Glossary/Live
What is a live?
Short answer
A live is a stream in which the creator talks to viewers in real time and answers questions from the comments. In a brand collaboration it usually serves to show the product in full: how it works, who it is for and what raises doubts. It is a demanding format, because you cannot edit it or fix it afterwards.
What exactly is a live stream?
A live usually runs from a dozen or so minutes up to an hour and has no script in the sense a recording does. The creator knows the topic, but the questions come in as they go, including the difficult ones. That is at the same time the format's biggest strength: the viewer hears the answer straight away, not in material prepared in advance. So a live takes preparation on both sides.
How do you prepare a live with a brand?
Four things worth agreeing before the stream:
Who leads the conversation and whether someone from the brand joins the stream as a guest.
The range of questions the creator answers themselves, and those they pass on to the brand.
How the collaboration is disclosed at the start and repeated during the stream, because viewers join later.
What happens to the recording afterwards: whether it stays on the profile and who may use it.
Why do brands order lives?
Because a stream shows the product without editing, and the viewer can tell: the questions in the comments are real and the answer comes straight away. Brands reach for this format with more expensive products and at launches, when the audience needs more information than fits into a short video. For a creator a live builds trust more strongly than a single post.
Where to order it or find tasks
Related terms
Words that come up in the same conversations. Each has its own definition in the glossary.
- Instagram Story
- Material that disappears after 24 hours and is watched full screen. It gives quick contact with the most active part of the audience and lets you add a link. Read more
- Engagement
- The audience's reactions to the material: likes, comments, saves, shares. It shows whether the content moved people or only scrolled past their eyes. Read more
- Instagram Reels
- Short vertical video that is shown to people outside the follower list as well. That is why reach here depends more on the material itself than on the size of the account. Read more
- Feed post
- A publication that stays on the profile for good. It collects reactions more slowly than video, but it works as a calling card for the collaboration, one you can come back to. Read more
Frequently asked questions
Does a live need a big audience?
No, but it needs an active one. On a stream what counts is how many people ask questions, not the follower counter: a conversation without comments quickly turns into a monologue to an empty room.
Does the recording of a stream stay up?
It depends on the service and on what was agreed. It is worth writing down up front whether the recording stays on the profile, whether the brand can use it in its own channels and for how long.
How do you disclose a live as a paid collaboration?
At the start of the stream and repeatedly during it, because viewers join at different moments. It is worth adding the disclosure in the title of the stream too, so that people coming in later see it.
