With live stream becoming more popular due to current COVID-19 times and the loss of social interaction, Instagram has recently announced a few new updates to their live stream feature.
🌟3 updates about Live🌟
🎥You can now go Live for up to 4 hours
🎞You can save your Lives for 30 days before they delete
📺 You’ll start seeing a “Live Now” section in the IGTV app and on Explore so you can discover more Lives pic.twitter.com/0wipQJXr1F
— Instagram (@instagram) October 27, 2020
1. The first update on the list is users will now have the option to go live for up to four hours instead of being limited to just one hour.
Instagram explained, the reason for this update was to accommodate the current times and professions which are now having to go virtual. Such as school teachers, fitness instructors, small businesses, etc., this way they’re not limited to a time frame and can interact with their audience for more than an hour without any interruptions.
2. The second update on the list is that Instagram will allow you to archive your Lives for up to 30 days.
This new feature will be called Live Archive, and this will be an option available to you in your Archives tab. Instagram states that you will be able to download your live archives to your phone and/or upload them to your IGTV. Users have always had the option to download their past archives, but this was only the raw video. Live archives will include comments, likes, and other details which were apart of your live which you can use for better promotion of your business.
3. The third update around Lives, which Instagram announced is that there will be a “Live Now” section in your explore tab as well as on your IGTV tab, so Lives can be more discoverable.
Instagram states they want to boost live discovery as more and more people are relying on live now in order to connect with their communities. Instagram will look at what types of Lives users are interacting with then make similar ones available to them in their explore and IGTV tabs. This could potentially increase the reach of your own Lives.
Video chatting is popular now more than ever, and with live videos you are able to connect with people in real-time. That being said, this exciting new expansion of IG Live will up your live game and potentially increase your reach. Be sure to take advantage as soon as the option is available to you.
Sources:
Hutchinson, Andrew. “Instagram Extends Length Limit for Instagram Live Broadcasts, Adds Live-Stream Archive” SocialMediaToday, 27 October 2020, www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-extends-length-limit-for-instagram-live-broadcasts-adds-live-str.
Potuck, Michael. “Instagram increases Live video limit to 4 hours, debuts Live Archive save feature” 9TO5Mac, 27 October 2020, www.9to5mac.com/2020/10/27/instagram-increases-live-limit-new-live-archive-feature/.