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We made it through some rough times with the Facebook Live polls, but it seems that the storm is behind us and it’s now time to start creating some real Facebook Live content.

The Interview Mode was introduced to verified pages and profiles on Facebook Live on June 2016 but the feature wasn’t exactly used among those users, maybe because of the poor experience it offers both sides- the host takes 90% of the screen and the guest, which sometimes can be someone really important, gets a poor box in the corner of the screen, which is even smaller when watching the stream from a mobile device.

>>Learn how to bring more viewers to your Facebook Live Videos<<

But being able to connect with a distant person of Facebook Live seems like a must option for power users, journalists, bloggers and many more, so in this post I will show you how to do it right, giving your guest the amount of screen size he/she deserves, regardless to whether your account is verified or not.

Interviewing myself, split screen. Belive’s control panel

Facebook Live Interview Mode with Belive

We already met Belive.tv, an Israeli startup with many cool features for your Facebook Live stream (Desktop, on-screen comments, etc.). The interview feature was in Beta version for the last few months and I got to use an early version which worked really well, now it’s public and it has some even more cool features: you can actually be the director of your live stream- decide who to show and where the guest will be shown (corner, side-by-side, big screen, etc.).

>>Click here for the latest Facebook Live News & Tutorials<<

To start your Interview Mode Facebook Live video- click here.

Now click “Host your interview”, add the text to your post and insert your email address (a link to the broadcast backstage will be sent there). Choose where you want your video to be streamed at (profile, business page, etc.).

The next screen is your control panel. You’ll see 3 preview windows: (1) for your guest, with the link you need to send to your guest in advance, (2) another screen for the host (you) and a preview of the broadcast (3). Click “Connect camera” to connect your camera, once your guest clicks the link and join you, the Live video can start. You can’t start if your guest isn’t live with you.

Below the preview screen you can choose the layout of your broadcast: Show only your guest, guest in corner, split screen, host in corner and show only the host. From my experience with livestream software live Wirecast and OBS, it’s not easy to control  the layout while talking to another person and listening, but Belive made it super easy, 1 click changes the layout and it feels like someone is sitting in the control room.

Once everyone is live, click Start Broadcast. Wait until the the buttons turns red, that means the post was created on Facebook and the stream is live for people to start watching.

Your guest’s control panel

A very cool feature in Belive’s system is having the name of the people in the video, on every preview screen (guest and host) you’ll see a red Show button, clicking it will feature the person’s name on the screen, to help people know who they are watching. Click Hide to remove the names from the screen.

While you are on the air, the Belive platform allows you to share on-screen updates and show your viewers comments on-screen for everyone to see, this is a major engagement booster so make sure you learn how to use it- read here.

Need help? Content ideas? Join our Facebook Live Professionals community

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