Over the past year, the audio chat format has become very popular. The pandemic probably had a lot to do with its meteoric rise. With people locked indoors, this became a new outlet for expression, discussion and connection, feelings that become extremely important during those difficult times.
The social audio chat app Clubhouse played a major role in facilitating this trend. Even though it was invite-only and available for iPhones initially, the app gained traction very quickly and everyone wanted to jump onboard.
Recognizing the popularity of Clubhouse and the power of the social audio chat platform, Twitter launched its own product called Twitter Spaces.
What is Twitter Spaces?
Twitter Spaces is a platform that enables users to create their own audio chat rooms or be a part of chat rooms created by others. The conversation in these rooms are centered around a topic. Hosts control who can speak and when, they’re also able to mute, remove and block participants if need be. Twitter places this power in the hands of hosts to foster healthy and dynamic conversations.
Twitter Spaces isn’t a separate app. It’s an inherent part of the Twitter platform. The feature can be accessed using the same app that’s used to post Tweets. Twitter Spaces does work quite similarly to Clubhouse. However, it was made available to both Android and iOS users from the very beginning and it wasn’t an invite-only feature.
With Twitter Spaces, the microblogging network has thrown its weight behind the social audio platform. It’s a big vote of confidence in its future. Brands are always wary of passing fads. There’s no point divertising significant advertising and marketing resources to a platform that may go away as quickly as it came on the scene.
Twitter certainly doesn’t view social audio as a passing fad and that’s great news for brands who may be thinking of leveraging this platform. Much like Tweets, Spaces are also public. Anyone on Twitter can join them as a listener even if they don’t follow the account that created it. The number of listeners is unlimited.
On the surface, it may appear that Twitter Spaces is a platform that’s better suited to influencers than brands. However, there’s incredible potential here that brands can unlock.
How can brands benefit from Twitter Spaces?
People appreciate when the brands they follow take initiative to reach out and listen to their concerns. They feel valued when they’re made a part of the conversation, when the brand keeps an open line of communication with them. Social audio is the perfect platform to facilitate these discussions.
Brands can utilize Twitter Spaces to communicate with their customers and followers more effectively. The ease of use is also a major point here. There’s no need to register anywhere or jump through any hoops to join an audio hangout.
Users access Spaces through the app and they can easily jump through different Spaces to listen to brand and thought leaders from organization’s they’re interested in. Twitter Spaces also provides powerful engagement options that can be utilized to further improve the interaction between brands and their customers.
Brands also stand to benefit from Twitter’s global user base. The microblogging network has over 300 million monthly active users in different demographics spread across the globe. This enables brands that utilize Spaces to target audiences from different backgrounds and interests. This incredible level of reach is not possible on Clubhouse, which while being popular in its own right, has nowhere near the sheer numbers that Twitter does.
The visually interactive features that Twitter has developed for Spaces also suit brands since they encourage users to interact with speaker comments. Listeners in a Space and use emojis to react to what the speaker is saying. This type of feedback lets the speakers know what’s resonating with the audience while also enabling listeners to express themselves.
How to use Twitter Spaces to increase your brand visibility
1. Position yourself as a thought leader of the industry
Those who are interested in your industry likely want to hear from thought leaders to gain more insight. With Twitter Spaces, brands have the perfect platform to launch an interactive initiative that positions them as thought leaders.
Use Spaces to engage in conversation with experts in the industry. The brand can also get its own people involved in the conversation so listeners can get a sense of the organization’s thought process.
For example, a tech company can use Spaces to drive conversation about new legislation, or discuss what the impact of new and upcoming technologies might be on the industry as a whole. Customers will certainly appreciate the real-time insights provided by experts.
2.Use Spaces to gain feedback more effectively
Customers appreciate when they see that the brands they support are receptive to feedback. Spaces provides brands with a powerful new way to obtain authentic feedback from the people that use their products.
The platform can be utilized to either gain authentic and direct feedback about a particular product or about the organization as a whole. It’s best to think of Spaces as a digital focus group.
While it can be very time consuming to get feedback from actual focus groups gathered in a physical location, Spaces enables brands to quickly tap into the pulse of their base.
3.Get more visibility for a new product launch
Brands always want to get as many people as possible talking about their new products. That usually requires significant marketing efforts to get the word out and get a conversation going.
With Spaces, brands can plan their product launches in a way that encourages maximum conversation. For example, people from within the organization can speak about the idea behind the new product and provide insight on how it came to be.
They can also have members of the audience join the audio hangout to provide their perspective.
4.Take full advantage of the casual nature of audio chats
Brands normally have detailed guidelines that they need to follow when interacting with their communities on social media. It can often feel quite mechanical and not authentic enough, ultimately making their followers lose interest.
The social audio chat tends to be casual in nature. This enables the brands to connect with their followers on a human level. People generally appreciate the laid back environment regardless of the topic being discussed.
It presents brands with a great opportunity to connect even with those followers who may feel otherwise intimidated to reach out and become a part of the conversation.
5.Boost visibility with contests and promotions
Who doesn’t love free stuff? Twitter Spaces effectively functions as a live radio show and this format is great for hosting contests and promotions that incentivizes active participation from followers.
This is a great way to boost visibility as people are also likely to share such contests and promotions with people in their circle. This can increase the brand’s organic reach exponentially.
Twitter Spaces may be new but it’s here to stay
Many marketers have initially viewed Twitter Spaces with caution, thinking that it may not turn out to be more than just a passing fad. Considerable time has passed since it was launched and the increasing adoption of this functionality shows that there’s real value to be unlocked here.
Brands should absolutely utilize Twitter Spaces to improve their interactions with customers and to reach a wider audience. The platform is here to stay, now it’s up to you to make the most of it.
