How to Join a Facebook Live Event

October 31, 2025

Jumping into a Facebook Live event is one of the best ways to connect directly with your favorite creators, brands, and communities in real time. This guide breaks down exactly how to find, join, and interact with a live stream on any device. We'll also cover how to catch a replay if you miss the live broadcast and troubleshoot any common issues you might run into.

What Exactly is a Facebook Live Event?

Think of Facebook Live as a real-time broadcast happening directly on Facebook. Unlike a pre-recorded video, a Live event unfolds as you watch it, allowing you to interact instantly with the host and other viewers. It could be anything from a Q&A session with a social media expert, a product launch from a small business, a behind-the-scenes tour, a cooking class, or a live musical performance.

For creators and brands, it’s a powerful tool to engage with their audience organically. The unscripted nature of "going live" creates a sense of authenticity and direct connection that polished, pre-recorded videos can't always match. For viewers, it’s a chance to be part of an event, ask questions, and have your voice heard immediately.

Finding a Facebook Live Event You Want to Join

Before you can join a stream, you need to find one. Fortunately, Facebook makes it easy to discover live content. Here are the most common methods.

Go Directly to the Source: Follow The Page or Creator

The most reliable way to know when a specific creator or brand goes live is to follow their Page. Once you follow a Page, you can adjust your notification settings to get an alert the moment they start a live broadcast. This is the best method if you don't want to miss a thing from a few specific sources.

Here’s how to set it up:

Go to the Facebook Page you want to follow.
Click the three dots ("...") icon near the "Like" or "Following" button.
Select "Following settings."
Under the "Notifications" section for "Live Video," choose "All Notifications."

With this setting turned on, you'll receive a push notification on your phone or a notification on the website as soon as they go live. Simply clicking that notification is the fastest way to join.

Browse the "Live" Video Feed

Feeling spontaneous? Facebook curates a feed of live videos happening right now from around the world. It’s a great way to discover new creators and content based on what's popular or what Facebook's algorithm thinks you might like.

On the mobile app: Tap the "Watch" tab (a TV icon) at the bottom or top of your screen. From there, you should see a "Live" button. Tapping this will show you a feed of nothing but active live streams.
On a desktop browser: Look at the left-hand menu on your home feed. Click "Watch." In the Watch menu, you’ll see an option for "Live." This feed will show you a mix of live broadcasts from pages you follow and popular streams happening globally.

Use the Scheduled Event Feature

Many organized events, like webinars, official announcements, or online workshops, are scheduled in advance. The creator will often create a Facebook Event page specifically for the live broadcast. On this page, you can RSVP by clicking "Going" or "Interested."

When you RSVP, Facebook will automatically remind you before the event starts. The event page itself will often have the link to the live stream right at the top when it’s time to join. This is a fantastic way to plan ahead and make sure you don't miss a broadcast you're looking forward to.

How to Join the Stream: A Step-by-Step Guide

Once you’ve found the live stream, joining is the easy part. The process is slightly different depending on whether you’re on a computer or your phone.

Joining from a Desktop or Laptop Browser

Watching on a bigger screen is great for longer events where you want to see all the details clearly. The layout gives you a ton of room for both the video and the comment feed.

Locate the Stream: Find the broadcast through a notification, the creator’s Page, or the Live video feed. It will typically have a red "LIVE" label on the video thumbnail.
Click to Enter: Simply click on the video to open the full experience. The video will usually start playing automatically (often muted), and you'll see a real-time comment feed scrolling on the right side of the screen.
Unmute the Audio: Hover over the video player and look for a speaker icon. Click it to unmute the audio and start listening. You can also adjust the volume and video quality here.

The desktop view is ideal for highly interactive sessions because you can easily type comments without your keyboard obscuring the video.

Joining from a Mobile Device (Facebook App)

Most people join Facebook Live events from their phones. It’s convenient, and you can watch from anywhere.

Tap the Notification or Video: The quickest way to join is by tapping the push notification you receive when the creator goes live. Alternatively, you can navigate to their Page and tap on the live video happening at the top of their feed.
Understanding the Mobile View: Once you're in, you’ll see the video takes up most of the screen. Comments and reactions flow up from the bottom, overlaying the video slightly.
Interact: You can add a comment by tapping the text box at the very bottom. You can send reactions by tapping and holding the "Like" button and choosing an emoji. These actions will appear on screen for everyone to see.

Beyond Just Watching: How to Engage During the Stream

The real fun of a live event is being part of it. Your interaction gives immediate feedback to the host and helps build a sense of community among the viewers. Think of yourself as part of the show, not just an observer.

1. Use Reactions Liberally

The reaction buttons (Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, Angry) are the simplest way to interact. When you send one, it floats across the screen. Seeing a wave of hearts or thumbs-ups is incredibly encouraging for the creator. It’s a silent, constant stream of feedback that lets them know people are tuned in and enjoying the content.

2. Drop a Comment or Ask a Question

The comment feed is the heart of a live broadcast. Here are a few tips to make your comments effective:

Say hello! When you join, just dropping a "Hi from [Your City/Country]!" is a great way to start. It helps the creator feel connected to a global audience.
Stay on topic. Focus your questions and comments on what the host is discussing. This makes it more likely they’ll see and respond to your comment.
Be clear and concise. Hosts are often scanning comments quickly while talking. A short, clear question is much easier to read and answer than a long, rambling paragraph.
Tag a friend. If you think a friend would enjoy the broadcast, you can tag them in a comment (e.g., "@John Doe you should see this!") to send them a notification.

3. Share the Live Video

If you're enjoying the stream, share it! There's a "Share" button at the bottom of the video. Tapping it gives you options to share the broadcast to your own timeline, in a Facebook Group, on your Page, or directly with a friend via Messenger. This is one of the most powerful ways to support a creator you like, as it helps them reach new people organically.

What If You Missed it? An Introduction to Replays

Don't worry if you can't make it to the "live" part of the event. Almost all Facebook Live videos are saved as regular videos on the creator's Page after the broadcast ends. You can find them by visiting the Page and clicking on the "Live" or "Videos" tab.

When you watch the replay, you can often see all the original comments and reactions appear in real-time as they did during the live event. This gives you a great sense of what the energy in the room was like. You can still add new comments and reactions to the video, and the creator will receive notifications for this new engagement.

Common Problems and Quick Fixes

Sometimes technology doesn't cooperate. Here are solutions for a few common issues you might encounter.

Choppy or Poor Video Quality: This is often due to an internet connection issue. First, check your own Wi-Fi or cellular signal. If your connection is strong, the problem is likely on the broadcaster's end. There isn’t much you can do but wait for it to clear up.
No Sound: Look for a speaker icon on the video player. Both desktop and mobile video players often start muted. Make sure you’ve clicked it to turn the sound on. Also, double-check that your device's volume is up.
Video Isn't Loading: Try refreshing the page (on desktop) or closing and re-opening the Facebook app (on mobile). This can fix many minor loading glitches.

Final Thoughts

Joining a Facebook Live event is an excellent, straightforward way to engage with content in a more personal and immediate format. By following a page or RSVPing to an event, you can get timely notifications, join with a single click, and participate in a live conversation using comments and reactions.

Of course, live events are just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to building an engaged community. The other side is having a consistent and valuable content calendar. Many small businesses we've talked to struggle to juggle creating scheduled posts with engaging in authentic, real-time moments. That’s why we built Postbase - to handle the planning and scheduling side of social media reliably, so you have more time and creative energy to focus on high-impact engagement, like hosting your own Live events.

Spencer Lanoue

Spencer's spent a decade building products at companies like Buffer, UserTesting, and Bump Health. He's spent years in the weeds of social media management—scheduling posts, analyzing performance, coordinating teams. At Postbase, he's building tools to automate the busywork so you can focus on creating great content.

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