Today I went into Curious George mode and dabbled with Facebook Live for the first time.  I know it gets used by politicians, protesters, concert goers to holiday makers, so I though this could also be a good way to promote and draw attention to some of the services featured at the Unitec International Students’ Orientation Expo.

Is is easy to use?  Most definitely!  It’s as easy as selecting the ‘live video’ button and away you go.  You can also label the video before you start too – this is useful for ensuring your audience have some context for what’s going on.  The video is indeed live, so once I finished recording I was able to share the video with those who missed it.

Do you need to be prepared?  It depends on the context, but in my case, it’s a yes.  As this was being filmed under the guise of the Unitec Career Centre, I placed a teaser on the FB page this morning to let the audience know we would be streaming live at 11.30am.  As I was wanting to introduce the audience to key members of the Careers team, I also had to keep a running dialogue with those I interacted with.

What worked well?  The video ran smoothly and didn’t stops or have any pauses.  It felt comfortable and easy to use my iPhone and managed to switch views without any problems. The audio seemed sufficiently clear too.

What could be improved on for next time?  As the ‘narrator’ I need to make sure I’m a bit clearer on what I’m sharing.  At times I felt I was rushing and some of the statements were a bit muffled.

Would I use it again?  Given how easy it was to use, I think it would.  Naturally the nature of the video made it ‘public’ and open to comment, but I felt comfortable with what was being shared. In terms of analytics, not many people watched the ‘live’ feed, but there have been many views post event.  It would be interested to note the views once more people become accustomed to FB live.

Word of caution.. It is LIVE.  Mistakes and flubs are visible, so make sure you feel confident in capturing your intended content (otherwise hit the delete button).

You can view the video here: https://www.facebook.com/uniteccareer/videos/959549047515624/

Over and out.