Since its inception, social media giant Instagram has been focused on developing features that would help creators better connect with their followers. With the same goal in mind, Instagram has introduced ‘Live Rooms’ that give creators the ability to go ‘Live’ on the social platform with 3 fellow creators. Basically, with Instagram Live Rooms, up to 4 creators can go live together at once. Previously, IG allowed you to go live with just one person in a stream though its Instagram Live feature. Now, the platform allows you to ‘double up’ on your live broadcast.

The tech company says that it hopes Live Rooms will open up gates for more creative opportunities, in terms of live broadcast formats that allow things like expanded Q&As, interviews, live talk shows, live shopping experiences or even jam sessions for musicians.

Social media platform Instagram says that Live Rooms are being rolled out now as we speak, to both Android and iOS users to all international markets. The platform expects the rollout to be 100% complete within the week.

Live rooms were rolled out to Indian users in December 2020. Now, the new feature will be available globally for everyone on the platform. Elaborating on Instagram Live Rooms, the company said that the new feature will give creators more and better opportunities to have conversations with their fans and communities. You can check out more martech news here.

Creators can earn with Instagram Live Rooms

Instagram Live Rooms, the newest feature from Instagram provides creators on the platform with even more ways to build a business and a brand and earn money through it. Recently, the social media giant announced that Live viewers can buy badges for their beloved creators as a gesture of love. Now through Live Rooms, Live viewers can purchase badges for the Live hosts and make use of other interactive features like Live Fundraisers and Shopping.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, people have been embracing Live in creative ways. In 2020, several special moments were captured using Instagram Live, including informative talks related to COVID-19, record-breaking rap battles and interviews with celebrities. All kinds of creators, including beauty, comedy, musicians, chefs, fashion and activists, have used this incredible feature to the most and it would be interesting to see what creators make of Instagram Live Rooms.

VP of Product Instagram, Vishal Shah said in a post that the company first launched the Live feature with more than one person in 2017 but it really saw a better acceptance and resurgence once lockdown was declared due to the pandemic. The #1 feature request Instagram heard was ‘how can more than one person be added in IG Live?’, said Shah. “And so we got to work. I am so proud of the team that brought this feature to life,” he added. It required a great lift from an infrastructure perspective to support this new feature. They launched it in India first in December last year and now the company is excited to bring this amazing feature to the rest of the world, he said.

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How does Instagram Live Rooms work?

Instagram Live Rooms | iTMunch

If you’re a creator on a platform like Instagram, it is extremely important for you to make use of all the features available. It is said that to get better recognition from Instagram, you should post on at least one of the surfaces of the platform (Feed, Story, IGTV, Live, Reel and now Live Rooms). So, as Instagram Live Rooms is a new feature, it is better that you get acquainted with the earliest. Here’s how you can use it: 

  • Swipe left & pick the ‘Live’ camera option
  • Next, add a title and then tap the ‘Rooms’ icon to add guests. You will see creators/people who’ve requested to go live with you. Moreover, you can also look for a guest to add.
  • If you have started a Live Room, you will remain at the top of the screen when other guests are added

As a Live broadcaster, you will be able to add up to 3 guests at once. You can even add guests one by one. For example, you could start with 2 guests and later add a surprise guest as the 3rd participant. Once the host adds creators, all two, three or four creators will be visible in the Instagram live split screen. Going Live with creators is a great way to increase your reach exponentially, as followers of guests can also be notified. You can also save Instagram Live video to post it later as an IGTV video.

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More about the new Instagram Live feature

For safety purposes, any account that has been blocked by any of the four Live Room participants won’t be able to access the livestream. Additionally, any guests who’ve previously had live access revoked because of violations of Community Guidelines of Instagram will not be able to join any of the Live Rooms. 

During these live broadcasts, hosts will be able to report and block comments. They will also be able to use comment filters to create and maintain a safer experience for all viewers. Over time, Live broadcasts on the social media platform have become an important way for brands, business owners and creators to stay connected with their followers. These came in handy  especially during the pandemic, because of which in-person live events like shows, concerts, classes, meetups and conferences. Amidst the pandemic (from February 2020 to March 2020), social media giant Instagram reported a whopping 70% increase in Live views as creators and businesses had to shift their work online.

As the pandemic took over our entire 2020 and carried forward into 2021, the lack of in-person contact and connection made space and created opportunities for new social networks to grow. Recently, live audio platform Clubhouse has been in the news. There’s been a rapid adoption of Clubhouse, especially by the tech-oriented and creative audiences who use the app to tune into chat sessions, live shows and even big-name interviews. Serial entrepreneur Elon Musk also uses Clubhouse to build connections with the audience. Reportedly, Twitter and Facebook are currently developing its rival.

Though Clubhouse offers a completely different experience and currently is an invite-only platform, it operates in the same broader space of enabling fans to get connected with a set of high-profile individuals of some sort, be it entrepreneurs, founders, market experts, thought leaders, celebrities and influencers.

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Image Courtesy: Instagram