Facebook Live just got a bit less live, but far more practical for marketers.

Plan ahead 

Live streams can now be scheduled in advance. Verified Pages can schedule the streams, beginning with videos published via the Facebook Live API.

You can do this using the Publishing Tools feature.

No time like the present

Prior to a scheduled stream, an announcement post will be published on your News Feed. Users can opt-in to receive a reminder just before the broadcast begins.

Users can also congregate in a pre-broadcast lobby, where they can interact with other viewers.

Live streams can be scheduled up to a week in advance, and can be shared by viewers after broadcast.

With the recent demise of Vine and Meerkat, this update further cements Facebook's rapid ascension up the live streaming ranks.