Facebook Live is a feature on Facebook that allows users to broadcast live video streams to their followers. Since it was introduced in 2016, Facebook Live has become an extremely popular way for people and businesses to connect with their audiences in real time. But can you actually make money by using Facebook Live? The short answer is yes, there are several ways to monetize Facebook Live streams and turn them into a source of income.
Ways to Make Money from Facebook Live
Here are some of the main methods people use to earn money from their Facebook Live videos:
Get Paid by Facebook
Facebook offers a Creator Monetization program that allows video creators to earn money from their Facebook videos, including live streams. To qualify, you need to have at least 10,000 followers and hit certain thresholds for views and engagement. Once approved, you can earn money from ad breaks that play during your videos. The more views and engagement your videos get, the more you can potentially earn from ad revenue.
Sell Products/Services
Many businesses use Facebook Live as a platform to promote and sell products or services. For example, an online retailer could broadcast live demos and tutorials showing off products they want to sell. Or a fitness instructor might stream live workout classes. Directing viewers to an online shop or taking bookings during the video can help convert Live views into sales.
Get Tips and Donations
Facebook has a Stars feature that allows viewers to send tips to video creators during a Live stream. Fans can purchase Stars packs and then donate Stars to creators they want to support. Creators exchange their Stars earnings for real cash. Individuals can also include links or payment info in their video description to collect direct donations.
Use Affiliate Links
Affiliate marketing is another popular way to monetize Facebook Live videos. You can promote affiliate products relevant to your audience and include affiliate links in your video or description. If viewers click through and make a purchase, you earn a commission. Affiliate links work well for product reviews, recommendations, and tutorials.
Promote Your Own Products/Services
If you have your own products, services, courses, ebooks, etc. that you want to sell, you can easily promote these during your Facebook Live streams. Your videos give you a direct platform to showcase what you’re offering and direct interested viewers to your website or sales page to purchase.
Run Sponsored Live Streams
Brands will sometimes pay creators to promote and feature their products/services in a Facebook Live video. You can monetize your audience and viewership by working out sponsorship deals and collaborations with businesses relevant to your niche.
Cross-Promote Other Platforms
You can also use Facebook Live to drive traffic and followers over to other monetized platforms. For example, mention your YouTube channel, Instagram account, online courses, etc. and encourage people to follow you on those platforms too. More followers across multiple platforms gives you more monetization opportunities.
Tips for Making Money from Facebook Live
If you want to maximize your earning potential with Facebook Live, here are some tips:
Choose a Profitable Niche
Pick a topic that has strong monetization opportunities. For example, business advice, social media marketing tips, cooking tutorials, fitness classes. Make content that provides real value to people in your niche.
Promote Your Live Streams
Don’t just go live randomly. Hype up your streams in advance on your other social media channels and email lists. Share the date, time, and what the stream will be about to build anticipation.
Engage with Viewers in Real Time
Facebook Live’s interactive nature is a huge benefit. Reply to comments, answer viewer questions, run polls and contests to create an engaging experience that keeps viewers tuned in.
Reuse Content
Don’t let your Live videos disappear once you finish streaming. Reuse the footage to create evergreen content like highlight clips, podcasts, and YouTube videos that continue generating views.
Collaborate with Other Creators
Team up with complementary creators in your niche and cross-promote each other’s Live streams. You can reach each other’s audiences and grow your followers faster.
Analyze Metrics and Optimize
Use Facebook analytics to see what types of Live streams get the most views, shares and engagement. Double down on what’s working and improve on what’s not.
Building an Audience for Facebook Live
It takes time, consistency and strategy to build a sizable audience on Facebook. Here are some tips to attract more followers to your Live streams:
Post Interesting Updates Regularly
Don’t use your Facebook Page only for Live videos. Post regularly about your niche to provide value and build relationships with potential viewers.
Go Live Consistently
Schedule your Live streams for specific days/times so fans know when to tune in and can develop a viewing habit.
Leverage Groups
Join relevant Facebook Groups related to your topic and engage with members. Share when you’re going live and invite them to watch your streams.
Use Hashtags and Location Tags
Include relevant hashtags and location tags in your video descriptions to show up in more searches and help people outside your immediate followers discover your streams.
Run Lead Ad Campaigns
Run Facebook ad campaigns with the goal of generating leads/followers. Target your ideal audience and drive them to your Page to build your community.
Collaborate with Related Pages
Partner with Facebook Pages in your industry to tap into each other’s audiences. Do guest live streams, cross-promote, and share each other’s content.
Go Live with Others
Invite relevant guests like partners, influencers, or experts in your niche to join your Live streams. Feature their knowledge and leverage their fanbase.
Challenges of Monetizing Facebook Live
While Facebook Live provides a lot of money making opportunities, there are also some significant challenges to be aware of:
Requires Commitment
Doing regular live streams takes a lot of time and effort. You need to be committed to creating consistent, high-quality content.
Facebook Algorithm Changes
Changes to Facebook’s algorithm can impact your reach and views. You have to stay adaptable with your content strategy.
Competition
Many other creators are leveraging Facebook Live, so it can be hard to stand out in a crowded niche.
Raising Awareness
Getting viewers to actually tune into your live streams can be very difficult, especially when starting out.
Technical Issues
Dealing with unstable internet connections, stream interruptions, and other technical problems during broadcasts.
Negative Comments
The live, real-time nature means you have to address negative comments and trolls in the moment.
Metrics and Data
It takes know-how to dig into the data and fully analyze the performance of your Live videos.
Examples of People Making Money from Facebook Live
Need some real-world examples? Here are a few creators successfully monetizing their Facebook Live streams:
Lara Casey Isaacson
Lara is a business coach who earns 6-figures per year from her Facebook Lives. She promotes her online coaching programs to her 400k+ followers and converts Live views into sales.
Chalene Johnson
Chalene is a health and lifestyle expert who generates income with Facebook Live by promoting her products and paid online programs. She also uses affiliate links.
Sunny Lenarduzzi
Sunny is a digital marketing expert who monetizes her Facebook Page through affiliate marketing and LinkedIn ad revenue. She promotes various offers in her Facebook Lives.
Felicia Urban
Felicia is a floral designer who promotes her online classes, merchandise, and more during her creative Facebook Live tutorials, which reach over 100k followers.
John Lee Dumas
John uses Facebook Live to grow his podcast audience. He invites guests on his show to share business insights and markets related products.
Conclusion
When used strategically and consistently, Facebook Live can absolutely be a revenue driver and money making tool. But it requires putting in the work to build a loyal audience and crafting videos that engage viewers while promoting monetization opportunities. The more viewers you attract, the more potential income streams you can leverage through your Facebook Lives. Just focus on value-driven content within a profitable niche and experiment with different monetization models to determine what resonates best with your fans and converts views into earnings.