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Facebook Watch Party vs Live: Two Powerful Tools to Build Engagement

Online video is here to stay in 2019! And recently, in our Freelance University Facebook group, we discussed Facebook Watch Party vs Live. These two video streaming features provide powerful opportunities for freelance and virtual assistant businesses.

Over the past few years, many of us have tuned in to Facebook Live videos or broadcasted them ourselves. According to a blog post titled “41 Facebook Stats That Matter to Marketers in 2019,” 71% of people increased their online video viewing over the last year, and Facebook Live broadcast watch times quadrupled in one year. And in an article titled “Facebook Now Dominates YouTube For Video Content. Here’s How Brands Should Respond,” Andrew Arnold says 60%-70% of people visit a company’s website after watching their Facebook video, illustrating the value of Facebook videos for brands.

Now, fast on the heels of Facebook Live’s popularity, a new feature called Facebook Watch Party has emerged. What is this new feature? We’ll explain below.

A Description of Facebook Watch Party vs Live

Facebook Live:

A screenshot of a cell phone in the upright position, and a photo of a woman, a man, and a puppy in the top half of the screen and writing in the lower part of the screen.

Screenshot via live.fb.com

As you may already know, this live video streaming feature provides a way to interact with followers in real time. In our Freelance University Facebook Group, co-founder Craig Cannings hosts an event called “Facebook Friday” where he broadcasts live to our students. He also shares live video from our FreelanceU Facebook Page.

A screenshot of a man with short spiky hair, glasses, and wearing a white and dark grey top with the writing, "The Gem of the Lakes" on the front. And doing a video with a dark wall for a background.

Followers can be notified when we go live, and we can see their reactions and comments during the broadcast. Facebook Live videos can be up to four hours long, and are then published to our Page or profile for on-demand viewing.

While Craig is speaking, our FreeU Community Manager, Sabrina Espinal, and other mentors are often there to respond to comments and provide important information for viewers. Craig may verbally respond to some questions during the broadcast, and others in writing after the live video ends. It’s a great opportunity to interact with people and keep the conversation going afterwards too.

You can compare this experience to watching the Olympics or a Royal Wedding live on TV. The action is happening as we speak, but it’s being recorded so we can watch it later at our leisure. And, even better, we can interact with the star of the show! As you can see, there’s also a button at the bottom of the video inviting you to “Start Watch Party.” We’ll discuss that feature in more detail below.

Here are some tips from the Facebook Live web page:

• Write a post to let people know when you’ll be broadcasting live.
• Make sure you have a strong WiFi connection, or at least a 4G connection.
• Create a catchy description for your video before the broadcast.
• Invite your viewers to tap the “Follow” button so they receive a notification when you go live, and respond to commenters by name.
• Broadcast for at least 10 minutes to reach more people.
• Signal the end of the broadcast with an appropriate closing line, and wait until you hear a final “ping” before stepping away from the camera.

In her article titled “How to Use Facebook Live: The Ultimate Guide,” Sophia Bernazzani recommends testing out live video using the “Only me” privacy setting. She also suggests that you “keep reintroducing yourself” and “don’t worry about mistakes or stutters” during the broadcast.

Facebook Watch Party:

When I lived in residence at university, I went to a midnight showing of Star Wars at our little campus movie theatre. Many of us had already seen the film and were big fans. We applauded when main characters entered a scene for the first time. Some true Star Wars connoisseurs had even memorized lines and shouted them out before the characters spoke. It was a fun, interactive experience where we felt camaraderie with our fellow moviegoers.

That’s what a Facebook Watch Party can be like.

This article announcing the launch of Facebook Watch Party describes the feature this way:

“Watch Party is a new way for people to watch videos on Facebook together in real time. Once a Watch Party is started, participants can watch videos, live or recorded, and interact with one another around them in the same moment. We’ve been focused on building new ways to bring people together around video, create connections, and ignite conversations; Watch Party is the next step in bringing this vision to life.”

The image below shows a Facebook Watch Party recently hosted on our FreelanceU Facebook Page.

A screenshot of a light purple background with a container of popcorn on its side and popcorn spilling out of it. The writing at the top says "FreelanceU" and beneath that is says, "How To Overcome Self-Doubt In Your Business."

A number of our previously recorded videos were queued up to run consecutively. It’s a great way to repurpose your most popular online video content. When you click the arrow on the side of the screen, you can scroll to see which videos were played and then click on them to view. If viewers joined the Watch Party in progress, they saw the videos played in real time. But if they arrived late, it would be like arriving at that campus theatre halfway through Star Wars. You can’t ask the movie theater operators to rewind the film.

If you’d like to create a Watch Party, you can do so from your News Feed or profile timeline, on a Facebook Page (if you’re an admin or editor), in a group, or from any video you’re currently watching. As mentioned above, there’s a button on the bottom our recently recorded Facebook Live video that allows viewers to create a Watch Party.

A screenshot of a man with short spiky hair, glasses, and wearing a white and dark grey top with the writing, "The Gem of the Lakes" on the front. And doing a video with a dark wall for a background.

Here are some key tips from the Facebook Help page:

• As of now, a Watch Party can’t be scheduled in advance.
• While creating or attending a Watch Party, you can invite other people, and they’ll receive a notification.
• After your Watch Party starts, you can add more videos to the queue.
• During a Watch Party, you can click “Write something” to chat with other viewers. Comments can include GIFs, videos, photos, and emojis.
• A recap is saved in your Group, on your Page or timeline, depending on where you created the Watch Party.
• You can create a Watch Party from both Live and pre-recorded videos.
• During a Live video, you can add a co-host to your Watch Party.

In an article titled “Facebook ‘Watch Party’ lets Groups view videos simultaneously,” Josh Constine explains an important aspect of this feature:

“Co-watching video is already a popular experience online through platforms like Twitch, but they often center around the video’s creator rather than an interconnected community. Watch Party could refocus this experience towards peer-to-peer interaction rather than everyone screaming through the comments trying to get the creator’s attention. It might also give an engagement boost to Facebook’s new original video content hub Watch, though the new feature isn’t limited to these longer-form shows.”

The Value of Facebook Videos for Freelance and VA Businesses

One evident value of both Facebook Live and Facebook Watch Party is the ability to bridge distances. As virtual professionals, we often live far away from our target audience, and our target audience live far away from each other. Bringing them together in a shared experience is a great way to reach them authentically and personally.

Whether you choose to jump onto a live broadcast or queue up some of your most popular video content, the ability to connect with others in real time is invaluable.

And doing so can also benefit your Facebook video rankings. As Andrew Arnold explains in his article, Facebook now places the “highest emphasis on person-to-person interactions,” so videos will receive high ranking for having the most comments, shares, and likes, even more so if you respond to comments.

He also shares the following advice that can help you plan your next Facebook Live broadcast or Facebook Watch Party:

“Your videos must capture and engage your target audience. This will take research and lots of viewing of other marketing videos that are popular, especially those of your competition. No dull, boring video will ever receive comments or shares. Make your video as authentic and as personal as possible. Your audience should come to know you, your brand, your team, etc. You might even consider livestreaming company events.”

Facebook Watch Party vs Live – two powerful tools that can be used to build reach and engagement with your target audience. These features provide many exciting options for your online video marketing strategy.

If you’ve tried out Facebook Watch Party, we’d love to hear your feedback and tips! Please share any questions or comments below.

44 Comments

    44 thoughts on “Facebook Watch Party vs Live: Two Powerful Tools to Build Engagement”

    1. Tammy says:
      February 14, 2019 at 4:11 am

      Great article Jena! I’m considering trying this, but want to get better with my Facebook Live first. I am curious though, if at the ‘Watch Party’ does the ‘host’ (or person who created the recording) attend as well to answer any questions and comment? I would think there would be great value in the host attending but was not sure if you just set it up and let it run while all who attend interact?

      Thanks!

      Reply
      1. Jena Kroeker says:
        February 14, 2019 at 10:35 pm

        Thanks, Tammy! Yes, from what I understand, the host controls the video playback and can fast-forward, add, or skip videos, and can also comment and reply to the viewers in real time. There’s also an option to add a co-host in case the host needs to step away from the computer at any time.

        Reply
        1. Tammy says:
          March 19, 2019 at 12:09 am

          Thanks Jena – I would love to try it and hope to in the near future! Great writing – as always, Jena!

          Reply
    2. Pam A. says:
      February 21, 2019 at 5:46 pm

      Thanks for this article, Jena! Trying my hand at Facebook Live broadcasts was a leap of faith, but I’d never researched Facebook Watch parties. It may be worth my time to explore that option since I already have a small collection of “live” videos already.

      Reply
      1. Jena Kroeker says:
        February 22, 2019 at 10:12 pm

        I’m glad you enjoyed the article, Pam! A Facebook Watch Party is definitely a good option to try if you have a collection of live videos. And congratulations on taking that leap of faith to do Facebook Live! It’s such a valuable way of reaching your audience.

        Reply
    3. Karen says:
      April 8, 2019 at 3:01 pm

      Thanks for the article, Jena! I’ve been curious about the “watch party” every time I schedule a video (not doing ‘lives’ yet). Great way to reach our audiences!

      Reply
      1. Jena Kroeker says:
        April 10, 2019 at 10:13 pm

        Thanks, Karen! Yes, it definitely has a lot of potential to reach our audience, and I like how it could also build a feeling of community among audience members too.

        Reply
    4. David Financial Strategist says:
      July 6, 2019 at 11:18 am

      Jena, I’ve made 100s of thousands already using Facebook Live to boost my brand and presence as a financial strategist. My hunch is that Watch Party is going to be the next big wave. A few questions — can Watch Party replace webinars? How would you weigh the pros and cons? Could I create a paid for group that people could join for a series of Watch Parties to boost their financial iq?
      Also could you let me know the diff between Watch and Watch Parties. Gary Vee says to double down on Watch — the tv show side of FB but I don’t know yet how to even start a Watch show. Any ideas?

      Reply
      1. Jena Kroeker says:
        July 9, 2019 at 1:34 am

        Thanks for sharing your thoughts, David! Here are some answers to your questions:
        – No, Facebook Watch Party doesn’t replace webinars. Creating webinars with Zoom or another tool gives you more freedom and functionality than relying solely on Facebook’s Watch Party function.
        – Yes, you could create a paid-for group that people could join for a series of Watch Parties to boost their financial IQ. It would be similar to the Freelance University Facebook Group we created for people with paid memberships to Freelance University.
        – Facebook Watch is like having your own TV Channel, while a Watch Party is like having clients over to watch your TV shows. If you’d like to begin creating a Facebook Watch show, you could join the Facebook for Creators community: https://www.facebook.com/creators#.
        Hope this helps!

        Reply
    5. Nisreen Slim says:
      August 18, 2019 at 3:43 am

      Hello Jena, what I need to know is if a members (not admins) within a group host a watch party, can it be shown outside the group publicly? And if so, are there settings to prevent that?

      Reply
      1. Jena Kroeker says:
        August 21, 2019 at 5:31 am

        Hi Nisreen, a Watch Party can only be hosted by group admins, not members, and it will only be seen within the group. It won’t be seen publicly outside the group. Hope that helps!

        Reply
    6. Sherry Gagnon says:
      September 18, 2019 at 2:40 pm

      Can I have a private WATCH party within my group? I want to offer gifts to those participating on a specific time interval and not have anyone joining in claiming prizes later. Also I want a degree of privacy for their questions within the particular group and not an unknown number since that could stifle the questions

      Reply
      1. Jena Kroeker says:
        September 18, 2019 at 10:56 pm

        Hi Sherry, yes, if you host a Watch Party within your group, it will only be seen within the group. The questions will also maintain the privacy settings of the group and only be seen by group members and admins. I hope that helps.

        Reply
    7. Matt Struckel says:
      March 29, 2020 at 9:33 pm

      Is there a way to see comments and comment in the original video used in a watch party?
      We watch a previously recorded Live video from another page in our group and would like to see the comments portion of this video.

      Reply
      1. Jena Kroeker says:
        April 4, 2020 at 11:26 pm

        Hi Matt,
        To see the comments in the original video, I believe you would need to go to the original video itself. The Watch Party becomes its own post in your group with its own comments that are saved in a Watch Party recap post.

        Reply
    8. Tim Chatterton says:
      April 4, 2020 at 9:02 pm

      When commenting on a live watch party of a Facebook live broadcast, do the watch party comments get fed into the comments on the original Facebook live broadcast?

      Reply
      1. Jena Kroeker says:
        April 4, 2020 at 11:23 pm

        Hi Tim,
        When people comment during the Watch Party of a Facebook Live broadcast, the comments will be saved on the Watch Party recap post that’s saved afterwards on your page, profile, or group, depending on where you held the Watch Party. So, the comments will be part of the Watch Party post. Hope that helps! You can find more information about this in the Facebook Help Center.

        Reply
    9. Kerri Hirst says:
      April 4, 2020 at 10:59 pm

      Hi Jena I have a question that’s actually very time sensitive. I want everyone that I know whether it be friends or anyone on Facebook that I am extremely invested in wanting a mass meditation to happen tonight at 9:45 p.m. CST I have a group, a business page and my personal profile is public. Which option would be the best to ensure that everyone possible sees my meditation event as it’s happening? A watch party or just go live and on which profile? My public group, my business page or my personal profile time line? The world is going into a massive shift and it is imperative that everyone asks the universe to help make this shift happen. I I have been sharing the vent everywhere and anywhere I can however a lot of people are either not Internet educated or just don’t understand the event can happen in their own home they do not have to go anywhere they just need to participate. I appreciate any advice and help you can give me thank you so much.
      Kerri Copeland-Hirst

      Reply
      1. Jena Kroeker says:
        April 4, 2020 at 11:11 pm

        Hi Kerri, For more detailed information on how to set up the Facebook Watch Party on Groups, Pages, and Videos, I’d recommend checking out the Facebook Help Center on the Facebook site. I think a good strategy could be to share the event as a Live video from the place where your audience is largest, whether that’s your group, profile, or business page. And once the Live video has ended, if it’s saved on the profile, my understanding is that you could then hold a separate Watch Party later on so people could watch it together if they missed the live video. Hope that helps! Again, if you need more detailed advice, I’d highly recommend looking at the Facebook Help Center.

        Reply
    10. Meg says:
      April 5, 2020 at 9:46 am

      Hi Jena
      I have two questions
      1. Which of these two options will result in better video quality for the viewers? I’m referring to less lag, pixelation buffering etc.

      2. If I do facebook live, I need to switch from ordinary video of myself, to screen view mode so that audience can see my screen, and then back again. Is this possible? Is it easy? Can they still see me in a corner somewhere while I’m screensharing?

      Reply
      1. Jena Kroeker says:
        April 7, 2020 at 11:07 pm

        Hi Meg,
        To answer your first question, Facebook LIVE typically will have better video quality and less buffering depending, of course, on your web cam and the quality of your local Internet Connection.

        And regarding your second question, The Facebook LIVE screensharing feature has not been available as of late. In our experience, the screensharing tool was cumbersome and not user-friendly. You might consider a live streaming tool like BeLive.com that allows you to screenshare for FB Lives and YouTube Live.

        Reply
    11. Erica Adkins says:
      April 5, 2020 at 4:32 pm

      Do you know if Watch Party Insights are attributed to the main video or as a business do we need to reach out to each individual who hosted a Watch Party to find out their statistics? We’re trying to capture analytics as a whole and don’t want to miss viewers.

      Reply
      1. Jena Kroeker says:
        April 7, 2020 at 11:08 pm

        Hi Erica,
        The Watch Party insights are attributed to the main video and will track individual attendee and usage data for you.

        Reply
    12. Richard M Evans (Author) says:
      April 14, 2020 at 3:41 am

      For the first time, I created a Facebook watch party. I was watching a Facebook live event and I was asked by Facebook if I wanted to start a watch party. I’d never done it before, but I said yes. Here’s my question. The live event that I watched showed about 70 live viewers. I could also see the names of 5 people who were watching my own live watch party, even though neither I nor they commented. (My mistake) Were the 5 who watched my watch party included in the 70 for the live event, or was it only me that knew about the 5? Also, Facebook posted the recorded version on my Facebook page. Will I ever know how many see the recorded version? Thanks

      Reply
      1. Jena Kroeker says:
        April 17, 2020 at 1:04 am

        Hi Richard,
        Congratulations on creating your first Watch Party! The 70 attendees were the ones that watched the FB Live whereas the 5 that tuned into your watch party would ONLY be visible to you (no one else).

        Reply
    13. Annie says:
      April 26, 2020 at 1:29 am

      Do the Watch Party views go towards the view counts of the original video?

      Reply
      1. Jena Kroeker says:
        April 28, 2020 at 12:26 am

        Hi Annie,
        The Watch Party views are recorded separately from the original video views. They’re two separate metrics.

        Reply
    14. Sarah says:
      April 29, 2020 at 3:11 pm

      Hi there! Can only a host or Co-host of Watch Party see comments? And also Is Facebook LIVE more public and Watch parties private where only members of that group are watching? And can comments be done on both?

      Reply
      1. Jena Kroeker says:
        May 1, 2020 at 12:30 am

        Hi Sarah, below are the answers to your questions:
        1) The host, co-host, and all viewers of the Watch Party can see comments.
        2) Yes, Facebook Live is more public, while Watch Party is governed by the privacy settings of groups – only group members will see the Watch Party. You can also host Watch Parties on your Facebook Page that are visible to the Likers of your page.
        3) Yes, comments can be done on both Facebook Live and Watch Parties.

        Hope that helps, Sarah!

        Reply
    15. Ellia Bisker says:
      May 5, 2020 at 7:23 pm

      Hi Jena, I host a weekly Facebook Live event from a FB page, and some viewers are hosting their own Watch Parties to view it. I’m trying to find out if our viewer count analytics include Watch Party viewers and I’m a bit confused by previous questions/replies about this above — I see in your reply to the April 5 question you wrote “The Watch Party insights are attributed to the main video and will track individual attendee and usage data for you.” However in your reply to the April 26 question you wrote “The Watch Party views are recorded separately from the original video views. They’re two separate metrics.” Can you please clarify? If it’s helpful to know, we are using the third-party platform Restream.io to broadcast to FB Live. Thanks for your help figuring this out!

      Reply
      1. Craig Cannings says:
        May 6, 2020 at 8:45 pm

        Hi Ellia, yes there are two separate metrics. Just to clarify, the watch party tracks two main metrics: Minutes viewed and unique 60s viewers, which is the number of viewers that actually watched for a minimum of 60 seconds. The total views of the actual video are tracked separately and not included in your Watch Party insights. I know this can be a point of confusion, so hopefully this helps!

        Reply
    16. Denise says:
      May 20, 2020 at 6:39 pm

      Trying to understand, Craig. I see you say that the total views of the actual video are not included in the Watch Party insights. BUT are the Watch Party views included in the analytics of the actual video? This is where I get confused.

      Reply
    17. Craig Cannings says:
      May 21, 2020 at 6:11 am

      Hey Denise, yes it is kind of confusing indeed. The Watch Party views ARE included as actual video views and are included in the analytics. I hope that helps!

      Reply
    18. Alan says:
      May 24, 2020 at 10:32 am

      I will be attending a Live Watch Party this afternoon. A friend wants to attend but has a time conflict. How can he see it at a later time?

      Reply
      1. Craig Cannings says:
        May 26, 2020 at 6:03 pm

        Hey Alan,

        Check out this post as Facebook introduced Watch Party Replays last year. Have a look: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-adds-new-video-publishing-tools-including-live-rehearsals-and-wat/563030/

        Reply
    19. Toni Hall says:
      May 26, 2020 at 2:52 am

      Hi, I am wondering if you can shed some light on this. If I am hosting a Live Event and one of the people that are watching the live event decides to start a watch party, will I be able to see who all joined that watch party? and also see their comments?

      Reply
      1. Craig Cannings says:
        May 26, 2020 at 6:04 pm

        Yep, you should still be able to see who attended and comments eventhough they started the watch party.

        Reply
    20. toni says:
      May 30, 2020 at 3:22 am

      Hello,

      We’ll be hosting a FB live on our official Facebook Page soon. We asked several groups and pages to also share our FB Live. Thing is, we’re not sure what’s the best way for them to share our FB Live video. We actually have 2 options but I just want to clarify if which is better for our Official page’s reach and engagement.

      OPTION A: Ask the group to just share our FB Live link so when people decide to watch, they can be redirected to our page’s FB Live.

      OPTION B: Ask our friends to host a watch party. Not sure if the total viewers of each watch parties actually adds up to our Official Page’s FB live views. I know this has been asked several times. But I just want to figure out which is more beneficial for our FB page. 🙂

      Example: Our official page has a running 200 live viewers. We asked 2 (unofficial) FB pages to host Watch Parties. Each unofficial FB pages has 50 live viewers each. So does it mean we have a total of 300 Live viewers? The total 100 views from the 2 unofficial pages is not yet reflected on our 200 live viewers on our official page?

      Thank you and hope you can help me make a decision too. 🙂

      Reply
      1. Craig Cannings says:
        June 1, 2020 at 6:04 pm

        Great question Toni! The reality is that running FB Lives is probably the best strategy for increasing reach and engagement for your FB page. I think both Option A and B will work well. If you have people actively sharing your FB Live link, then you will inevitably attract more viewers. That is probably the easiest option. The second option of having other pages to run watch parties will be a good follow-up strategy to expanding the reach of your original FB live. It sounds like you are on the right track!

        Reply
    21. MELISSA says:
      May 31, 2020 at 7:03 am

      I have a question, can i make watch party of fb live, and our views will also be added to the total viewers of the fb live?

      I want to do watch party to gather more audience in support of my friend who goes live..

      Reply
    22. Gee Chin Lin says:
      May 31, 2020 at 2:43 pm

      Hi Craig, you mentioned “The Watch Party views ARE included as actual video views and are included in the analytics.” May I know during a FB Live moment, at the actual video, is the viewer number displayed on the top left corner included the number in the Watch Party? Thank you.

      Reply
      1. Craig Cannings says:
        June 1, 2020 at 5:59 pm

        Yes, those that watch the FB live via a Watch Party after the fact will be added to the total number of FB Live Video Views. Hope that makes sense!

        Reply
        1. Gee Chin Lin says:
          June 2, 2020 at 3:06 am

          Hi Craig, what about during the Live showing moment? will the watch party viewer number added into the main video in real time? I understand it will be added in after the Live is ended. But I would like to know during the Live moment. Thank you.

          Reply
          1. Craig Cannings says:
            June 10, 2020 at 5:22 am

            Yes Gee, my understanding is that the watch party viewer number will be added to the main video in real-time.

            Reply

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