Facebook Live has been brilliant for communicating with audiences globally, but recently people have been using Facebook Live as audio only, whilst having a still image to accompany their broadcast. Facebook has spotted this trend and has sought to develop a new platform for brands to reach their audience, Facebook Live Audio. The premise is the same as Facebook Live, one click, and you’re live on the internet.

Facebook hopes that brands will use Facebook Live Audio for book readings, interviews and of course talk radio, bringing low-bandwidth, real-time audio broadcast content to news feeds and Facebook pages.

Another thing Facebook hopes to see on this service is podcasts – with the idea being that podcasters use Facebook Live Audio as a new distribution platform for their episodes. This would be attractive for many, being a free streaming format and having huge audience potential.

For businesses, podcasting is a great way to show that you know what you’re talking about and help to win business, so whilst it has a consumer focus, the potential of Facebook Live Audio as a platform for the corporate world is high. The power of the human voice lets you get your personality and expertise across and assure listeners that you’re someone they can trust and do business with. By developing discussions and Facebook Live sessions about industry topics and then promoting these events via social media and emails, you can draw in an audience to listen to your spokespeople using a highly accessible social media platform.

Facebook Live Audio is something that you should definitely keep on your radar should you have plans for boosting your thought leadership PR programme this year, providing an alternative way of reaching out to your target audience.