As a consultant helping small business owners succeed on digital platforms, I analyze emerging social media trends closely. Twitter Spaces stands out for its impressive user growth and potential to drive business goals like brand awareness and lead generation.
But is the hype around Spaces justified? In this expanded guide, we’ll unpack the platform‘s key opportunities along with data on current adoption and use cases.
Explosive Early Growth Shows Promise
While Twitter hasn‘t disclosed official Twitter Spaces usage statistics, we can piece together an indication of growth from various reports:
- The largest Twitter Space to date had over 3.2 million listeners tuning into Elon Musk’s talk with Ron DeSantis in May 2023 (Source).
- In June 2021, record spaces were still an order of magnitude lower at 44-50k listeners (Source).
- Based on this trajectory, we can extrapolate explosive 10x growth year-over-year as the platform builds momentum.
Earlyadopting businesses can establish a presence on Spaces now before competition also catches on.
Comparing Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse Adoption
While Clubhouse pioneered the social audio format, Spaces now looks poised for wider mainstream consumer adoption based on size alone:
| Platform | Total Registered Users | Monthly Active Users |
|---|---|---|
| 450 million | 237 million as of Q4 2022 | |
| Clubhouse | Only 10 million+ | Exact MAUs undisclosed |
Additionally, Twitter also shares Clubhouse‘s more engaged user demographic consisting primarily of millennials and Gen Z. Over 50% of Clubhouse‘s users are 18-40 years old.
Combined with Twitter‘s broader reach by an order of magnitude, Spaces contain multitudes more of these coveted younger consumers for brands to engage.
3 Twitter Spaces Use Cases Driving Results
Amidst the hype, real businesses are already successfully driving marketing objectives with creative Twitter Spaces initiatives:
1. Product Launches and Announcements
In 2022, fast casual salad chain Sweetgreeen hosted an exclusive Twitter Space previewing upcoming summer menu items with a live cooking demo and tasting. They garnered over 2000 live listeners for the virtual "event" while showcasing new seasonal ingredients.
2. Community Engagement
B2B software company Hopin hosts weekly spaces conversations called "Tea with Hopin" covering topics like hybrid events and networking tips. Listeners can ask industry experts questions to foster an engaged community.
3. Lead Generation
Financial advisor Darryl Lyons, author of Small Business, Big Pressure, drives book sales through monthly Twitter Spaces where he offers business financial advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. His expertise converts followers into leads.
Key Takeaways for Small Business Owners
While Twitter Spaces shows early promise, it remains a new platform with an evolving feature set. For small businesses interested in exploring spaces, focus on:
Optimizing your existing Twitter presence first. Grow your follower count above 600 organically to unlock hosting abilities.
Joining relevant Spaces conversations in your industry to better understand user behaviors before hosting your own.
Starting small by engaging your existing audience vs. over-investing upfront while adoption is still limited.
There‘s no better time to start developing an early presence as Twitter Spacescontinue gaining momentum into 2023.
