Facebook Live is picking up steam. According to a recent report from think tank L2, Facebook livestreams are accounting for a larger percentage of brands’ total Facebook video content creation. In August 2016, Facebook Live comprised 1.09 percent of total Facebook videos. That number climbed to 4.4 percent in June 2017.
As L2 notes, “[T]he more interesting story here is that brands are adopting a traditional spend strategy for live video, a sign that the relatively new format is maturing.” According to L2,
In June, the promotion rate of live videos surpassed that of overall video posts on Facebook—78% versus 72%—for the first time in the study period of L2’s Video: Live report. Live videos appear to be effective: the live video engagement rate in June was 25% higher than the overall Facebook video engagement rate, according to L2’s study. If live videos continue to generate more engagement than traditional Facebook video posts, brands could find reason to increase their investments in Facebook Live.
Why are brands investing more in Facebook Live? One reason is that Facebook Live gives businesses a way to be more authentic. For brands, one of the promises of social media all along was that businesses and people could have more authentic, organic conversations with each other. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and platforms like them create channels for a more real-time, less perfectly packaged interaction. But many brands have treated social as another channel to promote prepackaged content such as movie trailers, commercials, and music videos. There’s nothing wrong with sharing such content on social so long as it is engaging. But the rising popularity of Facebook Live shows that people want authentic, more organic content, too. For more insight into how to be authentic on Facebook Live, check out my recently published post. Contact us to learn how we can help you build your brand on social.
