Mumbai: Instagram today announced a feature called ‘Live Rooms’, to help creators better engage with and grow their audiences by going live with multiple guests. The early tests for this feature were done in India and now India is one of the first countries to roll it out more broadly.
Instagram Live gives people the ability to go live and create and connect virtually, and hence has seen diverse use cases this year. In March, Instagram Live views in India grew 60%* on a week-on-week basis. Now with the ability to go Live with up to three guests, creators have more opportunities have conversations with their communities, and to expand their reach and use cases for Live, such as starting a talk show or a podcast, hosting a jam session or co-creating with other artists, leading to more engaging Q&As with those they’re going Live with, or simply hanging out with friends.
Ajit Mohan, Vice President and Managing Director, Facebook India, said, “Creators are at the forefront of pushing culture and creativity on Instagram and we’re constantly innovating to help them express themselves better. This year in particular has seen extensive use of Live, and as physical distancing norms continue, Live will remain an invaluable feature to bring friends, families and audiences together, and foster meaningful conversations. From the launch of Reels, to the testing and rollout of Live Rooms, India is playing a crucial role in the way products are being designed for the future.”
While ‘Live Rooms’ will facilitate greater audience engagement, safety continues to be a focus and the existing safety measures will work on Live Rooms as well. There are built in controls to keep the community safe.
