Meta continuously updates its policies, with the most recent change affecting its Live Video Storage Policy. When I encountered this news, I remembered the first live video I ever did in 2018 or thereabout. The video, which featured a panel discussion about leadership and mentorship for university students, was rotated 180 degrees on the left. I was just trying out the new feature that Facebook had released, without many expectations, but it elicited much excitement among the audience and drew significant engagement.
I later learned that I needed to enable the auto-rotate feature for the video to be upright when the phone was held in landscape mode. Years later, during COVID-19, when many content creators were dealing with this issue, I had already advanced.
What’s Changing?
“Beginning on February 19th, any new live broadcast videos can be replayed, downloaded, or shared from your Facebook Pages or profiles for 30 days, after which they will automatically be removed from Facebook. Previously, these videos were stored indefinitely.”
Additionally, all existing live videos older than 30 days will be removed. Meta has committed to notifying users via email and in-app notifications before their archived live videos are deleted. From the time of notification, users will have 90 days to download or transfer their content.
The good news is that Meta has also promised to introduce new tools to simplify the process of downloading past live videos.
What Does This Mean?
- Content creators who rely on live streaming will need to think quickly to remain afloat. For those whose niche is live content, this change is significant. Their engagement strategies and analytics will shift dramatically, as accumulated watch hours from older live videos might be lost.
- Re-uploading may be tedious and ineffective. Downloading and re-uploading the same videos could be cumbersome, and even if they are reuploaded, they may not generate the same level of engagement. Meta has not clarified whether these videos can be uploaded as standard video posts without restrictions.
- Live streaming will return to its original purpose. The policy reinforces that live videos are meant for real-time engagement rather than long-term content storage.
Lessons Learned
- You don’t own the platform. Relying entirely on social media platforms for content storage and audience engagement is risky. Owners of these platforms can modify or remove services at any time.
- Adopt an integrated communication strategy. Content creators and organizations must diversify their digital presence by combining shared media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram) with owned media (e.g., websites, email lists). Those with strong integrated communication strategies will be less impacted by sudden policy shifts.
- Backup your content. Always store original video files externally (e.g., on cloud storage or personal drives) to avoid losing valuable content due to policy changes.
- Diversify engagement strategies. Beyond live streams, consider leveraging short-form videos, newsletters, and direct audience interactions to maintain engagement across multiple channels.