Twitter launches Fleets, its version of Instagram ‘stories’?
It’s taken the worlds of Instagram and Facebook by storm and now another social media platform has jumped on board with its own version of the highly popular ‘Stories’ function.
Last week, Twitter announced its own variation on Stories called ‘Fleets’, which enables Twitter users to share their ‘Tweets’ in a less permanent way via a Fleet. Fleets only appear on user’s their account for 24 hours and aren’t able to be liked or retweeted – the only way other users can interact or engage with a fleet through a direct message.
The idea behind fleets is that it will encourage people to share fleeting thoughts on Twitter without them appearing as a constant part of a thread on their or someone else’s timeline and give the user more control over who can respond to those thoughts and musings.
As Twitter Product Lead, Kayvon Beykpour, explains: “People often tell us that they don’t feel comfortable Tweeting because Tweets can be seen and replied to by anybody, feel permanent and performative (how many Likes & Retweets will this get!?)…
“We’ve been listening to this feedback and working to create new capabilities that address some of the anxieties that hold people back from talking on Twitter…We’re hoping that Fleets can help people share the fleeting thoughts that they would have been unlikely to Tweet.”
Users with the Fleets available will see a new, rounded profile icon at the top of their Twitter feed and, if your connections have posted Fleets, they’ll appear in their own round bubbles, (much like Stories on Instagram and Facebook).
In order to create a Fleet, you tap on your roundel with the ‘+’ icon and you’ll be taken to a second screen, where you can add in text, photos, GIFs and videos (up to 2 minutes 20 seconds long with selected publishers being able to post videos up to 10 minutes long).
Unfortunately (whilst we’re writing this) Fleets aren’t yet available in the UK – the tool has so far only been launched in Brazil, where Twitter is conducting testing – but when it does roll out internationally, it will provide a host of new opportunities for brands on Twitter.
It will be particularly handy for those businesses that have struggled to crack Instagram (such as more corporate / less image-led brands) but already have a good Twitter presence, giving them another way to connect with their audiences on Twitter.
So, watch this space and check back here for more social media news and views from the team at Air Social Digital Marketing.
