Facebook adding new app for video creators

PanARMENIAN.Net - Facebook wants more video, so it's releasing a new app just for creators, the company announced at the annual online video conference VidCon Friday, June 23, Mashable reports.

It's in part an update to Facebook Mentions, an app currently available to verified accounts on the social network, which includes celebrities, online influencers, and journalists.

Mentions is where Facebook first released Facebook Live back in August 2015 and it provides a lighter version of Facebook with a Following tab, a Trending tab, and a Mentions tab.

But this new app, to be released later this year, will be focused on the creator, Facebook product director Daniel Danker announced during the "Future of Facebook Video" panel at VidCon.

"It has never been a better time to be a creator on Facebook," Danker said. "With Facebook we can connect and create community with your audience and tell stories that are social, personal, and authentic."

The app will still feature access to Facebook Live as well as a new live creative kit, where creators will have access to special tools that include adding intros and outros to live broadcasts. They will also have custom stickers that viewers can use and custom frames for the creator.

The update includes a new Community tab, where creators can more easily connect with their followers on Facebook as well as Facebook's other apps, Instagram and Messenger. The app also will have more insights, such as who the creator's followers are and how they are consuming the creator's videos.

Over the last year and especially at VidCon, Facebook has made a big push for being more of a YouTube-like destination, where users come to watch video. That includes Facebook making an effort to recruit more YouTube-like stars, as Mashable reported. Bringing in creators who can make high-quality, engaging video is another way Facebook can make money — and so can creators.

"We think we’re successful when you’re successful," Danker said.