How to Facebook Livestream from a Desktop or Laptop

Facebook Live’s scope as a marketing tool was broadened last month, with the announcement that users will now be able to livestream from desktops and laptops. Here’s a quick click-by-click guide to how you can “Go Live” from your home, office or wherever else it is you set your computer down.

How to Facebook Livestream from your desktop – click-by-click

Livestreaming from your desktop takes just 5 easy steps:

1. Go to your Facebook page
2. Click the “Start a Live Video” button (you’ll find it below the text field which you can use to update your status)
3. When prompted to “Say something about this video”, enter a title, caption or brief description. At this point you can also tag people in the post, and add a mood/activity and location
4. After waiting for Facebook Live to finish connecting to your webcam and microphone (your browser may prompt you to allow access), click the “Go Live” button on the bottom-right to start livestreaming
5. Click “Finish” when you’re done. Facebook now automatically posts a video of your livestream to your timeline – you’re free to delete it if you so wish.

Don’t have a page? To livestream from a personal Facebook account, simply select the “Live Video” option from the status update box at the top of your timeline or newsfeed – the steps required are similar to those described above, and should be easy to follow.

We strongly recommend taking advantage of the options provided in step 3 of the process – adding a description, location and mood, and tagging people in the post. Adding your location is a great way to ensure your brand name is visible to viewers; including a description will help new viewers make sense of your content quickly; and adding a mood/activity may be useful in some cases.

Use Facebook Live to stream these types of content from your desktop

Facebook have singled out Q&As, vlogs and tutorials as stream types that will benefit particularly from the update, and they’re right – filming yourself talking to the camera is tricky when you don’t have the stable, hands-free setup a desktop or laptop can provide.

If you find yourself with time on your hands and something useful to share, why not try out a Livestream from your office? And if it goes well, you might consider building livestreams into your content marketing or personal branding strategy.

Make sure you’ve at least roughly planned what you’re going to say or show, pour yourself a glass of water to keep you hydrated as you speak, and tag a bunch of supportive friends and colleagues to ensure a warm reception.