Facebook Inc. is making it easier for publishers to create some hype around their live videos with the introduction of live video scheduling. After it rolls out this week to Verified Pages, publishers will be able to schedule live videos up to seven days in advance using the Facebook Live API.

Followers will be able to sign up for a reminder of the live video via the announcement post and will be able to join the new pre-broadcast lobby prior to the live video where they can interact with other viewers.

The new scheduling features will roll out to all Pages on Facebook in the coming weeks. Facebook will also make the scheduling features available for developers so they can include them in third-party tools used for live videos.

Here’s a look at how publishers can get started with scheduling live videos and build anticipation with followers.

Scheduling a Facebook Live video

On the Facebook page that you will go live from, click on Publishing Tools (shown at the top of the page next to Insights) > Video Library > click “+ Live” on the right of the page.

In the pop-up screen, under “Separate Fields”, copy either the Server URL or the Stream Key, which will be required for the video stream software > click Next.

Include an engaging post description, together with a title and any tags for your video. It is also important to add a location for your live video so that it appears on the Live Map.

Note: You will still be able to edit your description at a later stage, if you want to include more detail, etc. 

Once you have included all the details for your video, click the drop-down arrow next to “Go Live,” in the bottom right corner, click the “Schedule Live” option.

Edit the date and time when you want to go live on Facebook.

Tip: Live videos can be scheduled between 10 minutes and seven days prior to going live.

Under Custom Image, select an image for your video.

Note: If you don’t select an image, Facebook will use your page’s profile photo by default.

Click “Schedule” in the bottom right to schedule your live video and notify your followers that your page will be going live on a specific day and time.  

Reminder for your page’s followers

If a follower sees your announcement post about an upcoming live video, they can click the “Get Reminder” button and will be alerted prior to the page going live.

Tip: If someone doesn’t follow your page, but sees your Reminder post because a page they follow shared it, they can also hit the “Get Reminder” button.

Three minutes before the live broadcast, followers will have the option to “Join” the Live Lobby. Here they will see a countdown to the broadcast and will be able to interact with other followers waiting for the live broadcast.

Go live

20 minutes before your scheduled time, go to Publishing Tools > turn on your encoder > in the “Edit Live Video” dialogue box, verify the preview.

When the countdown in the bottom left reaches zero, the video feed from your encoder will automatically go live.

Go live manually

If you have scheduled to go live at a specific time, but later change your mind and want to go live straight away, you can manually start your live video.

For the live video you want to edit, open the “Edit Live Video” dialogue box > next to “Scheduled Live,” click the drop-down arrow > select Manual Start > click Continue > Go Live.

Reschedule or cancel a live video

You can reschedule or cancel a scheduled live video by opening the “Edit Live Video” dialogue box for the relevant video.

To reschedule a live video: Next to “Save” click the drop-down arrow and select “Edit Schedule” > make the necessary edits to time or date.

To cancel a scheduled live video: Next to “Scheduled Live” click the drop-down arrow and select “Delete.”

Source: Facebook

Images via Facebook