The way we, humans, communicate has come a long way. Our earliest ancestors communicated through making sounds, talking, and then through drawings or carvings in stones. Several years later, we had pen and paper. Through snail mail, they were able to talk to people even without meeting them. They were also able to keep in touch with loved ones, no matter how far apart they are. However, the further the distance, the longer it took before the letters reached their destinations. That changed again when the internet and e-mails were invented. With these, sending messages became as easy and fast as ever.
Our means of communication evolved further after that. Nowadays, social media networks are keeping people connected. Not only do they keep friends and family close, but they also connect users to strangers and to the rest of the world. They help bring people with the same passions and hobbies together. Furthermore, they provide a space where people with the same and different beliefs can meet. That helps humans understand each other, which is essential for our growth.
Although social media primarily served as platforms for communication or socialization, it has evolved to something more than that.
Businesses Utilizing Social Media Followers
The most popular social media networks have millions, even billions, of users. That makes them ideal places for advertisements. The sites themselves have realized this, so they released tools to help businesses connect to their customers and the general public.
For instance, creating an account on Twitter is free. You can register as yourself or as your business. By doing so, and by building a following or buying one, you will be able to promote your products and services without spending anything. But, if you wish to reach more people, you can use the Twitter ads tool. You would have to pay for the service, but it will bring you more customers or consumers in exchange.
In addition to that, there is a tool in Twitter called Twitter Lists. You can create one to keep tabs on specific accounts, industries, and communities. Use it to monitor your competition.
Content Creation And Monetization
Aside from helping businesses and companies, many social media sites provide support to individuals with talent in content creation. Take YouTube, for example. Users can post their original content on YouTube for free. Then, once they reach certain milestones, they can enroll in a special program. That will make them earn money based on the views on their videos.
In Facebook, there is a way for content creators to earn through live streams. The viewers can send Facebook Stars to their favorite streamers. These stars are equivalent to tips. Instagram Live videos have a similar feature, but they are called Badges instead.
Because of the pandemic, more people realized the potential of money-making through internet services. The skyrocketing success of OnlyFans is enough proof of that. Twitter does not intend to be left behind. So, the company is introducing its way to help content creators make a living through the platform. To do that, Twitter is planning to use one of its most recent features – Twitter Spaces.
Twitter Spaces
Combine podcasts and live streams, and you will get how Twitter Spaces work. It is a feature that permits live audio conversations to exist on Twitter.
Spaces are different from a call in the sense that it is more public. Anyone can join a Space, regardless if they know or follow the host. For someone to become a listener, all they need to find is a link to the Twitter Space. It could be sent to them through direct messages. The host can also tweet the link or share them in places outside of Twitter.
There is no limit to how many can join a Space, but only 11 can speak at any given time. One of them would be the host. The rest are Listeners that the host selected. Listeners can also send requests to be speakers.
Using Twitter Spaces is a great way to mingle or organize digital group gatherings during quarantine. Its advantage over things like Zoom conferences is it is more public. Despite this nature, people’s safety, security, and privacy are still ensured since they only use audio.
Ticketed Twitter Spaces
As stated above, users now consider money-making opportunities as a factor when choosing a social media network. Since we will always need money, this will never cease to be a trend.
The way Twitter will be incorporating content monetization is through Ticketed Twitter Spaces. These are basically Spaces, but more exclusive.
In Ticketed Twitter Spaces, users will be able to apply to host paid live audio rooms. However, for the upcoming weeks, only selected people can do so. The feature is still being developed, and US users will be the ones to be able to host. Not all US users, though. Only those who are 18 years old and have 1,000 followers or more can host a Ticketed Space. They also should have hosted three Spaces in the past 30 days.
So, how does it work?
Qualified users should create Space like normal but schedule the session for a future time. Then, they would have to set the quantity of tickets and price. Only those who purchased a ticket can enter the event.
Twitter is partnering with Strife to handle the payments during the early stages. So users who plan to host need to create a Strife account. More payment providers will be added once the feature is rolled out to more regions.
When pricing a ticket, it is essential to understand how much you get out of it. Twitter says that users will get 80% of the revenue after Apple and Google’s in-app purchase fees are taken. The 20% will go to Twitter to cover the costs of Strife’s transaction fees. So, from a $15 ticket, only $10.50 will be left after Apple presumably takes a 30% cut. Then, Twitter will take $2.1 from that, meaning each ticket will give you $8.40.
Aside from Ticketed Twitter Spaces, the company plans to release Super Follows and a bigger subscription product called Twitter Blue. This way, it can ramp up its creator monetization focus, putting them at least on par with other social media networks.