Dive Brief:
- Facebook’s latest tool set for its Mentions app, which enables celebrities and notable figures to connect with an audience, are based around live streaming video, according to a company news post.
- The new features include pre-broadcast prompts that allow for drafts of Facebook Live descriptions and a comment moderation tool that lets social media managers handling a live stream blacklist certain words and phrases from comments before going live.
- The adjustments tray gives managers more control over camera orientation and brightness settings while a broadcaster status bar is being tested with a small group of Mentions users that adds information about audio level, connectivity and battery status. Trimming lets Mentions users trim footage from the beginning and end of a live video after a broadcast has ended.
Dive Insight:
Facebook has been adamant about how important live streaming video content is for the platform going forward. The latest news also makes it clear that the social media giant is very interested in making posting Facebook Live content as easy and customizable as possible for celebrities, including athletes, musicians, journalists and politicians.
The Mentions update comes just over a week after Facebook launched live 360 streaming video with National Geographic as a launch partner. Facebook indicated that the live 360 video feature will eventually roll out across all Pages and profiles next year giving marketers and brands access to a more immersive live streaming video option.
Facebook isn't the only one bullish on live video, with Instagram and Twitter having recently launched live video broadcasting capabilities for users.
The Facebook news comes as digital video viewing continues to grow and 2017 shapes up to bring even more growth and exciting developments to this quickly evolving space.
