Facebook Debuts Live-Streaming Feature For Celebrity Pages

What Happened
On Wednesday, Facebook unveiled a new “Live” feature in its Mentions app for verified celebrities, which allows stars to live-stream video footage to their fans watching through the main Facebook app or on the web. After the live sessions end, a recording of the livestreams will be published to celebrites’ pages so that fans can catch up or rewatch.

What Brands Should Do
Facebook’s entry into the live-streaming space offers brands and early adopters one more prominent platform to explore, and its larger user base makes it instantly appealing, compared to the much smaller audience Meerkat and Periscope have been drawing. Even though this is only offered to celebrities as of now, brands can still easily find ways to capitalize on the live audience via sponsorships and product placements. If it takes off, we expect Facebook to expand this feature to all users.

Update 8/13: As we anticipated. Facebook has confirmed that this new live broadcasting feature will soon be open to journalists and all Verified Profiles.

Source: AdWeek

Image courtesy of Facebook

Upfront Launches Celebrity Social Network

Celebrity social networks had seemed to be a thing of the past, but Upfront is looking to change that with its new app. The new platform looks to grant fans access to exclusive video, text messages, emails, and other perks from artists that they love. Upfront is looking to sign deals with many types of artists, from musicians to authors to chefs to even some brands. Users pay anywhere from $0.99 to $5.99 per month for different levels of access. The lowest access point includes thoughts, communications, and photos, while $3.99 adds exclusive audio and video content. The top level, $5.99 per month per creator, would include perks such as live webcasts and in-person events. Musicians and actors seem like the most obvious fit for Upfront, but the company says that anybody looking to intimately move fans of any brand or product could conceivably be a candidate for the network. The paid aspect is designed to remove spam and provide the services to provide the higher quality video streaming content. Ultimately, the network will live or die by how many ‘influencers’ and fans it has; currently there are just a few but interest appears to be spreading.