By now, you probably have a pretty good idea of what Twitter Spaces is and how it’s used. But it’s still a fairly new and unexplored frontier for most brands. Besides, with Twitter constantly bringing out new features and functionality to Spaces, there’s a lot for all of us to learn. So this week on our #TwitterSmarter chat, we asked resident Twitter expert and tattoo-wearing social media evangelist, Madalyn Sklar, about Twitter Spaces. Here’s a summary of our chat.
Guest: Madalyn Sklar
Topic: The power of Twitter Spaces
Format: Eight questions directed at the guest. Everyone’s welcome to share.
Social audio can be a powerful way to engage with your community. Spaces is also easy to get started with because you don’t have to have fancy equipment or extensive public speaking experience. That’s the beauty of it—it’s democratized public discussion, opening doors to anyone interested in genuinely-informed discourse. It’s also an excellent way for you to establish authority in your field.
A1b: The other great thing about Twitter Spaces is that it’s another medium for you to showcase your expertise and position yourself as an authority in your field. If you love to talk and audio content sounds fun to you, you should go for it! #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/55047LLy9u
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
You can learn more about Twitter Spaces and how best to leverage it from Madalyn’s article.
And if you’d like to see how it’s done, check out Madalyn’s weekly Spaces:
A1d: Did you know I co-host three separate Twitter Spaces each week? As a personal brand, it’s been a great way for me to share my knowledge and showcase my expertise. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/3aSCAwwJj3
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
As Sarah added, Twitter Spaces is a way to engage authentically on social media. It makes you more relatable as a brand and encourages people to continue to interact with your content.
A1: Why your brand might consider using Twitter Spaces in your digital marketing strategy:
🔵Connect in a more human and authentic way
🔵Establish yourself as an expert in your field
🔵Helps build relationships#TwitterSmarter— Sarah Clarke (@sclarkeOville) April 14, 2022
Twitter has added a lot of ways for you to find Spaces you want to join. The clearest sign is the top band on your mobile app that displays currently active rooms. If anyone you follow is speaking, you’ll see that room on the top panel and you can join them right away.
Another way to find relevant rooms is through the Spaces tab at the bottom of your Twitter mobile app. This is a good way for you to explore a range of Spaces and topics, including from people you don’t yet know.
A2b: Another way to find live rooms is the "Spaces tab" at the bottom of the Twitter mobile app. There you'll discover rooms that are happening right now. You can also search for Spaces using keywords and even find ones that are scheduled. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/aT3XCfsJOD
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
The Spaces tab looks like a microphone on the bottom panel of your app, along with your Home, Lists, Search, and Messages tab. Madalyn also explained that Twitter is trying out a layout for the Spaces tab which automatically categorizes live, upcoming, and recorded Spaces.
A2d: Twitter is testing a new "multitab" for Spaces discoverability. I have it and it's super cool! #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/UgqjCuns1A
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
Another way to browse through Spaces is to use the search bar both on the Twitter web and the mobile app. Use filter:spaces in your search term, and you can also select “People you follow” option to make your results even more relevant.
A2e: Another way to find rooms in Spaces is to type this in the Twitter search bar:
filter:spaces
Be sure to check "People you follow" in the search filter on the right. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/aiMXKxRCUf
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
The most important thing to remember is to offer what the people want. This means staying on topic, being specific, and using relatable examples and stories in your conversations.
It’s equally important to let others share their opinions. Of course, it’s easier to stick to the topic when you don’t let others speak and shift the focus of the conversation, but doing so will alienate your listeners. As a host, it’s your duty to moderate people who speak and make sure they don’t stray from the topic. If you’re concerned about disruptions or are just starting out, consider holding a Q&A at the end of the session so that you don’t have interruptions.
A3b: Another tip for being a good host is to allow other speakers and listeners to chime in with their thoughts and opinions. Don’t hog the mic! If you don’t want to interrupt the flow of the conversation, hold a Q&A at the end. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
Madalyn also shared Espree Debora’s tips on being a great moderator. These tips include focusing on the listeners’ experience, managing your time effectively—especially during intros and promotions, and pronouncing people’s names correctly.
A3c: Here are some excellent tips on moderating your own rooms in Spaces. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/UWlphAs71a
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
Yes, and there are a few different ways to “immortalize” your conversations. The first and easiest option is to make notes during the conversation and create a blog post later to summarize the discussion. You can also create tweet threads or Moments to collate key discussion points.
A4b: For the #AllThingsAudio room I co-host each week with @BigTentSocial, I create a Twitter Moments out of tweets that were shared in the nest. This is a great way to repurpose the conversation and have it live on after the room ends. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/CGfqePR4j4
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
The good thing about recording your Spaces is that you can use a transcription tool like Otter.ai to transcribe the conversation for you. This way, you won’t have to spend the time listening and re-listening to your conversation just to gather a few points.
Yet another way to repurpose your Spaces conversations is to publish them as podcasts—Madalyn and her co-host Suze Cooper do this with their weekly Space, #AllThingsAudio. Check it out here: AllThingsAudioPodcast.com
A4d: Some people, like myself, record their rooms in Spaces so they can be repurposed into a podcast. That's what @BigTentSocial and I have done with our weekly #AllThingsAudio room. We just celebrated ONE YEAR yesterday! #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/6HuZQmBLjb
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
As we said earlier, you don’t need fancy equipment to join Spaces. Twitter has made it even easier to record your Spaces. You can turn on the feature and your recording will be available for the next 30 days.
A4e: I love that Twitter lets us record our rooms. It's a feature that has now been rolled out to all hosts. It's great for people who can't attend live. It stays available for 30 days. #TwitterSmarterhttps://t.co/7IKoFb7olp
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
You sure can. One easy way to do it is to use the Tip Jar feature. Connect a payment gateway to your account, and during your Spaces discussion, you can ask people to give you a tip if they found your content valuable. Apart from the popular PayPal, CashApp, and Patreon, you can also add your Bitcoin and Ethereum addresses to get paid in digital currency.
A5b: With the Tip Jar feature, you can choose from a variety of 3rd party payment services like:
@PayPal @Venmo @CashApp @Patreon @Bandcamp @gofundme
Plus your Bitcoin and Ethereum address. It's pretty cool! #TwitterSmarter— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
Another way to monetize is to run Ticketed Spaces. This is slightly regulated, though. If you want to run a ticketed Space, you have to apply to do so. Twitter will verify your application and approve it if you meet the criteria. Learn more about running Ticketed Spaces here: https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/spaces-ticketed.
A5c: Another way to monetize your rooms is with Ticketed Spaces. You can apply on the mobile app. If you meet Twitter's criteria and are accepted, you can then set a price for your room and sell tickets.
Learn all about it here:https://t.co/eX6wbMcY9T
#TwitterSmarter— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
Rosanna also pointed out the possibility of sponsored Spaces. If you’re an established Spaces host, you can accept sponsorships from brands that want you to either emcee their Spaces or host a conversation on their behalf. It’s a great way to monetize your Spaces skills.
A5 yes…many ways, and once Ticketed spaces rolls out to more, then that will be an easy way to do it for many. But having spaces sponsored by brands etc atm, as well as using the tips feature are all ways to monetize right now. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/f13wcbcrla
— ✈️ Rossana 🌍 (@RossanaWyatt) April 14, 2022
Reactions is a unique Spaces feature. Whether you’re hosting, speaking, or just listening, you can react to what’s being said or just welcome new people into the room with emojis. At the moment, you’ve got the heart ❤️ in purple, orange, red, yellow, green, and blue, the face with tears of joy 😂, clapping hands 👏, victory hand✌️, and waving hand 👋. If you’d like to speak, you can use the raised hand ✋ emoji to request the microphone.
A6b: Back in February, Twitter updated the emojis so that you can choose a variety of colors for the heart. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/w3WRClmxr0
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
Keeping in line with its efforts on accessibility, Twitter also introduced captions in Spaces. If you turn on the feature, the system will automatically caption everything being said on Spaces so that the deaf community and people who can’t listen in can still be involved in the conversation.
A6c: Another great feature is that you can turn on captions, making Spaces accessible for those who are hearing impaired. This is important to ensure your content can be consumed by anyone who wants to tune in. It's also helpful when you can't listen. #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/zIfwibdfbk
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
You can also add tags to your Spaces, helping you be more discoverable when people are searching for relevant conversations.
And if all that wasn’t enough, you can also create clips of certain portions of your conversation and use them across your promotional activities.
A6e: @TwitterSpaces is currently testing a clipping feature. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/wdhNvbkBWq
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
Twitter’s new analytics feature for Spaces gives you an insight into how many people listened to your Space live, and how many replayed it. You can use this information to make decisions like when to host a Space, what topics your should discuss, and who (and if) you should invite to co-host. Twitter is also testing out further analytics for hosts.
A7b: Here's what the analytics look like. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/AqBMLjm3iF
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
You can also observe how your stats are changing after you’ve spoken in Spaces. You might gain new followers, have an increase in profile visits, click-throughs to your website, and even purchases as a result of sharing your thoughts on a Space.
A7e: Review your Twitter analytics regularly to see the results of your time spent in Spaces. Since I started hosting Spaces a year ago, I’ve seen an increase in my impressions, profile visits, and followers.
You can access them here:https://t.co/8WRP5jPRDG
#TwitterSmarter— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
Madalyn suggested checking out Joseline Mane who hosts a weekly Space called #MonetizeMonday where he talks about ways to make money on Twitter as a creator. He also co-hosts #BuggingOut with Twitter engineer Quynh, where they discuss common bugs in Twitter Spaces.
A8b: @JoselinMane also hosts the super informative #BuggingOut with @QuynhErgy. They talk about #SpacesBugs and have a fun time doing it. #TwitterSmarter
https://t.co/xuHTFy7PVt— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
Pavel shared some of his favorite hosts, namely Madalyn Sklar, Christine Gritmon, Jennifer Navarrete, and Winnie Sun.
A8: Of course you @MadalynSklar, @cgritmon, @epodcaster, and @winniesun. #TwitterSmarter
— Pavel Stepanov (@pavelStepanov77) April 14, 2022
Spaces is booming. There are so many great hosts, and as Madalyn suggested, the best way to find them is to search. Have fun exploring!
A8d: There are so many great Spaces hosts. I recommend taking the time to find interesting rooms. There is something for everyone. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) April 14, 2022
Well, folks, that’s all from me this week. Thanks a lot for reading through and for more great insights from our chat with Madalyn, have a look at this Twitter Moment. If you think this summary is pretty good, you’ll love the real-time chat. Join us every Thursday at 1pm ET on #TwitterSmarter. We also hang out on Twitter Spaces at 5pm ET to continue our chat. Catch you there!
About me, Narmadhaa:
I write all the things—marketing stuff so I can pay the bills; haiku and short stories so I feel wholesome. A social media enthusiast, I hang out with the #TwitterSmarter chat crew, and am always happy to take on writing gigs.
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