How to Make Press and Hold Facebook Posts (Interactive Photos!) Using Custom Live Photos

Jamie M Swanson

I don’t think I’ve been this excited about something related to Facebook in a LONG time.

First off, if you aren’t sure what a “Press and Hold Facebook Post” is, click here to view one in action on my page. It’s basically an interactive photo post. You HAVE to be on the Facebook app on mobile for it to work (sorry!). And if you are as amazed by it as I am, please share it with others while you’re there because I think this is going to be HUGE in the photography industry!

Here’s what it looks like (but you’ll need to click through and actually visit the post for it to work, since this is just a screenshot):

Pretty rad, huh?

But not only are they cool, they get amazing reach on Facebook because people have to engage with them to see what’s hidden inside, so you should reach far more people than you would with just a regular image, video or slideshow.

So let’s dive in to how to make one!

How to Make a Press and Hold Facebook Video Post

This video shows you step-by-step how you can make a post like this of your own in less than 5 min. It’s super simple.

Or, if you prefer to read, follow along with the steps below (turn on the sound in the bottom corner of video).

What you need:

1. iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch with iOS 9.0 or higher (Sorry Android people!)
2. Video OR Photos for inside
3. Cover image to tell people to press & hold to see what you have inside
4. intoLive app

We’ll be making these on your phone, so all photos and videos need to be uploaded to your phone.

Step 1: Open intoLive app and select hidden video or photos

You can either reveal a video up to 30 seconds in length OR you can select up to 30 photos to create a slideshow inside instead.

This is what people will see after they click and hold down on your post. They won’t see it unless they do that.

The app will automatically create a slideshow for you from the photos you pick, which is really neat. Just make sure they are all the same aspect ratio and orientation or they get cropped all strange.

Click the arrow in the top right corner to go to the next step.

Step 2: Select Your Post Photo (This Will be Your Interactive Photo)

This is what everyone will see before they press and hold down on your post.

I recommend using an image that has directions on it telling people exactly what to do. This will probably be new for them, so without directions, they’ll never know there’s something hiding inside.

The image should be the same aspect ratio and orientation as the revealed contents inside or it’ll crop everything inside to whatever size this image is.

This is also what they will see if they are viewing the post on a computer, but nothing will happen if they click it. This only works in the Facebook app on Mobile.

Step 3: Save Live Photo

Save this to your camera roll.

Step 4: Upload to Facebook using the Facebook App

This will only work if you upload it using the Facebook app. You CAN post it to your business page, but you CANNOT use the Pages app for that – it has to be the regular Facebook App. Here’s exactly how to do it.

Upload it as a photo. You’ll notice the “live photos” white circle icon on the photo (See below). Then once you’ve got the live photo uploaded, make sure the “Live” button is toggled on (see the third photo below). If you don’t do this, it won’t work.

Just post it and you’re done!

Ideas For Engaging Press and Hold Facebook Posts

These posts get INCREDIBLE engagement, since people have to click on them to see what is inside and it makes them super curious.

So here’s a few ideas on how you could use them in your business and watch your reach grow:

Was this tutorial helpful for you?

Would you please share this post on Facebook with photographers who might find this helpful and interesting? Or share the original Facebook post with them so they can see it for themselves?

Then would you Pin this on Pinterest too?

It’d mean a lot to me, and it’s a great way to say “Thanks!” to me for taking the time to share with you. You rock!

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