Last month, Instagram exec Adam Mosseri confirmed multi-user live streams would be coming soon, and now, they have officially arrived. The feature is called “Live Rooms” and in an article on the Instagram blog, the social platform describes it as “letting you ‘double up’ on your live broadcast. Whereas you were previously only allowed to go live with one other person, you can now add up to three guests.
Virtual communities have flourished during the pandemic and Facebook (Instagram’s parent company) has the numbers to prove it. A recent study shows that literally billions of people participate in Facebook Groups every month and Instagram is experiencing a similar influx.
“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve seen people on Instagram embrace Live in different ways. In the past year, special moments have happened on Live, including informational talks about science and COVID-19 guidelines, interviews with celebrities, and record-breaking rap battles.”
Live Rooms are also an opportunity to scale your profits as a content creator. During Lives, your viewers can purchase badges to stand out more in the comments section. The Shopping and Personal Fundraiser features are also functional within Live Rooms so you can promote your work and/or products while engaging in a Q&A or a casual chat on the ‘Gram.
An added benefit of going live with multiple guests is the opportunity to grow your audience, as the audience of your guest(s) will also be notified whenever you go live. Teamwork makes the dream work and by working with instead of against your fellow creators, Live is an easy and potentially profitable way to amplify your respective platforms.
Here is Instagram’s step-by-step guide to starting a Live Room if you’re doing it for the first time:
“To start a Live Room— swipe left and pick the Live camera option. Then, add a title and tap the Rooms icon to add your guests. You’ll see people who have requested to go live with you, and you can also search for a guest to add. When you start a Live Room, you’ll remain at the top of the screen when you add guests. As a broadcaster, you can add up to three guests at once or one by one (for example, you could start with two guests, and add a surprise guest as the third participant later! 🥳).”
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