Facebook Live Pros and Cons

Facebook Live have a lot working in its favor, but it also has a few drawbacks.

Facebook Live Pros

Accessible, free, and easy to get started, Facebook Live has the following benefits:

Low barrier to entry. Anyone with a Facebook account (and/or the Facebook app on mobile) can start streaming within clicks.
Massive audience. For businesses with active followings on Facebook, marketing to them on a platform where they already spend time is an obvious choice. For everyone else, taking advantage of Facebook’s user base and targeting options may help to attract an audience at no cost.
Video API: Given its purpose-built video API, live stream brands on Facebook can save time and boost efficiency by connecting these activities to pre-existing workflows.

Facebook Live Cons

Despite some compelling pros, Facebook Live falls short in the following areas:

Low searchability/no SEO benefits. You can’t index Facebook Live content, which means search engines can’t crawl or “fetch” Facebook posts when people search for keywords you’d otherwise rank for. In addition, the search functionality within Facebook isn’t nearly as good at surfacing relevant content as search engines.
No monetization. Since you can’t monetize your videos on the platform, you also can’t restrict access via paywalls or directly manage or sell subscriptions.
Prohibitive policies. The service may be convenient and free, but certain Facebook Live policies — like forbidding looping content — may be too restrictive for some brands.

YouTube Live Pros and Cons

With more complexity comes more things to consider. Here are the primary pros and cons of YouTube Live.

YouTube Live Pros

As a subsidiary of Google and the second most-visited website in the world, YouTube Live carries some significant perks:

High searchability/SEO benefits. Unlike Facebook Live, YouTube Live content has a very good chance of showing up in search results — especially when people use parent company Google’s search engine. Anyone interested in driving views through organic search traffic will benefit from YouTube Live.
Sales and other money-making opportunities. YouTube provides several ways to incentivize spending: Channel subscriptions enable you to charge paying subscribers for exclusive content; Super chats and Super likes give viewers an opportunity to make their comments stand out in exchange for a donation; and the merch shelf makes it easy to advertise and sell products (if you sell through an official retailer).
Monetization options. If your channel is monetized (which requires 1,000 subscribers among other things), you can also make money through ad revenue. YouTube ad revenue generated a 25% year-over-year increase from 2020 to 2021.

YouTube Live Cons

YouTube Live also has tons to offer, but there are still some noteworthy drawbacks:

Eligibility requirements. Unlike Facebook Live, live streaming on YouTube will require at least a few hours for the feature to be enabled on your account. You won’t be able to go live from mobile unless you have 1,000 subscribers or use — and pay for — a third-party streaming service.
Limited accessibility with global audiences. Despite being the second most-used social media network in the world, YouTube is also one of the most blocked websites in the world — especially for businesses and schools. If you’re targeting global audiences, particularly in places like China where the platform is fully blocked, YouTube Live may not be the best place to host live streams.
Not the best place to monetize. YouTube’s complicated monetization scheme isn’t lucrative unless your channel pulls serious numbers. While the platform generated billions in ad revenue in Q1 of 2021, most YouTube channels earn $0.5 per 1000 video views or $18 per 1,000 ad views (on average). There’s also a payment threshold, which means you won’t get paid until you meet it.
Community guidelines. If your content violates YouTube’s community guidelines, your channel may receive strikes, which can temporarily freeze your ability to live stream.

Professional live streaming platforms

Professional live streaming platforms offer significantly more functionality and flexibility than free platforms like Facebook and YouTube — and because you’re paying for the service, the best platforms also promise a certain degree of reliability and personalization.

Reliability is especially important for brands that stream live concerts and events, church services, and synagogue services.

With professional live streaming platforms like Vimeo OTT, you can beam flawless, on-brand video to any device without worrying about things like encoders and unauthorized access.

You can also set up the monetization model that works best for your business.

Why use a professional live streaming platform?

For many video-based brands, the question isn’t YouTube Live vs. Facebook Live, it’s what other options exist?

That’s because neither platform gives content creators full control over their content.

With YouTube, several factors stand in the way of making money — from eligibility requirements to whether or not your content is advertiser-friendly.

With Facebook, monetizing your live streams isn’t even an option.

Here are some additional reasons to consider a professional live streaming service:

Live stream to any device. Go live across web, mobile, and TV apps. Put live streams behind a paywall when applicable.
Live stream to multiple locations. Broadcast live streams to your website, social channels, and OTT apps to reach more people with just one video.
Build your own OTT app. Securely stream live events to people across multiple locations with your on-brand mobile app.

Most importantly, professional live streaming platforms like Vimeo OTT put the power of monetization where it belongs: in the content creator’s hands.

Choose your preferred monetization model, keep an eye on video performance, and continue optimizing and adjusting pricing as you go — whether you’re selling subscriptions, one-time purchases, or both.

Learn to monetize your live streams with Vimeo OTT.