How social media audio is breaking onto the scene

Imagine participating in a live conversation with a billionaire CEO, networking with an influencer or thought leader you admire, or even chatting with an A-list celebrity in real time?

Social media audio is one of the ways people are connecting with each other — and brands already are onboard, eager to build more meaningful relationships with their customers.

What is social media audio?

While video has ruled social media interactions for years, using audio as a primary means of communication is becoming increasingly popular. After working, meeting and communicating via electronic devices during the pandemic, screen-time fatigue is real. Audio-driven communication creates the opportunity for personal, two-way interactions by engaging with a human voice. There are many types of social media audio, including live conversation rooms, drop-in audio chats, voice messaging, podcasts and more.

What is propelling its success?

The trend originated from the desire for human interaction during the pandemic. Now social media users are finding that social audio is a unique way to engage with people with common interests or those they might not otherwise be able to access. Audio conversations also tend to be more authentic, spontaneous and less intimidating — there’s no pressure to be camera-ready all the time.

People constantly are looking for new sources of content they care about. To attract new users, social media audio platforms such as Clubhouse and Facebook are paying cherry-picked creators to launch conversation rooms and, along with Twitter, are exploring ticket sales for exclusive live events.

What are the current audio social platforms?

While many are in the race to develop additional audio social platforms, there are a few that have established a presence.

Clubhouse Social App

Clubhouse is the a social audio app out of Beta. Users can speak to one another in virtual “rooms” that accommodate thousands of people. There are three types of rooms:

• Open rooms: Anyone on Clubhouse can join these rooms.

• Social rooms: Users who follow a moderator can find and join that moderator’s room.

• Closed rooms: Only those invited by the moderator can join the chat.

Twitter Spaces

Anybody with a Twitter account and more than 600 followers can host a conversation and allow users to experience Twitter in a whole new way. Those who follow the account that hosts a space, or who have been sent the conversation’s link, are able to join that conversation.

Facebook Live Audio Rooms

Groups on Facebook can host live chat rooms where members of that group can take part in real-time voice discussions with one another. These social audio chats are available on Facebook Messenger.

Spotify Greenroom

Greenroom is a live-audio-only app that “allows artists and other creators to connect with fans, followers, and friends in the moment.” Discussions are hosted through “rooms” and “spaces.”

How are brands using social audio?

Brands are capitalizing on social media audio to demonstrate thought leadership by hosting audio conversations — not speeches or monologues — that are educational or entertaining. These two-way interactions are an effective way to personally connect with customers and listen to their needs, feelings, concerns, values and ideas.

Being able to gather these invaluable insights helps brands create content or develop new products that truly resonate with their audience. In the future, brands will be able to use social audio platforms for display advertising and lead generation — and users will provide their information to enter a conversation or “room.”