Twitter Spaces, first launched in December 2020 and described by the social networking platform as “ephemeral, live audio conversations” that allow for “open, authentic, and unfiltered discussions”, is fast becoming the new talk radio.
Initially introduced to a limited selection of users, Spaces tweeted at the time of its launch that “the human voice can bring a layer of connectivity to Twitter through emotion, nuance and empathy often lost in text”.
Fast forward to 2022, and any Twitter user with 600 followers or more can host a space, provided they are on the iOS or Android operating systems on their mobile phones and not the web. Over this short space of time, the Spaces feature has literally given “voice and space” for every topic and conversation to millions of listeners.
So, here’s a thought: imagine listening to your favourite podcast at home, in the office or during a hike, and being able to react to the host in real time. Twitter Spaces, in a nutshell, gives you this power – to bring real-time voice communication to social media with the ability for others to join in the conversation and share their thoughts or questions.
Eric Zuckerman, head of United States news partnerships for Twitter, says Spaces provides “an opportunity for newsrooms and journalists to have open and authentic conversations with their audiences about what’s happening in the world and about the stories that they’re covering”.
Additionally, for ordinary people, if one of your tweets goes viral or gets a lot of attention, you can turn it into a Space and engage your followers in conversation on the topic. This is a great opportunity to amplify what you’re passionate about or to promote your product directly – both to your current audience and new people.
According to this trends round-up by market researcher State of Digital Publishing, Twitter Spaces not only allows hosts to record their live sessions for sharing at a later stage, but has also “introduced ticketing for those who want to monetise their Spaces” and “devoted prime real estate in the app to the feature”. The platform is also actively encouraging newsrooms and journalists to take on the role of “host”.
Through its Spaces team, Twitter continues to explore features that bring it closer to what talk radio is. Now with podcast-like features, the platform allows users to listen to recordings of their favourite Spaces that they may have missed.
Following the latest update, all users on Android, iOS and the web can listen to recordings of Twitter Spaces – a feature that was previously limited to iOS and Android mobile users only. The latest update includes the ability for hosts to record an entire Space, a scheduled Space or a ticketed Space. Also, anybody can replay a recording of a Space “up to 30 days after the original broadcast has ended”.
Spaces also allows users to promote their live Spaces, virtual events or next scheduled Space, and anyone can reshare your Space as a direct message or through their timeline. Spaces recordings can also be embedded into websites and blogs.
In conclusion, while Twitter Spaces reinvents itself, social media influencers, brands and marketers alike should be on the lookout for this new addition on Twitter and figure out ways to use it to maximise their voices and brand exposure.