Facebook Live Statistics

Important Facebook Live Statistics You Should Know

Even though Facebook started offering live video streaming services only a few years ago (April 2016), the popularity of Facebook Live has been growing steadily with users and companies around the world.

Let’s take a look at some of the most important and interesting Facebook Live statistics that you should definitely know.


General Facebook Live Statistics, Trends and Data 2021

  • Facebook Live became publicly available in April 2016

Before Facebook started offering its streaming service to the general user population, they were first offering it to verified public figures like influencers, celebrities and companies in August 2015.

Regular FB users had to wait nearly six months until they too could use the service in April 2016.

  • 1-in-5 videos on Facebook was a live broadcast in 2017

The Facebook community took to the new video format and service quite well from the get-go. Only a year after launch every fifth video on the social media platform came from Facebook Live.

  • In 2018, Facebook Live reached 3.5 billion broadcasts
Facebook live reached 3.5 billion broadcasts in 2018

Source: Facebook

Just two years after launch, Facebook Live reached 3.5 billion live broadcasts in 2018. Today, every 5th video on Facebook is a live broadcast.

In the same year, 42.7% of businesses broadcasted a live video, whereas, in 2017, two-thirds of companies didn’t create a live video at all.


Facebook Live User Stats

  • Facebook Live was the 3rd most popular platform for watching livestream video in the US in 2020
Facebook live was the 3rd most popular plarform for livestream in the US in 2020

Source: Statista

According to Statista, FB Live was the third most popular livestreaming platform overall by age group after Instagram and YouTube Live.

The service was the most popular among 35-54 (23%) and 55+ (29%) age groups, ahead of YouTube Live (21% and 24%), however, it was trailing for 18-34 age group behind Instagram (41%), YouTube Live (31%), Snapchat (26%) and Twitch (20%) with 19% among this age group.

  • Video quality is the number one factor for FB Live videos for 90% of users

For 90% of users, the quality of the video on Facebook Live is its most important feature and the number one reason they would skip a video.

  • Live events are the most popular type of videos on Facebook Live
Most popular video types on Facebook Live

Source: Wowza

Although broadcasters use a variety of ways to engage viewers on FB Live, the most popular type of video among broadcasters to stream, according to Wowza, are live events, with 76%, followed by Q&A interviews and conference panels (23% each).


Facebook Live Statistics – Performance Benchmarks

  • Facebook Live videos are shared 11,314 times on average

The average number that a single Facebook Live video gets is 11,314. Compared to that, non-live videos get more than 54,000 shares on average.

  • FB Live videos get 42% less engagement on average than traditional videos

While Facebook Live videos get more than 101,000 engagements on average, they still trail behind traditional videos on FB by around 42% and image-based posts by 12% for engagements.

  • Less than 1% of Facebook Live videos are in the top 10,000 posts on the social media platform

FB Live videos don’t account for a very big percentage of top-performing posts on Facebook, with only 0.74% in the top 10,000 posts.

In comparison, 47% of the top 10,000 posts were image-based posts and 40% were native videos. Only embedded videos are behind (0.18%).

  • Longer Facebook Live videos generate more engagement

Videos between 60 and 90 seconds see the best engagement on Facebook, after which the engagement drops and reaches the lowest point for 6-minute videos, but largely remains constant overall.

However, on FB Live, longer videos (15-16 minutes) generate better engagement. 

Facebook live video average interactions by length

Source: Buzzsumo


Facebook Live Statistics for Video Marketers

  • Facebook is the 2nd most popular platform among video marketers

Facebook is the 2nd most popular platform among video marketers with 70%. The most popular is, no surprise, YouTube which is used by 89% of video marketers.

  • 30% of marketers want to invest more in FB video

A 2016 Buffer survey suggested that Facebook video was a priority for online marketers to invest in from day one. 

According to the survey, 30% of marketers said they want to invest more in FB video next year, while 28% said that for YouTube and 26% for Instagram videos.

  • 69% of businesses haven’t broadcasted live video content in 2017
69% of companies haven't broadcasted live video in 2017

Source: Buffer

According to Buffer’s State of the Social report for 2018, only 31% of businesses have broadcasted live video content in 2017, whereas 69% haven’t broadcasted a single “live video”.

  • Over 80% of businesses post video content on Facebook

Facebook is the most popular platform for posting and sharing video content among businesses at 81.2%, according to Buffer.

Following are YouTube with 62.9% and Instagram with 57.8%.

  • Almost ¾ of marketers use FB Live

According to data from Facebook, nearly three-quarters, or 70% of marketers use Facebook Live directly.

Of that number, 75% said that Facebook Live helped them generate more sales, while 97% said that it helped customers understand their brand better.


Random Facebook Live Statistics and Facts

  • The first FB Live video was broadcast by Mark Zuckerberg

The very first FB Live video was broadcast on the social media platform on 15th September 2015.

Of course, the first video was broadcast by FB CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

  • “Chewbacca Mom” is the most viewed video on FB Live

The most-watched video to date on FB Live is “Chewbacca Mom” with more than 175 million views.

The video was created by Candace Payne in 2016 and went viral with 50,000 views in one hour.

  • The key phrase “Facebook Live Stream” increased 330% in searches between 2016 and 2018

Since FB Live’s rollout in 2016, the key phrase “Facebook Live Stream” went up 330% in 2018, showing the immediate popularity that the new streaming service took.


Conclusion

As you can see from these Facebook Live statistics, the video streaming service became very popular with both users and marketers almost immediately and is today one of the most popular features that the social media platform offers.

Video marketing plays a huge role in overall marketing efforts and today video is the #1 media format ahead of blogs, ebooks and infographics.

According to Hubspot, live video is the 3rd-most used social media tactic and FB Live plays a big part here.

Is your business posting and sharing live videos on Facebook? If so, do you find it successful?

Let us know in the comments below!


Sources
  • https://www.facebook.com/fidji.simo/posts/10155151078752063
  • https://www.facebook.com/GuinnessWorldRecords/posts/-most-viewed-facebook-live-video-as-featured-in-the-new-gwrblockbusters-2017-boo/10154836341999032/
  • https://www.statista.com/statistics/294573/us-video-stream-download-consumption/
  • https://www.wowza.com/uploads/images/UPDATE-The_Facebook_Live_Streaming_Benchmark_Report_2017.pdf
  • https://www.crmnext.com/resource/learning-center/facebook-live-statistics
  • https://www.wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics/
  • https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/buzzsumo-releases-analysis-100-million-facebook-videos
  • https://buffer.com/resources/social-media-2016/
  • https://buffer.com/resources/state-of-social-2018/#report
  • https://buffer.com/state-of-social-2019
  • https://mediakix.com/blog/facebook-live-statistics-video-streaming-to-know/
  • https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics
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Article by:

Nadia

Nadia is a content writer with a B.A. in English and Spanish from Northwestern University. She crafts content for a variety of industries, including tech and business.
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