Why NOT to use Facebook Live Producer
Confident Live Marketing Podcast
Episode 65
Episode Theme: Tech & Gear
July 31, 2020
Facebook Live Producer is pretty cool.
If you caught my post a few weeks ago you’ll know that it has all sorts of nifty features that allow you to create and manage streams to your page, groups, and profile as well as set up cross-posted videos, create polls and pose questions to your audience.
But that doesn’t mean it’s the ideal tool for everyone, or for every situation. So I’m going to look at some of the reasons you might NOT want to use Facebook Live Producer.
What you’ll learn
Going Live with Third Party Tools
Whether or not you’ll want to use Facebook Live Producer can depend on which third party tool you’re going to be using.
With OBS Studio, for example, you need to use Facebook Live Producer to generate the stream key.
However, most of the live video third party tools you’re likely to use, such as Be.Live, Restream Studio, StreamYard, Ecamm Live, or Wirecast create the live video post for you — whether it’s going to be broadcast live or whether you’re scheduling it for some time in the future — so you don’t actually need to spend the extra time fiddling around with Facebook Live Producer.
It’s not Great for Beginners (but it’s not impossible either)
If you remember my walkthrough from episode 62, you’ll know that Facebook Live Producer is by no means the hardest tool to figure out — but that doesn’t mean that it’s particularly well-suited to beginners.
For instance, if you’re brand new to live video, some of the options listed, like ‘use a persistent stream key’ or ‘use a backup stream’, might seem a bit complicated and leave you feeling overwhelmed.
That said, it is a really great tool once you get to grips with it, so if you feel you can persevere through the initial confusion, it’s definitely worth doing so.
Have a look at my previous post to help you navigate some of the trickier features.
If you remember my walkthrough from episode 62, you’ll know that Facebook Live Producer is by no means the hardest tool to figure out — but that doesn’t mean that it’s particularly well-suited to beginners.Click To TweetIt can be Buggy
Confession time: as cool as I think Facebook Live Producer is, I don’t actually use it particularly often when I’m creating my scheduled live shows because it can be a little buggy.
For example, I’ve found that when I try to type in the description of my Facebook live in Facebook Live Producer, it quite often allows me to tag people at the start of the description but not further down, which isn’t great.
Of course, since it’s a relatively new tool a few bugs are to be expected. So if you, too, have previously tried to use Facebook Live Producer and found it a little unpredictable, it might be worth going back in to check if Facebook has already ironed out some of the kinks.
Duplicate Posts
You might have noticed in Facebook’s Introduction to Facebook Live Producer, they actually say that when you schedule a live broadcast, two posts are automatically created.
The first is an announcement post that’s published to your page when you schedule your video. It’s designed to let your followers know that you have an upcoming live stream and they have the option of clicking ‘get a reminder’ to receive a one-time notification shortly before you start broadcasting.
The second post is a live broadcast post that appears at the start time of your scheduled post — those who expressed an interest in your announcement post will also get a notification directing them to the broadcast.
The problem is, after your broadcast has ended, you’re left with two posts: one of the actual video which now appears like a normal pre-recorded video, and another of the announcement post that just says, ‘this has now ended’, which looks a little strange and can clutter up your page.
Of course, none of these ‘issues’ have to be deal-breakers, but it’s always worth looking at the downsides as well as the advantages before committing too much of your time or effort to any new streaming tool.
None of these ‘issues’ have to be deal-breakers but it’s always worth looking at the downsides as well as the advantages before committing too much of your time or effort to any new streaming tool.Click To TweetResources
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The Confident Live Marketing Show
The Confident Live Marketing Show is a weekly live video show and podcast. It’s aimed at established entrepreneurs who want to level up their impact, authority and profits through the power of live video, webinars and podcasts. We’ll focus on knocking down the 3 main barriers these entrepreneurs face when creating live content - camera confidence/mindset, tech/gear and content marketing.
It’s hosted by Ian Anderson Gray. He is the founder of the Confident Live Marketing Academy and is the host of the Confident Live Marketing Podcast. He helps entrepreneurs to level up their impact, authority and profits by using live video confidently. He’s founder of Seriously Social - a blog focused on live video and social media tools. He’s an international speaker, trainer, teacher and consultant. He has a passion for making the techno-babble of live video and social media marketing easy to understand. As well as being a geek, husband, and dad to two kids, Ian is also a professional singer and lives near Manchester in the UK.
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