now you can target or exclude people by:
- Location – country, state, city, or ZIP code.
- Age – you can specify a minimum and maximum age.
- Gender.
Image Credit: Facebook
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