Facebook’s Live Video product has proven popular with users who spend on average 3x longer watching live videos compared to those that are no longer live. As a consequence Facebook has stated that Live Videos will be considered a separate type of content and given more prominence in users news feed.
Key Points
* People spend more than three times longer watching Facebook Live videos compared to non-live videos.
* Facebook Live videos will be more likely to appear higher in the news feed when they are live compared to when they are no longer live.
* Facebook Live Videos are now being offered on Android devices.
* Live Videos are considered by Facebook to be a completely separate type of content.
Summary
Facebook Live video allows users to share live streaming video through their mobile devices. Engagement with these live videos has proven to be higher than with videos that are no longer live. On average Facebook users spend three times longer watching videos when they are being streamed live.
Facebook has responded to this preference for live video by stating that it is changing it’s algorithm so that these types of videos will be given more prominence.
Vibhi Kant, Product Manager at Facebook stated on Facebook’s blog that:
“We are making a small update to News Feed so that Facebook Live videos are more likely to appear higher in News Feed when those videos are actually live”
Social video has become an increasingly important part of Facebook’s business. During its Q3 2015 earnings report the social media site stated that it is now delivering 8 billion video views. Facebook’s Live video offers serious competition to Twitter’s live streaming app Periscope. Given Facebook’s larger user base and the preference it is given to Live Videos this could spell trouble for already beleaguered Twitter whose stock price recently hit an all time low.