Facebook Live Audio is Here!
With Facebook Live, suddenly everyone on the planet had an opportunity to share live video from their smartphone. Facebook recently added a major new feature (although most people are yet to notice it)… Facebook Live Audio!
When Facebook started to test live audio with partners such as the BBC World Service they said:
“We also know that publishers sometimes go live from areas that lack strong network connectivity. Though we alert the broadcaster if their signal is low, Live Audio presents another option for connecting with audiences in real time from low-connectivity areas.”
The power of audio (radio vs TV)
The benefits of audio only broadcasts go way beyond the fact they can be delivered with a relatively weak data signal.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of audio (when compared with video) is that allows the listener to do more than one thing at a time.
Think about it… when you sit down to watch video, you have to keep your eyes focused on the screen or you risk failing to see a key part of the story. This is why, for example, it is considered dangerous to watch video whilst driving.
However, people have been safely listening to radio whilst driving for decades.
The rise of the podcast
According to a recent study by Edison Research, an estimated 67 million people listened to a podcast in the past month – a number that has doubled in the last 5 years.
Facebook says:
“We know that people often like to listen to audio while doing other things; people using Android devices will be able to continue listening to a Live Audio broadcast even if they leave the Facebook app or lock their phones, while iOS listeners will be able to continue listening as they browse other parts of Facebook.”
Is it time you had a content strategy for audio?
