Your first live selling session does not need everything to be perfect, but you need to know whether your account can go live yet and which app to use. This guide compares TikTok LIVE and Facebook Live using each platform's own help pages, last checked October 2026, lists the apps and software you can use, and gives a gear checklist and a 45-minute run-sheet you can copy. For writing short video scripts, see short video script templates for shops, which this guide does not repeat.

How TikTok LIVE and Facebook Live differ

The main requirements, checked on each platform's official help pages (last checked October 2026), are in this table. Requirements change, so recheck the help pages before you decide.

If your customers already watch short clips and buy through TikTok Shop, start on TikTok. If they already message your Facebook Page, start on Facebook. If you have not met either follower requirement, build an audience with short clips first.

Apps and software for live selling

There is no single best app for every shop. These are the options we could confirm from official pages.

For a first live, a phone app is enough. Add streaming software when you want multiple angles or a price graphic. Facebook's video specs for streaming software, such as a 16:9 ratio and a recommended maximum bitrate of 15 Mbps, are on the Requirements for Facebook Live videos page.

Steps to start your first live

On TikTok

1. Open the LIVE menu

   In the TikTok app, tap the + button at the bottom, then tap LIVE at the bottom. Scroll across if you do not see it.

2. Set a title and adjust

   Add a title, use LIVE tools or change settings as you like.

3. Start and end

   Tap Go LIVE to start. To finish, tap End LIVE at the top, then End now.

On Facebook

1. Check the requirements

   The account must be at least 60 days old, and the Page or professional-mode profile needs at least 100 followers. To go live from a Page, you need permission to create content.

2. Choose where to post

   Choose a profile, Page, group or event, then write a description.

3. Go live or schedule

   Start the live video, or with streaming software schedule it ahead using the Later option.

Equipment checklist for your first live

This is our own checklist from what shops do in practice, not a TikTok or Facebook requirement.

A 45-minute live selling run-sheet

Split the first live into 5 stages. The table is our proposed frame; adjust it to your products and audience size.

For the opening, fill {what we will show} with what you will really show today, and {end time} with the time you plan to stop, so viewers know how long to stay.

Filled example: Hello everyone, the sample clothing shop is live for the first time today. Today we will show 4 T-shirt styles. We are live until 20:00. The shop and time are invented.

For presenting a product and saying how to order, state the price and the way to order each time you change products, so newcomers do not have to ask again.

Filled example: This one is a crew-neck T-shirt at 290 baht, the key feature is a cool fabric. Order by typing the model name in the comments. Prices are invented.

For closing, sum up what the customer must do next, then thank them.

Filled example: If you have not ordered yet, message us before tomorrow 12:00 and we will check your order. Times are invented.

What to do before and after the live

One to two days before, post the date, time and what you will show. Use short clips from the scripts in short video script templates for shops to draw viewers. After the live, total the orders, answer waiting chats and cut the parts people asked about into new clips.

• Before: post the time, a teaser clip and prepare stock and price cards

• During: answer comments and repeat how to order whenever you change products

• After: total the orders, reply to chats and see which products drew the most questions

You can prepare the post-live replies ahead; see chat reply templates for online shops. Shops using TikTok Shop can follow the TikTok Shop first-week checklist. The TikTok Shop seller terms say sellers may sell through live streaming, but some functions can be restricted at TikTok's discretion, so check the conditions in your own Seller Center.

If you have not reached the live follower requirement

If you are still below 1,000 followers on TikTok or 100 on Facebook, start with short clips to build an audience. This paragraph promotes our services. The TikTok followers and Facebook services pages are optional extras for the audience-building step. Ordered numbers do not make a live sell better and do not guarantee sales. We do not recommend buying live viewer counts as a way to sell.

For short clip scripts that invite people to your live, read this next.

Article8 Short Video Scripts for Sellers You Can Shoot TodayEight fill-in short video scripts for sellers (hook, problem, show, next step) with filled examples for 3 product types, on-screen rules and a way to get 4 clips from one shoot.

If your TikTok Shop is open, see the first-week steps here.

ArticleYour First Week on TikTok Shop: A Checklist From Signup to the First Clip With a CartA 7-day checklist for opening a TikTok Shop: signup and verification, a first listing that passes review, three first-clip structures, chat and orders, balance basics, and fixing a missing cart.

Questions about your first live selling session

Summary

Check the platform's follower requirement first, start with a phone app, prepare gear from the checklist, run 45 minutes from the run-sheet and close with a clear way to order. Platform rules change, so check the latest help pages before every live.