17 Tips to Improve your Facebook Live Broadcasts
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Live video broadcasting used to be available only to the big players.
But now you can broadcast high-quality live streams to your audience with YouTube and Facebook Live.
And you can do that from your smartphone or computer... from your home or office, and potentially reach millions of people around the world - instantly!
It's an amazing way to reach your existing audience and grow your following. You can deliver behind the scenes or exclusive content, live events, how-to videos and much more.
And (quick update for March/April 2020) especially right now, with so many of us working from home due to the Coronavirus, live video is making a massive difference.
But how can you get started and take things to the next level?
In this article, I've come up with 17 tips and tricks to turn you into a Facebook Live pro!
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Top Live Video Tool Recommendations
You can broadcast to Facebook Live from your phone. But if you want to level up your live broadcasts, use one of these tools from your computer. I'll cover these in more detail later.
- Ecamm Live (Mac Only, from $15/mth)
My top pick for Mac users. Broadcast to Facebook Live, YouTube Live, Periscope, Twitch and more. Save high-quality recording, bring in guests via Skype. Full scene switching and multiple layers. - Streamyard (Mac & PC, Browser-based, free & from $25/mth)
My top pick web app. This runs in your browser and so works for both Mac and PC users. Really easy to use and integrates with Facebook Live, LinkedIn Live, YouTube, Periscope, Twitch and more. Highlight comments on screen and bring in up to 5 remote guests. Screensharing on free version and bring in up to 5 guests. Paid version allows multicasting to up to 5 destinations and high quality recordings (web app, free and from $25/mth). - SwitcherStudio (iPhones & iPads only from $39/mth)
Use your iPhones and iPads to create a mobile video studio. Really powerful yet easy to use solution.
#1 Broadcast to Yourself
You can set the privacy settings to "only me" when you broadcast to your Facebook profile. This privacy setting is not available on your page
Open up the Facebook app on your mobile device, click the "Go Live" button and set the privacy settings to "only me". No one will watch the broadcast, but when you've finished you can go to your profile and watch the replay.
Even if you plan on broadcasting live to your page, it's a good idea to start by broadcasting to only yourself to your profile.
#2 Check your upload speed.
It's nearly always better to be connected to WiFi for broadcasting Facebook Live, although it depends on the upload speed on your phone's data connection.
If you're at home or in the office, you can check your upload speed from your computer - just visit speedtest.net. You can also check your internet speed on your smartphone by using the iOS or Android apps.
If you have an upload speed of 3Mbps upwards you're good to go!
If you have 1 or 2Mbps upload speed, you'll probably be ok, although the image may pixelate or become choppy.
Unfortunately, you'll struggle if you have under 1Mbps upload speed.
#3 Embrace your fears and just do it!
Don't worry- this is perfectly normal! You might not believe me, but feeling nervous is a good thing!
Just remember, things won't be perfect and things will probably go wrong. This is one of the reasons why people love live broadcasts - the chance that things will go wrong!
Just do it!
#4 Keep it Short
Once you're practised at this, you can extend the broadcasts if it makes sense to do so.
I have seen live broadcasts that last over an hour (and even longer) but they take a lot of work and practice.
Depending on your strategy, it's better to do a shorter broadcast more often, than one long broadcast once every blue moon.
#5 Have a structure
Be aware that it takes time for people to find out you are broadcasting live and tune in.
Also be aware that this video will end up being posted to your profile, page or group and you don't want lots of silence or fluff at the start for replay viewers.
As soon as you start broadcasting, I recommend saying "hello" to your replay visitors (your live viewers are unlikely to join straight away).
Say what you are going to talk about. Then when your first viewers come in, feel free to say hello to them by name as they join.
Do ask your viewers to share the broadcast. This will greatly increase your reach and expand the number of people watching your broadcast.
You can mention that you might not be able to follow all the comments in the broadcast, but that you'll respond to everyone after the broadcast. Don't spend too long greeting people - remember your replay audience - they will get bored if you greet everyone!
Now you're ready to get to your main segment. Repeat your live video title and get on with it!
Once you're ready to go finish, thank everyone for listening. You can remind people that you will respond to their comments and to keep them coming.
Finally say goodbye and wait another 5 seconds. This is important! There is often a lag, and if you don't wait, the broadcast can end part way through your last sentence!
#6 Plan, plan and plan
I recommend planning 3 points to discuss in your broadcast.
If you're demonstrating a product or service, then make sure it works and practice recording it.
If you're giving a tour of your office or a particular place, make sure everyone knows you are going to be broadcasting and do a test run to make sure it's working.
#7 Be spontaneous
Be creative, be fun and embrace your humanity and make mistakes.
Often this is best once you've become practised in the art of live broadcasting
#8 Craft your Live posts
Facebook Live isn't just about the live video. You also get to announce your broadcast with a status update.
Although you can edit this later, it's best to come up with a short snappy headline that sums up what you intend to talk about.
Underneath the headline, You can add a more detailed description and even mention other people or pages if you're going to be referring to them in your broadcast.
Finally, don't forget to categorize your broadcast with relevant hashtags if it makes sense.
#9 Have a Strategy
That's ok, but before it ends up eating up all your time (when you should be running your business) make sure you know WHY you are doing this.
There are plenty of solid business reasons why using Facebook Live to broadcast to your audience is so powerful.
It could be to connect with your audience and give them compelling behind-the-scenes content or special offers.
Or a way to reach your Facebook fans more quickly and effectively (the reach for Facebook Live broadcasts is way higher than other types of posts).
Make a list of the goals you want to achieve and then come up with a list of ideas for your live videos that align with those ideas.
Whatever the reasons, make sure you have a reason and craft your live videos that helps you achieve your goals.
#10 Be frequent and consistent
The only way to improve the quality of your broadcasts is to keep on doing them.
You'll make lots of mistakes, but the more you do them, the better you'll get.
The more you do them, the more visible you and your brand will be to your audience.
At first, you may not have that many live viewers. However, over time more people will get to know you are producing these live videos and your viewership will increase.
#11 Work out the best time
At the start, try broadcasting at different times of the day to work out what is best for your audience.
Think about what your audience will likely be doing at the time of your broadcast - will they be at work, or at home?
You may need to think about time zones too. Since I am based in the UK, if I broadcast in the morning, most of my US audience will be fast asleep.
Keep testing and you'll work out the best time for you.
#12 Be Evergreen
The videos will become permanent posts on your profile, page or group timeline.
You can edit your posts and add more information on what you discussed in the broadcast. This also includes mentioning other pages and profiles.
Not all viewers will see your broadcasts live. Most of the time, there will be many more viewers watching the replay.
Make the video relevant and more powerful to replay viewers as well.
#13 Don't forget comments
I remember when I was a younger phoning up a radio station to request a song and being so excited when they mentioned my name live on the radio! It's the same with a Facebook Live broadcast - people love it when you mention them and interact live on air!
Keep following the comments and interact with them at the start of the broadcast.
Once you get into the flow of your main section, however, it's easy to get distracted.
Try and resist the temptation to reply to each comment as it comes in, but respond to it (if it makes sense to do so) once you've finished each point.
Once your broadcast has ended, plan in some time to respond to each comment as a text reply.
Some of my early Facebook Live broadcasts still get replies today - so remember to keep responding to them.
#14 Audio Matters
We tend to think video quality is everything, but actually, people can forgive bad video if the audio is excellent.
People rarely forgive bad audio quality because they won't be able to hear what you are saying!
Make sure you are in a quiet area when you broadcast.
Even better, invest in a lapel or handheld microphone for your smartphone.
There are various options, but make sure it is compatible with your smartphone. Android users in particular need to be careful because the interface can vary considerably from model to model.
An external microphone can greatly improve the audio quality of your live broadcasts.
#15 Be creative with lenses
Why not purchase a wide angle, fisheye or speciality lens for your smartphone camera and make your live videos more interesting?
Wide angle and fisheye lenses cram more into the picture - getting more of your background into the video.
If you are an iPhone user then the Olloclip lenses are amazing (although a little pricey).
Both iOS and Android users are catered for, however, by doing a quick search on Amazon for smartphone wide angle lens.
#16 Stands and Selfie Sticks
You can make your broadcasts more professional by using a selfie stick (to create more space and stability) or a smartphone holder or stabilizer.
Using one of these devices will greatly increase the stability and quality of your videos and give you more flexibility - particularly if you are giving a behind the scenes tour.
#17 Broadcast from your computer
You can use your webcam (and set up multiple webcams too), share your screen and desktop apps and add extra videos and music.
You can broadcast from your computer and stream in the usual way to your page, profile or group and create some professional content such as how to videos, webinars, shows, interviews and much more.
You can use paid professional software such as Ecamm Live (for Mac), StreamYard (Browser-based - PC & Mac) or Wirecast to do this. Or there is a free tool called OBS Studio.
I've produced a video course on How to Broadcast to Facebook Live from your Computer using the free software OBS Studio. I cover setting up scenes, adding webcams, sharing your screen, apps and windows and a whole lot more. Find out more here.
Over to you!
There are plenty more tips and hacks I could share, and I'll add more to this post over time. But now it's over to you. What Facebook Live tips, tools and hacks do you have? Share in the comments below!
About Ian Anderson Gray
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I went live in landscape/horizontal mode on Facebook and it posted my video sideways after the program was over ☹️. Anyone knows how to fix it or why it happened because I don’t like to go live in vertical mode?
Hi, I’ve been doing Facebook live exercise classes. When I choose to post it after so people can watch it at another time, the sound is lagging behind the picture so they are out of sync. This doesn’t work well for something that needs to be in time to the music. It’s in time when it’s live, just out of sync when posted after. Any suggestions for this problem?
My Live videos from my computer used to be great! But when they switched to the new Facebook the audio tanked and my voice is very garbled. I have heard a lot of complaints about this and yet no one seems to have an answer. I need to post weekly sermons for our online church. Same computer HP ENVY and the only thing I did not do was upgrade to the new Facebook. Any ideas?
Hello, My live videos aren’t uploading in HD quality. After I’ve done the live video, it’s showing up as 640 x 360 rather then 720. This happens both on my iPhone xr and my iMac. I have the Facebook video setting in my iPhone set to HD upload, and I also have the setting in my facebook account set to HD. iPhone camera setting is 1080p and my webcam (when using iMac), is logitech 922 which is also 1080p. Internet speed test download is 380mbps and upload is 40.92mbps.
When I go live through the iPhone, I go directly to Facebook and when using my imac I usually go through zoom. After doing the live stream from my iPhone I always choose the HD upload option but the quality of the video is always SD when I download the video afterwards.
i am biju varghese from kochi.I am doing the live fb telecast of our holly mass for the last 80 days. I am using vivo 19 mobile phone.But i am note satisfied with the video quality,Can you pls suggest to improve the video quality.We are using sufficient lights
regards
biju varghese
Hi! We are trying to pick a background color for our live stream area at our church and wanted to know what the best color would be. We are looking at a creamy white, Navy Blue or a medium to dark Gray. I would appreciate your thoughts on this when you have a moment. Thanks so much!
Hello! I recently just started a cooking live stream! I discovered that you can livestream on Facebook AND YouTube at the same time and I would love to do that! But, what I am wondering is, if I were to do a live for both of those, would I still be able to see what people comment during the live and everything? Because if I cannot, then I am not sure what to do. I would love to put my videos on YouTube, but they are all live…
Hi Sydney,
Yes, you can! It really depends on the tool that you use.
For multicasting (the ability to live stream to more than one platform at the same time) you’ll need a tool that supports this. Examples include Wirecast, StreamYard and Restream.
But you are right about comments – it is vital that you can see the comments from everywhere and highlight them if you want. Both Restream and StreamYard allow this.
This article goes through all the live streaming tools: https://iag.me/socialmedia/top-live-video-streaming-tools/ I’m working on adding Restream, which isn’t one of the tools.
Thank you so much for replying back!! Which one would you recommend that I use for my cooking streams? I’m new to all of this live stuff and I’m trying to get better at it! I would love to live stream to both my Facebook Group AND YouTube Channel at the same time while seeing the comments my audience has on both platforms because I want to gain a bigger audience! I use my iPhone for the lives because I feel it’s easier to move with it than my Mac Laptop! I’m not really tech savvy but I learn quickly and I’m not able to pay monthly subscriptions.
Hi I use my mobile to go live but can I also use my ipad to read the comments plz
I have been having audio trouble because my camera audio is picking up the fan noise from my laptop during live streaming any suggestions?
Hi Christina, Live streaming can really make your computer’s fans go into overdrive! So, the best way is to use an external microphone – ideally a dynamic mic – which you can have away from your computer and close to your computer. The one I recommend is the Samson Q2U mic. You can see it as a cheaper alternative to the one I use on my gear page – https://iag.me/gearguide Hope that helps!
During this quarantine I’m teaching Zumba to my friends. Facebook switch me from Edge to Chrome and now to Firefox. Every time, after 30 minutes, my laptop video turns black and tells me there are video problems that never resolved, and my laptop thinks I’m not using it. Then I have to stop my class. Afterwards, my friends tell me they still can see me. I don’t know what else to do. I’m so upset. If you can give me and idea why this is happening, I will very thankful. Zumba a la Quarantine with MercyV.
Hi Mercy. So sorry to hear you’ve been having so many issues. It could be that your laptop is overheating or just running out of processing power.
Try and shut as many apps running in the background as possible. Are you on a PC or a Mac? On a Mac, load up Activity Monitor, and on a PC load up Task Manager, and look at your CPU usage. That make show you if there is an issue. Another option is to try StreamYard which is a great live video streaming tool which might work better for you.
Good info! Thanks for sharing. How do you get the backgrounds in Streamyard to remain stationary and not fade you in and out?
Hi Amber, what backgrounds are you referring to? Are these the overlays or backgrounds for the green screen? Ian
I switched over to Facebook’s new live video producer. Everything was fine for the first few times. This morning, when I tried to start the video on my MacBook Air, I got a camera error and a suggestion to use Firefox or Chrome Beta. I finally did the video from my iPhone. What’s going on?
Exactly that’s what is happening to me. Started this week. No problems before with Chrome. They made me switch to Firefox and then problems started. All I want is to get this resolved or switching my Zumba class to Zoom.
Same browser issues here, and now my FB lives are so pixelated they’re hardly watchable. Never had an issue until the new FB updates. I was hoping to get some tips on how to fix the issue!
Have you tried a different tool like StreamYard and see if that’s better? It might be best to use a different tool while Facebook fixes the issue. Ian
So, are you finding it works better with a different browser? Chrome should be fine. But I needed to shut down as many apps running in the background.
You are not alone it is a PC, Window’s 10 problem too. Chrome says it is Facebook’s problem. I have to use my phone and the app to get it to work at all. Driving me nuts. Wish there was a fix. Have a live sale scheduled for next week and getting very nervous.
Hi Cynthia, that is strange. Is it still an issue for you? Have you tried different tools like StreamYard for Facebook Live? Ian
Hi Mindy. Sorry that you were having those issues. All I can say is that Facebook Live has been having a few issues. It could be partly down to the unprecedented uptake in live video streaming. Has it become any better for you recently? I’ve not had any issues myself. Ian
One of your tips was “Broadcast to Yourself”. Is the option “only me” still available with the new changes to Facebook Live? Or is this only an option when using a phone. I would like to practice. The only option I have found is to record live and then have it delete immediately. I am using a computer not a phone. When I went to “Live” there was no privacy option to change.
Another problem I have is a week ago the comments were on the left side of the screen. I could look at them while doing my presentation. Now they pop-up in a window right in front of me. I have to reduce them to see what I am doing. How do I get them back over to the side? As you might guess, I am just learning to use Facebook Live. Any suggestions would be really appreciated.
Hi Jim. Yes, the option to broadcast to yourself is still an option with the changes to FB Live. You can still change the privacy settings in Live Producer. Make sure you are streaming to your profile timeline. The ability to broadcast to “only me” isn’t available on pages.
Hi there, When we LIVE stream through the Facebook app on an iPhone 7 plus (on Wifi with good upload speeds) the most it will do is 360p even though all settings on phone and app are set to H :hmm: D. Do you have any idea why that would be?
Hi Tia, The live video might be more than 360p, but it is difficult to know.
Certainly, when you download the replay, the video is usually less than 720p, but often the live is better quality. Unfortunately, there isn’t anything you can do. I’ve tried to find out about this for years, and Facebook just hasn’t improved things. Ian
Our church has been using FB Live and it had been working like a charm. Just within the last few days when you flip the image to make it NOT a mirror image – it goes green and looks awful – prior to last week – no problems – any suggestions?
Hi Mark,
That is very strange! I’ve not seen that bug before. But it does sound like a Facebook bug. The green fuzzy screen is a “codec” issue which can sometimes happen if your internet is flaky or there are other issues. Have you tried uninstalling the app and reinstalling it? Other than that I am not sure what to suggest. Hopefully, Facebook will fix it.
how i can improve audio quality whenever i ll be live on facebook.here we have amplifier in temple so how could i can use that amplifier for audio quality on facebook live.plz rply
It really depends on your set up – whether you are using a phone or a computer. Also, is this just you, or others? Are you speaking or playing music/singing? But a mic will help improve the audio. Ian
I have been doing a live show from my phone on Facebook live but then went to my MacBook Air with a proper mic and setup. The problem is there is a 16 second delay from when I ask a question until someone can respond even tho they responded right away. Is there a solution to this to run a smoother show on my phone
Hi Greg, There is always going to be a delay. Often it’s around 8 seconds, but 10-16 seconds and beyond is not uncommon.
Part of the delay is the time it takes for your device to encode the video. But it also be a delay on your audience’s end as their computer decodes the video.
Close as many apps running in the background as you can while you broadcast. But other than that, you just need to be aware of the delay.
Hello. I am a professional musician in Los Angeles. Recently I have been participating in Zoom Live and Facebook Live broadcasts. In addition to a lousy visual rendering very often I am disappointed that the picture is not in sync with the sound/music of a live performance. (For me, these factors defeat the whole purpose of capturing a live performance.)
Is this due to the speed of the data upload? Would a T-3 help? Is it the website or environment that is being uploaded to slowing and inhibiting a fast rendering of realtime content? Could multiple phones capturing the performance be connected to a broadcast hub?
If I knew more I could ask better questions.
I would appreciate any references you may have.
Sincerely, Eric Zimmermann
Hi Eric, great to meet you on here. I trained as a professional classical singer and my wife teaches academic music at the Royal Northern College of Music here in the UK. For Zoom, I assume you’ve discovered the audio settings for making music sound better. Especially “Enable Original Sound”.
It’s in Audio->Advanced settings. It makes a big difference.
As for audio and video being in sync, often it is down to your computer not being powerful enough to encode both at the same speed. Sometimes it can be your internet speed. Definitely close down as many apps running in the background as possible. What type of computer do you have? Or, are you using your phone? If you are, what kind of phone? iPhone or Android?
Hello: Helllllp! I also am experiencing the hissing sound on my Facebook lives from my iphone. I uninstalled and reinstalled the Facbook app. I updated and reset the settings on my iphone. No luck. Videos from my camera work fine. Instagram videos work fine. This is catastrophic for my business. Can anyone help? thanks!
Yes I am having the same issue. I don’t hear it on my end, but my participants do.
Sorry to hear that, Chrissa. Hoping Facebook will sort this out soon! Ian
Same Issue here for the last week..tried all the tricks .. reached out to FB several times
No luck getting a response.
Thanks for letting us know, Shannon. Hopefully, Facebook is aware of the issue. The fact that you’ve reached out and not heard anything doesn’t mean they are not listening, But it is frustrating. Have you tried a different device? Another option is to go live from a laptop. Not exactly a fix, though, for what you want! Ian
Unfortnately, using my laptop is not an option for what I need to do with my LIVEs..but I keep hoping FB resolves it for us or at least would respond. Thank you for all the tips and suggestions!
I hope so too! Facebook can be quite buggy sometimes. Let me know if it is
Did you get a response from Facebook? I am getting the same hissing sound. Big problem for my live feed
Hi Jeri, I don’t think Facebook has responded to anyone about this yet. But I am pretty sure they are aware of it. Hopefully, they will issue a fix
No I have not received any replies 😔
Hi Lea. Oh no, not another example of this. Unfortunately, this bug seems to be affecting a small number of users. I hope Facebook will fix it soon.
You could try a different device, if you have access to one. Or, can you use a laptop? The tools I would recommend would be StreamYard (for Macs and PCs) or Ecamm Live (for Macs). If you have a laptop with a webcam, there are actually many advantages in using this set
Today, I was doing a FB Live in my private group and when some of the viewers joined, there was an option to invite them to join on camera?! Does this mean Facebook is bringing back the LIVE with friends option?
When a friend and I just tested it about 6 hours later on my group and again on hers, the option no longer showed up. Could this be because it is in beta? Both of our apps were updated and we tried both on our iPhones and on our laptops. Option never showed. Any thoughts on this that could help enlighten us? We would love to be able to do Live with Friends again!!
Facebook staff, could you help us out here?
It would be wonderful if Facebook was monitoring this article. But probably best to reach out to them through their support. Ian
This is a great article. Thank you. I have been LIVE streaming our church services for the past few weeks. I have had varying success with technique. I steamed the service to Facebook last week with my iPhone 8 and both the audio and video were quite good. However, this week, set up in the same space and the locations there was a very noticeable hiss blocking most of the audio. Is there a setting that you’re aware of that I may have accidentally changed?
Hi Greg. I believe there is a bug with some versions of the Facebook app right now. I’ve not had this issue, but a few people have commented on my other article about this – https://iag.me/socialmedia/17-tips-to-improve-your-facebook-live-broadcasts/#comments Hopefully, Facebook will sort this out.
Another option is to steam from a computer (using an app like StreamYard) or try a different device.
Hi. My question…I have been invited to do a LIVE in a private Facebook group. I will do the LIVE on a laptop. I would like to set up my phone to record the video on my phone to post on my page to share with my audience later? I am not sure if I should have the phone from the same viewing direction or from another angle (side or back angle) Since I can’t look into both cameras at the same time my intention on my phone is to capture me doing the LIVE. Does that make sense? Next question…should hook the lav microphone to the phone or laptop. I would like good sound quality on both. My phone does have great sound quality. (LG G7) Thanks for your help!
Hi Marly. It’s best to use a tool that records your live broadcast as well as stream it to your group. The best tools (in my experience) for this are either StreamYard (for Macs and PCs) or Ecamm Live (for Macs).
Both will allow you to stream to your Facebook group and record a high-quality video to your computer. You can then upload that video to Facebook for later. Then you don’t need to worry about not looking at your audience and not worry about the sound quality, because you’ll be using the
Hi…great read above and some great tips thank you. My business is exercise classes aimed ad older adults – Since lockdown i have been livestreaming their classes on Facebook with great success! Until yesterday…my Facebook Livestream now has a horrible ‘hissing’ sound – like interference – which i have been unable to get rid of. I have restarted my phone, removed and reinstalled Facebook app, but no success! If i Facetime or use Whats Ap to Video call, there is no interferene, it is only Facebook……….Ia m using an Iphone 7PLus. Today, in order to broadcast to them without the hissing noise i had to borrow someone elses phone and log into my Facebook account….all was good :-)….but why does my phone do this?…..I’m so puzzled…..
Hi Melissa, Sorry to hear that. That is a very annoying issue. I’ve not had that issue, and I have not come across that issue. But it looks like you are not alone.
A few other people have commented with similar issues. It looks like it is affecting a small subset of users. Facebook pushes out different versions of their app to different users for testing, and it seems that the version you have on your phone has this bug. Hopefully, they will sort it out soon.
I am so sorry I can’t be of any more help. Ian
Thanks for the insightful article. My wife and I have been broadcasting LIVE on FB for just over 2 weeks now using my IPhone 11 Pro.
But yesterday and today, in the middle of the broadcast, the app closed down with no warning. Then when we attempt to go back on live, it won’t allow us to continue in landscape mode. This morning, I deleted and redownloaded the app. This didn’t solve the problem.
I have not found an answer for this anywhere online. Do you have any idea?
Hi Mark,
Sorry for the issues you are having. Facebook can be a little buggy. I have known the Facebook app to crash halfway through. Could you check that you haven’t got rotation lock enabled on your iPhone?
But it might be an issue with the Facebook app right now – or with the version that you have been given. Facebook puts people in different versions of the app for testing.
Thanks Ian for your reply. My phone rotation lock is not enabled. Today when attempting to go LIVE it gave me the tilt phone screen message again and forced me to go live in portrait.
As far as upload speed, I obtained the Speedify app. It helped a little. But I’m researching for a internet provider with higher upload speeds.
Thanks again!
Hi Mark.
Thanks for letting me know. It sounds like there are quite a few bugs with the Facebook mobile app right now. And it depends on the version Facebook have given you. I haven’t had any of these issues. But I know of people who have. I hope it gets fixed soon. Let me know! Ian
Our church is live streaming on facebook with my new iphone 11 pro max, the video goes in and out of fuzzy – why? help!?
Our church is live streaming to facebook on my new iphone 11 pro max; the video goes in and out of fuzzy! WHY? help!
Hi Fawn, Have you got an example? Is it going in and out of focus? Or is the video becoming pixelated? If it’s becoming pixelated it could be a bandwidth issue – maybe your internet speed is going too low. Have you checked your internet upload speed using speedtest.net?
I am live-streaming my church services from my house. I use my iPad. Sometimes the video lags badly( mouth and sound out of synce) how can I fix it? Someone suggested I close out all apps running in the background.
Hi Paul. With an iPad, closing all the apps running in the background is unlikely to help. Although, there is no harm in doing that. I’d make sure that you restart your iPad, and you make sure that nothing else is using your WiFi in the house? However, are you using an external mic or anything fancy like that? Out of sync audio can be caused by a variety of factors, but it’s often down to your computer or tablet not being able to encode the video and audio fast enough. I’d recommend rebooting it and making sure you don’t use it beforehand so it’s not getting too hot.
It might be a good idea to try streaming from your computer. We are using StreamYard to stream our church services and it is working a treat. We are bringing in different people from remote locations for the prayers, the music and the sermon. Hope that helps.
Thanks so much Ian. Yes I am using the camera on my ipad (latest generation iPad). My desktop is the only thing directly connected to the modem, but I don’t have a good camera to use with it, so using my iPad and wifi is my best bet. I will turn everything else off as you said. I live in a rural area (no fiber optics here), so someone said that our internet isn’t the best. 100mbs download and around 10mbs upload. I will look into streamyard but our people all use facebook, so I livestream that way. I might add that many of my livestreams are in sync just fine, just occassionally out of sync. Thanks again!!
Ian, tonight’s service was much better. The audio and video were in perfect sync.. I noticed though that after about twenty minutes it lagged ever so slightly. Is that because more and more people are joining the stream?
Thanks for letting me know, Paul. That is good to know. The sync shouldn’t change with the number of people viewing. But the lag can increase with time as your device can start to got hotter and struggle more with encoding
When I turn my phone sideways in horizontal mode, the picture is stretched out and zoomed in when doing Facebook live. Wasn’t like that a week ago. How can I fix this?
Have you been able to fix this? Mine is doing the same thing.
I am having the same experience. Tonight I had to do my Facebook Live music show in portrait orientation, since landscape orientation was stretched and zoomed, just as you described. Sunday night show a week ago was fine in landscape.
I’m having the same problem. So frustrating!!
Having the same problem…any solutions yet?
Hi everyone. I have had this happen before, but not for a while. I’ve just tried a test live and it worked fine with my phone in horizontal. Can I ask which phones people are using? Android or iPhone? And are you putting the phone in horizontal format before pressing the go-live button? It’s really important to put your phone in the orientation you want BEFORE you press the “go live” button. Ian
Having the same problem. Using iphone 11 and it was ok this morning when doing the test runs. But when it was time to go live (had changed to landscape mode before going live) picture was stretched out and zoomed just as described above.
This is very frustrating. I am not able to replicate the issue myself, but clearly it is affecting many people. I would suggest sending Facebook a bug report. The best way to do it is to view the buggy video on your computer and then follow the instructions here –
Hi Ian, I am using an Iphone XR. The interesting thing is the image on my phone during Facebook Live is zoomed and stretched out, but the actual Facebook Live feed – viewed on my wife’s phone looks totally normal. So the view is distorted…but the video it is sending out is normal. So weird. I signed in my wife’s Facebook account on my phone, and it works perfect. As soon as I sign in on my Facebook account, the Landscape view becomes distorted.
Hi Kevin, That is frustrating. It sounds like a Facebook bug. This is only an issue for a subset of users, and unfortunately, your account is in that subset.
Hopefully, it will be fixed soon. Ian
I am having the same problem. Iphone 11..Yes, putting it in horizontal before pressing the go-live and then it records sideways. I was having no problems until about 3 weeks ago. I have just gone to using my iPad to go Live, but this is obviously an issue many of us are having.
Hi Ian,
I’m using Facebook Live to stream Dance Parties for Kids during covid-19. It’s a complex set-up, with internal camera on my 2018 MacBook Air, a headset mic, music on my iphone. Those are going into a mixer and the mixer goes into my computer. The issue is video pixelation. I use wifi and my router is in another part of the house, but my wifi upload speed is 23.4 so it shouldn’t be that. Mac camera is a good one. Don’t know if I should try a webcam, a wifi extender or something else. Is there a FB setting that would help? Thanks!!
Hi Deborah. That sounds great – although the pixelation is not good!
Pixelation can often be due to your upload speed not being high enough. But you say it’s 23.4Mbps up – so that is good. Is it consistent though? It’s great if it is that high, but if it fluctuates wildly and goes really low, then that could be an issue. However, I think that is unlikely in your case. The other thing could be that your Macbook Air is being overpowered.
Make sure you close as many apps running in the background as possible.
Close down the obvious ones like Dropbox or similar. And then open up Activity Monitor and close down ones you know you can close down.
Inbuilt webcams aren’t that great, to be honest. I have a MacBook pro, and the inbuilt camera is fairly low quality when it comes to live streaming.
So, getting an external webcam will definitely help. The only issue is that they are like gold dust. All the Logitech webcams such as the C920, C922, C930 and the Brio are either out of stock or selling for silly money. But you could look around. Hope that helps.
Hi Ian,
Thanks for this! I’ve been giving hour-long Zumba classes through Facebook live since we’ve all been in lockdown. I’m using my iPad. I’m having an issue with the camera focus. Obviously, since I’m moving, the camera seems to have a hard time finding me and staying in focus. At times its clear, other times blurry. I’m not sure if it’s trying to focus on the overhead fan or on me. Any tips on what I can do to perfect this? Thank you!!
I am having the same problem with iPhone!
Hi Susan. We’re living in crazy times right now, aren’t we?! Hope you’re doing ok. But great that you are offering Zumba classes to keep people fit and active. There is, unfortunately, a limitation to what you can do on an iPad. But, you can click on your screen on the part you want to keep in focus. Of course, if you are moving around in the video, that might not be great. Also, making your background as clear as possible and making sure you are well contrasted – wearing bright clothes with an uncluttered plane background will help. There are other things you can do if you are live streaming from a computer with a higher quality camera, but that is getting more involved and expensive. Hope that helps! Ian
Thank you! Yesterday’s class was somewhat better. I’ll keep experimenting. I wonder if the iPad is learning 🙂
Hi Susan, That is good to hear! Maybe your iPad is learning to be nice! Hopefully, it will start to be more helpful over time. Ian
Hello we are streaming live at our Church… the audio when music is playing sounds bad but when Preaching starts its ok???
Hi Lori. How are you streaming your church services? Are you using a phone or an app on a computer? From what you’ve said, the issue comes down to “audio compression”. Basically, some tools optimize the audio for speech and not music. They use an algorithm to try and reduce background noise which is perfect for speech. But when it comes to music, it can’t handle it. Music will sound “tinny” and compressed, and fade in and out. Not good.
However, if you are using a tool like StreamYard or Ecamm Live (or others) you can disable audio processing and the music will sound great.
You can hear the difference in the service I streamed from our church service last Sunday.
At the start, I forgot to disable audio processing – so the music at the start sounds bad. But the music during the service (my family lead the worship, by the way!) and after the service sound fine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQxUGS11ra8
Hope that helps!
I am getting a regular clicking sound accompanying my live fb posts that starts up when I move from speaking to playing my instruments. Didn’t appear the first time I posted but has done subsequently every time. Using iPhone 7. It’s very distracting . Any ideas on how to stop it. Thank you
Hi Alison. Thanks for your comment. Sorry to hear you’re hearing these clicking sounds with your live broadcasts. You say you’re your iPhone 7.
Are you using the inbuilt microphone or are you using an external microphone? I think the issue may be that Facebook is using some nose reduction and so it doesn’t know quite how to handle any playing of music. Have you tried StreamYard ? It’s a free live video streaming solution for computers. Make sure you’re wearing earphones and that you check the disable audio processing box when you join. You may find the audio much better this way. Ian
We are having Zoom meetings so they are on my computer but at the same time having Facebook Live on the phone. The confidential part is taken down for Zoom. We remain on FB Live but when zoom is resumed we are supposed to get a text from admin…will that come across on FB live or how else can they notify us that zoom is back on. FB Live needs to stay running? Thanks
Hi. Could you explain in a little more detail what you’re trying to do?
From what you’ve said you are running a Zoom meeting and not using the inbuilt live streaming feature in Zoom. But at the same time, you are doing a Facebook Live from your phone using the Facebook app? I am not sure what you mean by getting a text from admin? Ian
This was very helpful, thank you. Excellent information!
We did a zoom stream on facebook LIVE test run in our group, did the interview, it all turned out great! We went back to watch ourselves to do a critique. Our video was supposed to be 4:29 min/sec long, but it got cut at 4:19 m/s. Is it because of the lag time? Should I have allowed the video to ‘run’ about 10-20 extra seconds after we finished so my Goodbyes didn’t get cut? Or another reason? Thank you for your time. Judy
Hi Judy. I’m glad you found the information in this article helpful.
Have you also check out my article on the top live video streaming tools. I talk about the Zoom in that article.
https://iag.me/socialmedia/top-live-video-streaming-tools/
Yes, sometimes my videos can get cut off at the end. I’ve not been up to work out exactly why this happens to some and not for others. Because, although there was a lag of 10 seconds, Facebook takes that into account and doesn’t stop the live broadcast as soon as you end the broadcast. It waits until the last part of the video you stream to your audience finishes and then ends it. But sometimes if your internet connection is slow this can cause problems. If possible leave three or four seconds at the end or even better play and outro video. I hope that helps. Ian
Thx for this article and the others where you’ve reviewed specific apps for streaming. Have you used FB trimming for live video? My live videos start with a countdown to allow live users to arrive. Even though I’ve “successfully” trimmed these minutes off the beginning, facebook never seems to actually process them. There are full length still. Have you had any experiences with this? Thanks.
Thanks, Jonathan. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, it’s been a bit of a mad week. Yes, I have tried using the tuning feature for Facebook live videos. In the past, it has been a little bit buggy, but recently it hasn’t worked to me. You just have to be patient in waiting for Facebook to trim the video, especially for longer videos. Sometimes he can take three or four minutes. Have you tried it again recently? Ian
Wow Ian this is fantastic. Thank you thank you for all these answers and tips. During this COVID 19 lockdowns friends have asked me to play a couple of songs for them. I did this on Facebook live via my iPad. A couple of songs turned into a 45 min set with lots of friends enjoying it. My only issue was when I went to watch it back the audio was out of sync with the video by about 0.045 secs. I did another set last week and while for the first 5mins the Audio was in sync by about 10 mins in the audio and video were again out of sync. I was using the iPads internal camera and microphone. My Wi Fi upload speed is between 3Mpbs and 8Mpbs Any suggestions what I could try to keep the audio and video in sync? Thanks again Hugh
Hi Hugh. It’s a really challenging time for so many right now, and so it’s wonderful you are doing this. Audio/video sync can be a major issue. There are a number of factors. I am impressed you’ve worked out the timing was out by 0.045 seconds! So, part of it can be down to internet speed (upload). Yours seems to be fine. Although, is it stable? If your internet drops, that could cause issues. You’re not using a Bluetooth mic or headset are you? There is some latency there which can cause issues. How hot does your iPad get? It could be that it’s overheating and struggling to stream.
If you can try streaming from your computer, you might have better luck.
Try an app like StreamYard which (and remember to check the “disable audio processing” checkbox so that it doesn’t treat your music like spoken word).
And close down as many apps running in the background as possible. Ian
Hi Ian thanks again for your help. Actually the upload is fairly variable. I am at home with family so I might ask them to all hop off the WiFi while I am streaming. Do you think it would make much difference if the video was at 720p HD or 1080p HD? Also wondering if it would make much difference if I got iPad Camera adapter and USB to Ethernet adapter and then ran an Ethernet cable direct from the iPad directly into my router?
At the moment I am happy enough with just the iPads internal camera and microphone. If I used my lap top I would need to organise an audio interface. ( the laptop internal mic doesn’t handle the guitar and vocals at all)
Thanks, Hugh. It’s difficult to know exactly what the issue is in your case. But I recommend trying a number of different options. Definitely try 720p as opposed to 1080p because this can put far less strain on your device. You could also try the Ethernet adapter and run it straight from the router. That might give you more of a stable internet speed. Let me
Thanks Ian I did the 720p and ran directly into the router via the Ethernet adapter – still had issues with the audio. initially it was actually slightly ahead of the video but gradually drifted to be behind the video. On the iPad I can’t seem to adjust what bit rate the internal microphone is being recorded at. Facebook recommend sample rate 48kHz and a bit rate up to 256kbps. But I can’t see on the iPad how I can configure this for the internal microphone. I think the issue with the audio and video being out of sync is an encoding issue. Would you recommend trying to run StreamYard on my iPad. I got a bit nervous because About how much access and control I needed to agree to with StreamYard. it felt like StreamYard were asking me to give them permission to run all my video content.
Hi Hugh. That’s a shame that it isn’t working so well for you, even when plugging in via your ethernet adapter. There shouldn’t be a sync issue. Is it a modern iPad? How hot is the iPad to touch? I do know that I get more lagging issues if my iPhone or iPad is low in battery or too hot – because the CPU is throttled/slowed down. You can live stream with an iPad, but really I’d recommend using a computer. Especially if you are going to try out StreamYard. It’s not designed for mobile devices. Don’t worry about the permissions – they need all of those so that you can stream to Facebook.
It’s up to you, of course, but I totally trust StreamYard. I met one of the founders, Geige, a month or so back – a really lovely guy. Ian
Thanks again Ian awesome information. The iPad is a relatively new ( Christmas 2019) its a recent model (7th generation) iPad it doesn’t appear to be overheating or to be struggling. I would try to use my work laptop ( fairly recent Del – Latitude 5580) but when I’ve tested it with the internal or external microphones the audio sounds terrible. The iPad camera and mic sound ok when I record straight into it. And look at it off my camera roll. The problem with the audio sync is only when it is going to the facebook live stream. I will try my sons android (Oppo ) phone this week and see if it is any better on the live stream. I noticed at the top of these comments that Paul is having issues with Audio and video sync when using his iPad to do facebook live stream for his church. Interested to see if they can find a solution there. Thanks again you are doing amazing work and helping so many people. Thanks 🙂
Hi Hugh. Your iPad is really new, so there shouldn’t be a problem. I’m not sure what the issue could be. My only other thought could be to completely uninstall the Facebook app and reinstall it. It just could have a glitch in it, and removing it and the cache might help. It’s a long shot, but worth trying. When you are streaming from a computer, it’s ideal to be using an external webcam and mic. But all of that is extra stuff and it costs money.
And at the moment there is a worldwide shortage of microphones and webcams.
I hope it all works out for you. To be honest, I haven’t tried streaming on an iPad. Our iPad is very old – 3rd gen – so I know it won’t cope well! Try your son’s Android phone and see if that is better? Do you have an iPhone?
It’s frustrating when the tech doesn’t work. Ian
awesome info… ThankU Ian
My pleasure, Abigail. Thanks for stopping by! Ian
Hi Ian,thanks for the article. I have a question please regarding Facebook live. Can I set a timer for the comments in order to leave some time between one comment and the other in order to answer them because sometimes questions come very fast and I lose track. Thanks
Unfortunately, you can’t do that. What I would suggest, is following comments on a second device – for example a bigger screen like a tablet or computer screen. It definitely is a challenge! Ian
I am trying to watch an exercise live event and it keeps getting interrupted. I have good internet connection so not sure why. Any suggestions on better streaming?
Hi Betsy,
Sorry to hear that ‘s been happening. It could just be that so many people are watching live videos at the moment. It could be the person streaming the event is having internet issues. It could be a number of things. And although you have a decent internet connection, it could be fluctuating.
It’s not just the speed, it is also how stable it is. Sorry that I can’t be
Ian, any suggestions for a choppy facebook live despite a hard wired connection (about 4mbps upload) and an external mic? My visuals were ok but the audio would cut out especially when I turned my head to look at a monitor… despite the new mic being positioned between the two monitors…. which the audio problem was the same last week without an external mic.
Hi Benjaminn. Usually, I’d say the issue could be caused by a poor internet connection. 4mbps is on the low side, but as long as it’s consistent and not dipping too much, you should be fine. I’d look into whether you get the same issue when you record a pre-recorded video for Facebook. If you get the same issue, then the issue is with your audio settings. Otherwise, it’s the stream. But I am not sure what the issue is.
Have you got a link to the video? Ian
Ian!!! I have the same issue! I’m so glad I found your page. I hope you can help. I have speed of 5.96 so it should be fine but we got ALOT of audio cut out throughout the performance. I hope you can assist! We are using a MacBook Pro and just using the internal computer mic and camera. Wi-fi hooked. Here’s the live audio link: https://www.facebook.com/ceeceejamesfanpage/videos/10157203038539053/UzpfSTEwMjU5Nzk2Mzg5OToxMDE1ODQ0Njg0NjQ2MzkwMA/
Hey Ian.. any thoughts on what gives with this internet speed issue? I’ve heard 6mpbs is plenty but still we have the issues… any help would be so appreciated and could lead to us being a client as I need help with other things as well! 🙂
Hi again Cee Cee. I replied to your earlier comment which I hope helps.
Your internet speed should be fine. As long as it’s stable. But listening to your live stream, I don’t think that’s the issue. If you follow all the steps I recommended before, and do a test live stream and see if that works. Let me know! Would love to work with you some time! Ian
Hi, thanks for getting in touch! I loved your video and really resonated with your message at the start. And the music, so amazing – the guitar playing and your voice – wow! So, let’s see if I can help. What software are you using to go live to Facebook? Are you going through the Facebook website? It sounds like your Mac is running out of resources – basically too many things running at one time. So, next time, here a few things you can do. – I recommend rebooting your computer before you go live. – Then close down as many apps running in the background. Manually close the obvious ones (for example things like Dropbox etc). Load up Activity Monitor and click on the CPU usage.- and see which apps are using the most amount of CPU. Then, if you can, close them down (only if they’re not critical) – I’d highly recommend using StreamYard for your live streaming as opposed to the Facebook app. They have a free version, but the paid version isn’t too expensive. You may find this better. Make sure you check the box that says “disable audio processing” when you are on because… Read more »
Hey,
I just setup my online Tv. I started test broadcast but my video was ban by Facebook. I was playing music on my live broadcast.
Hi Levis. Facebook is very zealous in its copyright detection. If you play music that it detects is copyrighted it will warn you or even ban the video. It’s best to play music you have a licence from services like
Hi there
I started live streaming DJ sets on facebook and spoke to a number of DJs and the times vary on how long they last till they get booted off. My longest set was an hour and then roughly every half hour before fb ended the stream. Some DJs I know lasted 2 hours some hour and a half, why is it different? Also my router is in the hallway and I’m in the garden summer house and I tried using wi-fi connection poor and then tried Ethernet cable running from router to Mac was just as poor. The only decent connection which video was clear was using 4g using personal hotspot from my iPhone connected to the Mac
Hi Cliff. Facebook (like YouTube) has a copyright detection system. So, if it detects that you are playing a lot of copyrighted music, it will boot you off, unless you have a licence. From a tech point of view, you should be fine on 4G as long as your upload speed is decent (4Mbps and up) and stable.
Thanks Ian yeah I can understand the whole copyrighted music thing but what baffles me is. I know loads of DJs playing copyrighted music but there sets seem to go on over an hour even 2 before the set is stopped. It’s not consistent
Yes, it’s frustrating. Facebook’s copyright detection system is far from perfect! And it does seem that some people can play for hours without an issue. Sorry I can’t be of more help here! Ian
hey there
Thanks so much for this super easy to follow blog post about FB live. I would like to cooking classes on FB live and am wondering whether to just do it on my phone or whether to utilise one of the third party apps you have described above. I am in NZ and on limited funds so the $39US per month is too hefty. Any suggestions for what will work best? I have a MAC book Pro (2015) and I have an iPhone XS with iOS 13.3.1 No webcam or external mic and no way of getting one during this lock down.
Would love your thoughts.
Hi Vanessa. I think for you, right now, using your iPhone is definitely the best way to go. There are disadvantages with going live from your phone that you need to be aware of, though. For example, you can’t schedule your live videos, share your screen and a few other things. But the camera on your phone is likely to be much better than your inbuilt webcam. And, at the moment, it’s very hard to get any external webcams. Ian
Hi Ian
I’m currently running fitness classes through Facebook live and all going great apart from there being a couple of seconds delay on the music I’m playing to the moves I’m performing, is this something that can be fixed or is it just an internet speed issue that we have to put up with?
Thanks
When we live stream ,we would like to have the phone horizontal but can’t because when we press send it shows up a different way on Facebook , people can’t see it the right way . We have to stream in the vertical position. How do we change that so we can stream in horizontal position?
Hi Tim.
First of all, make sure your phone doesn’t have rotation lock enabled. How you do this will depend on whether you are using an iPhone or Android phone. When you click to create a live video and you rotate your phone, does the picture rotate? If not, you have rotation lock on. If it does rotate, that’s great! Type your post, and then make sure you rotate your phone to the horizontal landscape position BEFORE you press the “Start Live Video” button.
If I set up a facebook live event for my band will it stream from the event page or the bands facebook page? Thanks!!
Hi! Thanks for the great tips. I want to use my iPad to record Facebook live, should be fine right?
Hi Beth. You can certainly use your iPad to broadcast a Facebook Live.
There are pros and cons, but it’s a great place to start! Ian
Is it possible to schedule a facebook live event from my computer and when it comes time for the event, use my iphone for the actual stream? I haven’t found a real answer anywhere about this. Thanks!
Hi Rodney. That’s a great question. Unfortunately, that isn’t possible. You can’t schedule a live video from the Facebook mobile app, and you can’t go live from the mobile Facebook app to a previously scheduled live. Ian
Thanks for the answer. What would you say my options are? My band is planning on doing a live show and I’d like to be able to promote it beforehand. However I’ll be using my phone to do the streaming.
Would it be possible to create an event and then somehow link my phone through OBS for the stream?
Thanks again!
Hi Rodney.
There isn’t an easier answer. If you are using an iPhone, you could consider using Switcher Studio . This turns your iOS devices into a mobile video studio. It’s an amazing solution and works with iPhones and Android phones. You can schedule Facebook Live videos (as well as YouTube Live videos). It’s not available for Android, unfortunately. It’s also a bit pricey, but worth looking at.
Alternatives are going to be a bit clunky. It is technically possible to use the cameras from iPhones or Android phones and get them into OBS Studio, although I’ve not tested it for a while. One way is to download an NDI camera and then install an NDI plugin in OBS Studio and then select the camera. It’s a bit technical but possible. Ian
Thanks for all of your help!!
Like this. I am learning to use Stream Yard (love it) and have done 2 broadcasts initially to FB. Can you point to any resources that show you how to add audio (if it’s possible) and adding info graphics onto the screen – I have looked, probably not that well but can’t find a great deal
Thanks
Hi Mahmood. StreamYard is great, isn’t it?! You can definitely add graphics on the screen. In StreamYard (on the paid versions) you can add your own logo as well as backgrounds and overlays. It’s not as comprehensive as the likes of Ecamm Live, but it at least allows you to add graphics on the screen. Audio is a different matter. At the moment, you can only add your microphone into the mix. If you have a Mac, you could look into Loopback which is an app that allows you to create virtual audio devices. So, for example, you could create an audio device that combines your microphone and the sound from another app. For Windows, I’ve not used this, but LoopBeAudio is a paid solution that does kind of the same thing. Or there is JackAudio , but that requires some command line stuff. But, basically, StreamYard is a simple solution, and you need to be mindful of its pros and cons. It’s great for simple live shows where you have simple branding and graphics. If you want to do more advanced stuff, then check out Ecamm Live (for Mac), Wirecast (for Mac or PC) or others. I’ve written a… Read more »