Why Facebook keeps pushing you to go ‘live’ with video

NEW YORK: From billboards to TV ads to endless notifications, Facebook is furiously promoting its live video feature as it tries to get more users to shoot and watch such videos. But will it be a big business for the social network? The prospects for advertisers are uncertain, and even when users do “go live” - broadcasting their toddler’s first steps to family or showing footage from protests around the world, for instance their friends often don’t see it until after the fact, just like any other recorded video. So why all the big fuss?

Fishing for users

Some analysts believe it is just another in Facebook’s ongoing efforts to keep people attached to its service as long as possible. “It is a usage thing - keeping them engaged, keeping them on Facebook, giving them an avenue to share,” says eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson. “As long as Facebook can be successful with that, it can show ads to them.”

As is its custom, the company is first pushing the service to as many of its 1.8 billion users as possible. Users get special notifications when their friends go live, and ads prompting them to do the same have been prevalent in the last few weeks.

But making money off live streams isn’t easy, starting with the fact that they offer few opportunities to display video ads. But that’s OK, Williamson says, arguing that now is the time for marketers to experiment with the feature.

Some are already doing just that - not by advertising on other live broadcasts, but by streaming themselves. General Motors, for example, was the first automaker to livestream on Facebook, rolling out its Chevy Bolt EV at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show.

Live from everywhere

Mobile video, especially live video, is already transforming how we experience the world online, whether that means puppies and kittens or witnessing crime , social unrest and other world events. We can stream official channels and news, as well as individual people’s perspectives in a way that was not possible just a few years ago.

Last October, Facebook started an ad campaign featuring real users doing weird, quirky but generally upbeat stuff live with the goal of introducing more, possibly reluctant users to the feature. Think: pile of teddy bears, girl singing with a guitar, someone recording lightning in the distance.

While the company isn’t disclosing data on how many users have gone live or watched a live video, anecdotally at least it seems to be catching on - somewhat. The company says people comment more than 10 times more on live videos than on regular ones, and that the number of people broadcasting live at any given minute has grown by fourfold since last May. Facebook gave regular users the ability to create live videos in April. — AP