One of the incredible tools we have online in order to reach our people is Facebook, in particular Facebook Live. Regardless of context, synagogue, day school, non-profit, or any other institution, there is a large proportion of our constituents on this platform. As a result, it is important to do the work to gain their attention.
One way to do that is video, in particular, live video.
That is where Facebook Live comes in.
Before I get into how and why, I do want to say this: I asked permission of my class. I asked if they would feel comfortable with me posting and I tried to do it in a way that honored everyone’s wishes. Not everyone likes being online in the same way and it is important to respect that.
So how do you do that?
Use your smartphone.
While you can use your computer, the truth is, your smartphone is likely the best tool you have. The cameras on smartphones are exceptional and are usually of a higher quality than your computer. In fact, the outer camera is usually better than the inner camera.
Depending on context, you might be directing the outer camera towards you. This works well for lectures or classes when you have someone who can help you.
Most of the time, you’ll have the inner camera facing you so that you can see yourself. This is particularly useful if you are going to be responsive to folks who might comment on the video while it is still ive.
Open the Facebook App.
In particular, find your Facebook Page. This is the place you want to start. Why Facebook Page instead of your profile? You can find my post about that here. Once in the app, you can find the button to post or the Facebook Live button. This will prompt you to put in written content.
I’d suggest writing a short explanation of what you’ll be doing.
For my recent Talmud class, this is what I wrote:
Text :
Monday Talmud Live with Rabbi Jeremy Markiz! Can’t make it to 61c Cafe at 9am, join us on Facebook live!
You are invited to join the conversation!
Text: https://www.sefaria.org/Rosh_Hashanah.4a.12-14
This linked from the Congregation’s Page to my personal rabbinic page and also to the sources in the Talmud on Sefaria that I would be teaching. At first, it was only the first text we’d be discussing. Later, I went back and edited the link so that it would reflect all of the text we learned. [You can find my post about using Sefaria here.]
This is important because the replay value is just as important as watching it Live.
The text also invited people to feel like they were a part of the action.
Aim your shot.
Once you’ve gotten your text ready, you want to make sure that your phone is horizontal. While other platforms encourage vertical video (like Instagram live or Periscope), most video is better horizontally.
There are other great tools in the menus for color and composition, but that is a conversation for another day.
Ideally, the videos would be about level with your face or even a little above. In the video below, you’ll see that I did not do that.
I wanted the phone to be unobtrusive, so I traded in the quality of the angle for comfort of the space. I stacked a few books on the table and leaned my phone on them. I used an external charger to make sure my phone did not run out of battery.
The truth is, I am more interested in putting out decent content that provides value (more on this below) than having the angles be perfect.
More content you produce, the more chance you can catch someone’s attention.
In fact, it was a little hard to hear folks. I’ll talk about that in a second.
Camera is on, now what?
Once the camera was on, I quickly shared it to my personal profile, and got started.
In general, you do not want to wait a really long time as people start to show up. Start doing your thing and they’ll catch up.
In particular, since my class was a Talmud class, we were going to do review anyway, so that helped.
Next, because I knew it was going to be loud, since we were going to be outside, I made sure to repeat most of what people would say. I do this anyway, in practice, when I teach, but I was more conscientious of doing it because of folks who might not be able to watch online.
I also kept the camera on myself in order that my students would feel comfortable sharing and asking questions. Talmud is hard enough by itself, let alone on camera.
Live is hard.
Being on camera is hard enough, let alone doing it live. Give yourself a break, no one is perfect.
This is what that video looked like:
Why did I teach my Talmud class on Facebook Live?
The simple answer is this:
I want to provide value to my people.
More specifically, there are a few audiences that I think doing Facebook Live for them, makes a lot of sense.
Not everyone can make it to a coffeeshop on Monday mornings at 9am.
Lots of people are at work! Doing this through the internet will provide those folks a chance to participate on their own schedule.
Some people aren’t comfortable yet with learning Talmud.
That’s ok! Talmud is hard. By watching what the class is like, they might be more comfortable in the future. This allows me to serve them, even if it is not in person.
It is hard for certain people to make it to the coffeeshop for physical reasons. Not everyone is physically able the same way. Some of my students find it challenging to make it to the coffeeshop that day. Doing it on Facebook Live gives me a chance to serve them too!
Serendipity.
The world is a funny place and connections happen.
A few months ago, I posted a video (not live) that quoted the incredible Fred Rogers after I was inspired by the documentary, Won’t You Be My Neighbor. It was shared to someone who was in the documentary, a congregant, and someone who works for the Fred Rogers Center.
As a result of my video, I got a chance to build a relationship with someone who knew Fred Rogers! It was incredible.
None of that would have happened if I hadn’t put myself out there.
It is hard to do video and harder to do it Live.
It is not for everyone, but it might be for you!
Want to read more? Check out other blog posts.
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