The Future is Audio: A Guide to All the Social Media Platforms’ Audio-Based Features

Guides

May 4

You can be forgiven for not knowing what audio rooms are, but this fairly new social media craze is fast becoming the newest online trend.

Our quickfire guide will give you everything you need to know about audio-only features, who’s developing them and what the future looks like on the audio horizon - so listen up!

WHAT IS AUDIO-ONLY SOCIAL MEDIA?

Audio-only has technically always been around with apps like WhatsApp and WeChat, but the new generation of audio social engagement started back in Spring 2020 when Clubhouse, a start-up-gone viral social chat app, went mainstream (it was offered a buy-out before the website even went live!).

The pandemic has limited content creators somewhat and Clubhouse has started a new wave of audio demand with many now looking to the social media powerhouses to follow.

So, now you’re in the loop, let’s take a look at our list of the biggest audio-only features being developed..

CLUBHOUSE

It seems appropriate to start with the trendsetter. Clubhouse describes itself as “voice-only, and we think voice is a very special medium.” Hear, hear.

There’s no simple download and account setup available with this one - it’s invite-only courtesy of an existing user. Once inside, you select your interests and join conversation rooms based on the recommendations.

It’s gained some famous attention too. In February 2021, Elon Musk hosted a conversation room with Robinhood CEO, Vlad Tenev, and maxed out the room limit!

Key Features:

Conversation rooms have exclusive live audio-chats with no replays or storage available, although invitees can record live sessions.
There are unlimited spaces for hosts and speakers but the audience capacity is limited to 5,000.
There are public and private rooms available, with creators and hosts benefits including tipping, tickets and subscription options.
It currently operates on iOS only - sorry Android users.

Find out more about Clubhouse and how to set up and optimise your profile here.

FACEBOOK - ‘AUDIO ROOMS’

Spring 2020 saw Facebook launch ‘Messenger Rooms’, a video call feature built into the Messenger app as direct competition to conferencing platforms like Zoom. However, it lacked the desired impact in a saturated video conferencing market and never truly took off.

Now, the platform has announced Live Audio Rooms to rival Clubhouse - coming this summer (like a blockbuster movie no one asked for) along with a planned podcast service and Soundbites - an audio clip tool. According to Mark Zuckerberg, audio content is consumed more easily whilst multitasking and production has greater accessibility.

Key Features:

Facebook is lining up some big public figures to engage with audiences, including NFL quarterback Russell Wilson, Grammy-nominated electronic artist TOKIMONSTA and Nastia Liukin, entrepreneur and five-time Olympic medalist.
Creators will be able to generate revenue through tip-based feature, Facebook Stars, and room access fees.
An audio sound studio will be available as part of the Facebook app with a collection of music and sound effects, text-to-speech, voice effects and filters.

TWITTER - ‘SPACES’

Twitter Spaces is still technically in its early stages of development, but the platform is allowing users to set up Spaces during the beta phase. Twitter looks to have a sizable advantage over competitors too, with around 187 million global users on the platform readily available to market to.

Key Features:

It is designed for smaller, more intimate groups but has the capability to cope with larger communities and audiences.
It is perfect for business, with followers already established in professional networks and opportunities to host live Q&As, AMAs and commentaries of live events.
Available on iOS and Android.

DISCORD - ‘STAGE CHANNELS’

Discord already offers free voice, video and text chat for over 300 million registered users. It is a casual, hangout area for young gamers and smaller communities to talk about random, daily matters. Stage Channels will mainly be for community servers with larger groups on Discord.

Key Features:

Stage Channels will be useful for AMAs (Ask Me Anythings), Q&As and social events like book clubs.
Hosts can act as a speaker and moderate who joins their audience.
Available on iOS, Android, MacOS, Windows, Linux and some web browsers.

REDDIT - ‘REDDIT TALK’

Reddit Talk is official but still in the testing phase, with only a handful of features currently available. Reddit has been promoting open random group discussions more in the last year and audio only would appear a clear match for such a broad discussion forum with many active communities.

Key Features:

Moderators will be able to start audio chats with subreddits.
Larger avatars denote the speakers with smaller avatars (listeners) below and these features are customisable (background colour and avatar changes).

INSTAGRAM

Where it’s big brother Facebook goes, it normally follows. Similar to Facebook Messenger Rooms, Instagram Reels became a direct competitor to TikTok in 2020, with many labelling the new feature a direct ‘rip-off’ of the video platform.

For now, it’s quiet on the audio-only front, but the launch of Live Rooms is a step in the Clubhouse-like direction, allowing hosts and up to three guests to share in social or business-related live sessions together with fundraising and badge reward features available.

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn is developing an audio chat feature which will beta test soon and likely centre on business events and groups.

SPOTIFY

The digital music giant purchased Betty Labs, an L.A-based live audio sports specialist and creators of ‘Locker Room’, a live audio app which will likely to be used to develop Spotify’s own audio-only service and will accompany their vast catalogue of music, podcasts and videos.

Summary

Are you still listening? Great! This part of the market is still relatively young and needs nurturing. There are obstacles to consider regarding moderation and data sharing, but audio-only platform extensions are creating more accessible content and interactivity to allow us all closer access to information and to one another.

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