Facebook Live has been a boon to the social media giant, with many publishers and users taking advantage of the feature to cover events, promote products, do Q&A with celebrities, or just do silly things on-cam and live. But the problem is that not everyone has high-speed connection to be able to both do live video or watch the ones posted on their timeline. One alternative feature that Facebook will introduce next year is Live Audio.
Facebook has observed that some publishers actually want to tell a story using words and not video. So they would sometimes still use Facebook Live video but would just add a still photo or image while they do an audio broadcast. But now, you will not need to do that anymore as the Live Audio feature lets you broadcast live with just the audio, if the situation calls for that kind of format. Another reason why the Live Audio format would be effective is that some areas don’t have that strong a connectivity for video, so live audio would be the next best option.
What could you do with Live Audio? You can hold interviews with industry experts or even celebrities. You could do live book readings. You can even do dramatic or comedic shows. It can even mean a new type of podcast. And just like with the Facebook Live Video, you can ask questions, leave your live reactions while the audio is playing (the usual like, love, angry, etc). You can even switch to other apps or lock your phone while the Live Audio is playing and it will still continue to play.
For now, selected publishers like BBC World, LBC, Harper Collins, and even a couple of authors will be able to test out Live Audio. But early next year, they plan to make it more available to publishers and other simpler users.
SOURCE: Facebook
