How to Join a Facebook Live

Joining a Facebook Live broadcast is your ticket to real-time connection, whether you’re tuning into a Q&A with a favorite brand, watching a live performance, or supporting a creator’s launch. This guide walks you through a breakdown of how to find and join Live streams from any device, participate in the conversation, and even jump in as a guest speaker. You’ll learn exactly what to do from the moment you get a notification until the broadcast ends.

What Exactly Is a Facebook Live?

Facebook Live is a feature that lets individuals, brands, and organizations broadcast live video directly to their followers' Facebook Feeds. Unlike pre-recorded videos, a Live stream happens in the moment. It allows for direct interaction through comments, reactions, and shares, creating a dynamic, two-way conversation between the broadcaster and the audience.

For brands and creators, this isn't just a gimmick, it's a powerful tool for community building. Live broadcasts feel authentic and unscripted, helping to build trust and strengthen relationships. They’re perfect for:

• Hosting interactive Q&A sessions.
• Launching new products with a live audience.
• Sharing behind-the-scenes content.
• Teaching a skill or hosting a tutorial.
• Building topical authority by discussing industry trends.

From a viewer's perspective, joining a Live gives you a direct line to the people and brands you follow. You can ask questions and get them answered on the spot, connect with other fans in the comments, and be a part of a shared experience as it happens.

How to Find Facebook Live Streams to Join

Before you can join a stream, you first have to find it. Luckily, Facebook provides several ways to discover live content.

1. Notifications

The most common way to learn about a Live broadcast is through a push notification. If you follow a Page or are friends with an individual who starts a live video, Facebook will often send you an alert. Tapping this notification is the quickest way to jump right into the stream.

Pro Tip: To get notifications from your favorite pages, go to their Page, tap the three dots (…), and select "Follow Settings." From there, you can choose to receive notifications for "Live Videos."

2. Your News Feed

Facebook's algorithm often prioritizes live content. As you scroll through your News Feed, videos that are currently live will appear automatically. They’re typically marked with a red "LIVE" badge so they stand out from standard posts and pre-recorded videos.

3. Facebook Watch

The "Watch" tab (represented by a play button icon) is Facebook’s dedicated video hub. Inside, you’ll find a "Live" section where you can browse a feed of broadcasts that are happening right now, sorted by what Facebook thinks you'll find interesting.

4. Direct Page and Group Visits

If you know a Page or Group often goes live at a certain time, you can navigate directly to their profile. If they are currently live, the video stream will appear at the top of their feed.

5. Shared Links

Hosts often share a direct link to their Live stream right before or during the broadcast. This link could be sent via email, an instant messenger app, or another social platform, allowing you to join with a single click.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Join a Facebook Live

The process of joining a live stream is simple, but the interface varies slightly depending on whether you're using a computer or a mobile device.

Joining on a Desktop (Web Browser)

Viewing a Live stream on a laptop or desktop computer is great for multitasking, as you have plenty of screen space to watch the video and follow along with the comments.

1. Locate the Live Stream: Find the broadcast through your News Feed, a notification, or by visiting a specific Facebook Page. It will be marked with a red "LIVE" indicator.
2. Click to Play: Click on the video post. The video player will open, often taking up a large portion of your screen, with the comment feed right next to it.
3. Engage with the Broadcast: Once you’re in, you’re ready to participate.
   • Comment Stream: On the right side of the video, you’ll see comments from other viewers streaming in real-time.
   • Write a Comment: At the bottom of the comment stream, there’s a text box. Type your message and hit Enter to send. Your comment will appear with your name and profile picture.
   • React: Hover over the "Like" button below the comment box to see the reaction emojis (Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, Angry). Click one to send a floating animation across the screen - a great way to show support without interrupting the comment flow.
   • Share: Click the "Share" button at the bottom of the post to share the Live video to your own timeline, a page you manage, or send it to a friend via Messenger.

Joining on the Facebook Mobile App (iOS and Android)

Joining from your phone allows you to watch and engage from anywhere. The mobile experience is optimized for a vertical format.

1. Find and Tap the Video: When you see a Live video notification or post in your feed, simply tap on it.
2. Watch in Portrait Mode: The video will open, typically overlaying a live stream of comments and reactions at the bottom of the screen. Keep scrolling the comment section to read through them.
3. Interact from Your Phone:
   • React: The reaction icons (Like, Love, etc.) are readily available at the bottom corner of the screen. Tap them to send an animated reaction.
   • Comment: Tap the "Comment" field at the bottom to open your keyboard. Type your message and send it to join the discussion. Your message instantly becomes part of the live chat.
   • Share: Locate the "Share" button, usually at the bottom-right of the screen. Tapping it will give you options to share the broadcast in various ways.

For Creators: Joining a Live Stream as a Guest

Sometimes "joining" means more than just watching. Facebook allows hosts to invite guests into their Live broadcast for split-screen interviews and co-hosted conversations. This provides tremendous value for collaborations, expert interviews, and joint brand announcements.

If a host wants to bring you into their broadcast, here’s how it works:

1. Receive the Invitation: The host will send you a special invitation link, usually through Facebook Messenger. This is not the public link that viewers use.
2. Prepare Your Setup: Before clicking the link, make sure you’re ready. Find a quiet spot with good lighting and a strong, stable internet connection. Using headphones with a built-in microphone will massively improve your audio quality and prevent echo.
3. Click the Link and Enter the Backstage: Clicking the link will open a "backstage" area, often called a green room. Here, Facebook will prompt you to grant camera and microphone access. You'll be able to see yourself on screen and check your setup before going live. The host can see you here, but the audience cannot.
4. Wait to Be Added to the Broadcast: Communicate with the host (usually through text chat in the backstage area) to let them know you're ready. The host controls when you are added to the live broadcast. Once they add you, your video feed will appear alongside theirs, and you will be live to the entire audience.
5. Engage and Exit: While live, interact naturally with the host and respond to audience questions as they relay them. When your segment is over, the host can remove you from the broadcast, returning you to the backstage area, where you can safely close the window.

Best Practices for Engaging as a Viewer

Your participation as a viewer helps make a Facebook Live successful. A quiet broadcast is a boring one. By engaging thoughtfully, you not only improve the experience for yourself but also support the creator.

Be Present and Provide Feedback

Let the host know you’re there! A simple "Hello from [Your City]!" at the beginning contributes to a friendly atmosphere. Use reactions frequently to show encouragement. It gives the host a quick pulse on whether the content is connecting.

Ask Thoughtful Questions

If it’s a Q&A session, ask clear, concise questions related to the topic. Avoid spamming the same question repeatedly. If the host doesn’t get to it, they may have missed it or planned to cover it later. A good question can sometimes steer the conversation in an exciting new direction.

Be Respectful and Positive

Live streams are public forums. Engage with the host and other viewers in a polite and constructive way. Trolling or negative comments rarely add value, and hosts often have moderators who will remove disruptive participants. Your goal should be to contribute to a positive community space.

Help Grow the Audience

If you're enjoying the broadcast and think others would too, use the share button. Sharing the Live to your own timeline or dropping a link in a relevant group is one of the most powerful ways you can support a creator. Not only is it helpful, but it's a great vote of confidence in their content.

Final Thoughts

Joining and participating in a Facebook Live is a straightforward way to engage with real-time content and the communities around it. Whether you're casually watching from your phone, actively commenting from your desktop, or stepping into the spotlight as a co-host, you now have the know-how to make the most of the experience.

Live content is fantastic for in-the-moment engagement, but a sustainable social media strategy relies on a consistent mix of content. While you're interacting on a Live, the rest of your non-live promotions, updates, and announcements can keep working for you in the background. We built Postbase to solve this very challenge, our visual calendar lets you easily plan and schedule your content across all your social channels. That way, you’re always present, even when you’re not *live* live.