What is Facebook?
There is literally no way you haven’t heard of Facebook yet if you’re a denizen of Planet Earth and have spent even a tiny amount of time on the internet. The social media juggernaut has quite literally changed the way we live our lives.
Though it’s not the first social media website (remember MySpace? Geocities?), it is by far the most influential, connecting people all around the world, making it incredibly easy to reach a massive potential audience for any kind of content you create.
It’s no surprise that the massive growth of the gaming industry prompted Mr. Zuckerberg and company to jump head-first into the scene, hoovering up related hardware and software properties to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the world of video games.
Livestreams on Facebook
So what are the headline items of Facebook’s streaming endeavors? The platform is quickly encroaching on YouTube in terms of live gaming content, overtaking the big red site in Q3 2021 with 1.29 billion hours watched compared to the big red site’s 1.13 billion total hours watched. (Twitch posted a whopping 5.79 billion, so there’s still a lot of room to grow.)
Stable 1080p 60FPS streaming, great mobile broadcasting functionality, plus integration with your existing profile makes it an interesting platform to experiment with. The fact that Facebook takes 0% of your earnings as a streamer also helps, though this particular sweetener will expire in 2022.
Don’t just shrug the platform away as Boomerbook, either: though it’s true that the GenZ demographic isn’t really spending all that much time on Facebook, the 18-24 and 25-35 year-olds still make up by far the largest chunk of the userbase.
This, coupled with innovative new ideas like a simple “play with the streamer” button using Facebook’s own integrated casual games, allows for a unique way to leverage your personal network at the start of your content creation journey.
However, if you are truly trying to get the attention of the youngest of gamers, maybe livestreaming on Facebook isn’t the optimal path to take.
As you can see, Facebook has its advantages and disadvantages. In the end, it's up to you to decide whether you want to venture onto their up-and-coming livestream platform as a content creator.
A brief history of Facebook
It all began with a site called FaceMash, launched in October 2003. It was a variation of the „hot or not” phenomenon back in the day, pulling pictures from the online university “face books” (student directories), asking users to choose who’s hotter. It almost got Zuckerberg expelled from Harvard University. His next project was to build a universal student directory, which is how thefacebook.com was born.
The first iteration of the massive social media site launched on February 4, 2004. First, it was just a way to connect college students attending Ivy League institutions, the educational elite in the US. Then, the limitations began to disappear, and the concept went way beyond introducing young adults from university to each other.
Facebook was opened up to the whole wide world (or at least those above the age of 13 and an e-mail address) in September 2006. Its popularity skyrocketed from there, with 500 million users reported in July 2010. The App center and the NASDAQ appearance followed in 2012. By the end of that year, Facebook boasted over one billion monthly active users.
Facebook Gaming & Livestreaming
The importance of mobile use continued to grow over time, and it’s no surprise that Facebook Gaming and livestreaming on Facebook also focuses primarily on the mobile broadcasting experience, setting it apart from its competitors.
Even back in the old days of 2008, casual games like Farmville were among the most important trendsetters in the casual space with monster numbers, and Facebook is now trying to muscle its way into the growing gaming entertainment industry. This includes massive sponsorship deals given out to some of your favorite streamers, friendly terms offered to new content creators, and an interest in cutting-edge technology like the Oculus VR, which they bought in March 2014 for a whopping $2 billion. There’s also Facebook Gaming, a Stadia-like cloud gaming service.
Of course, Facebook isn’t really Facebook anymore, or at least the parent company isn’t: now known as Meta, the people who changed the world as we knew it are looking to change it again in the Web3.0 space by spearheading the whole “metaverse” idea. It remains to be seen whether it’s visionary or kooky stuff, but Facebook Gaming and streaming on Facebook is here to stay, which is the most important matter for us now.
What can you do on Facebook
Communication & Connection
Facebook allows you to connect with your friends and fans and keep up with the latest trends and news around the world. It allows you to create a network of like-minded people and to promote your products and content via Pages.
Share images, videos, news articles or anything else to generate discussion and committed fans, amplifying your network of connections over time to create viral content seen all around the world! For anyone interested in building an audience and becoming a professional content creator, a Facebook presence is still a must, even in 2022.
You can create groups dedicated to your brand and content, privately message other individuals to communicate, and make use of Facebook’s robust mobiles streaming options that are invaluable for those looking to get into IRL streaming. Host events, set up watch parties, and much more! It's entirely up to you.
Livestreaming & Monetization
In 2018, the company launched Facebook Gaming, providing another avenue for gamers to create popular livestreaming content beyond YouTube and Twitch. According to reporting from Business Insider, Facebook Gaming offers higher viewer conversion rates and less competition than Twitch or YouTube for content creators. This also makes the platform an interesting option for aspiring streamers. The Level Up program was launched in 2018 to support emerging gaming content creators. Grow large enough, and you will become a dedicated partner with even better terms and options, including great monetization opportunities!
Facebook facts and stats!
As you no doubt expected, key figures about Facebook will inevitably involve humongous numbers. Insane amounts of money, tons of users around the world: however, what you might not have guessed is just how interesting the demographics and the platform statistics are on Facebook in 2022.
For instance, Facebook has 2.91 billion monthly active users. Only 1.7% are on a desktop PC!
56% of Facebook users are male, and 44% are female. 23.8% of Facebook users are 18-24 years old.
India has the largest presence on Facebook with 390 million users. The United States has 190. Indonesia and Brazil have 140 and 130, respectively. It should therefore be of little surprise that most of the biggest Facebook Gaming streamers broadcast in a language other than English!
In Q3 2021, Tarboun (5.74 million hours watched), Im Vernon (5.71) and Nam Blue (5.49) round out the top three, and Vernon is actually the only one out of the top ten to broadcast content in English.
Facebook paid $19 billion for WhatsApp, $2 billion for Oculus VR and $1 billion for Instagram. These are just a few of their many acquisitions.
These insights are accurate as of February 2022.
