Instagram provides the option to post Stories, enabling you to share daily moments with your followers. Additionally, you can create Story Highlights to keep your Stories permanently on your profile. Furthermore, you have the opportunity to go Live on Instagram, allowing you to share real-time experiences with your audience.
Table of contents
Absolutely! Here’s the comprehensive guide on how to start a Live Broadcast on your Instagram account using both mobile and desktop platforms. It’s important to note that you need a stable internet connection for a smooth Live experience. Make sure your device is connected to a reliable network before proceeding. Let’s dive into the article without delay.
Go Live on Instagram on Mobile
When you initiate a Live Broadcast on your Instagram account, your followers receive instant notifications of your activity. Beyond the quality of your phone’s camera, the reliability of your internet connection is pivotal for delivering a high-quality stream to your audience. We recommend performing a speed test before going Live on Instagram.
Step 1: Launch the Instagram app on your iPhone or Android device.
Step 2: Swipe right on the home screen to access the Story view.
Step 3: Tap on the “Live” option at the bottom.
Additionally, you’ll observe the number of your followers who are currently active on Instagram.
Step 4: Add a title to your Live Broadcast, then tap the Live icon to commence.
Once the Live Video Starts, tap the Invite icon at the bottom, input the name of a participant, and tap “Invite.” This allows you to invite your followers to join your livestream.
How to Schedule Your Instagram LIVE
You also have the option to schedule your Instagram Live session for a later date. Here’s how:
Step 1: Open Instagram and swipe right to access the Live window.
Step 2: Tap “Live” at the bottom, then tap the Calendar icon.
Step 3: Provide a title for your Live Broadcast, then tap on “Start Time.”
Step 4: Choose the date and time, then tap “Done.”
Step 6: Tap “Schedule Live Video” to confirm your scheduling.
You can additionally share the link to your scheduled live video as a Post or Story.
Edit or Delete Scheduled Live Broadcasts on Instagram
Step 1: Launch Instagram and access the Live Video view.
Step 2: Tap the Calendar icon, then tap the three dots next to your scheduled Live Video session name.
Step 3: Tap on Edit at the bottom.
You can now either adjust the scheduled date and time or tap “Cancel Live Video” to delete it.
Download your Instagram livestream once it’s concluded
Instagram also permits you to retain your Livestream for up to 30 days for later viewing. Here’s how to activate this feature:
Step 1: Launch Instagram and navigate to the Live Video view.
Step 2: Tap the Settings icon at the top-right corner, then choose “Live.”
Step 3: Toggle the switch next to “Save Live to Archive.”
This action will preserve your Live video for 30 days. You can access your Live Video by opening the Settings page and tapping on Archive. From there, you have the option to download it onto your phone.
How to Join Live Video on Instagram
As a viewer, you can engage in someone’s Live Video on Instagram by simply opening the Livestream and tapping “Request” at the bottom. Upon approval, you’ll gain access to share the space with your favorite content creator.
How to Go LIVE on Instagram from Desktop
Instagram has introduced Live Producer, allowing you to conduct Live Videos from your Mac or Windows PC. This feature necessitates third-party streaming software such as OBS and Streamlabs. We’ll use OBS as an example to demonstrate how to configure Instagram Live Streaming on your desktop. You can download OBS from the provided link and then follow the steps below.
Step 1: Launch your desktop web browser and navigate to instagram.com.
Step 2: Log in to your Instagram account and click on “Create” from the menu on the left.
Step 3: Click on Live Video.
Step 4: Enter your Live Video topic, then click “Next.”
You will now be presented with the Stream URL and Stream Key for your Live Video.
Step 5: Keep your browser open and launch OBS on your desktop.
Step 6: Complete the setup process for OBS on your desktop. Then, click on “OBS” at the top-left corner and choose “Settings” (Mac).
On Windows, after setting up OBS, click on “File” and then select “Settings.”
Step 7: Below the Sources window, click on the Plus icon and select “Video Capture Device.”
Step 8: Name your Video Capture Device and then click “OK.”
Step 9: Choose your camera or webcam and adjust the preset (resolution and frame rate) to 1,280×720 at 30fps. Then, click “OK” to confirm.
Step 10: On Mac, click on “OBS” at the top-right corner, then select “Settings.”
On a Windows PC, click on “File” and then select “Settings.”
Step 11: Click on “Output” from the menu on the left.
Step 12: Select “Advanced” for the Output Mode.
Step 13: Choose “x264” as the Video Encoder.
Step 14: In the “Bitrate” field, input your upload speed after deducting 20 percent. For instance, if your upload speed is 140 Mbps, subtracting 20 percent yields 112 Mbps, which equals 11,200 Kbps.
Step 15: Input the Keyframe interval between 2 seconds to 4 seconds. For clarification, the Keyframe Interval dictates how often a full-frame or keyframe is transmitted during a video stream. A lower interval results in more frequent and smoother delivery of your image during the live stream.
Step 15: Click on “Video” from the menu on the left and adjust the resolution (Base and Output) of your Livestream to 1,280x720p.
Step 16: Click “OK” to confirm your settings.
Step 17: Open the Settings again and click on “Stream.”
Step 18: Choose “Service” as Custom. Then, copy the Stream Key and Stream URL from Instagram in your web browser.
Step 19: Paste both the Stream Key and Stream URL in OBS, then click “OK.”
Step 20: In the OBS window, click on “Start Streaming” at the bottom right corner.
Step 21: Once you observe the Live Preview functioning on Instagram, click on “Go Live” at the top-right corner.
Share LIVE Moments on Instagram
You can initiate a Live session on Instagram to engage with your followers and share moments that you find noteworthy. Feel free to share which method for going live on Instagram best suits your preferences in the comments below.