David Weinberger, head of growth marketing at Metigy
No matter where you stand on Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, the deal signifies the value of social media platforms and could help further commercialise the platform. And while Twitter has had its ups and downs over the last few years, recently becoming the 16th most used social platform behind Meta, YouTube, and TikTok, it's gearing up for a new era of innovation and presenting a revived opportunity for businesses.
Twitter expects to have 315 million monetizable daily active users by the end of next year and is projected to have an annual growth rate of 20%. This, coupled with the platform’s variety of new features, could help individuals and brands build more meaningful relationships with their followers.
So for those who have previously written Twitter off citing challenges with generating engagement on the platform, look again. Twitter could see its renaissance moment in the months ahead, becoming an ideal platform to grow your reach and engagement this year.
Unlocking Twitter’s potential with new features
Musk has also pushed to “authenticate all real humans” on the platform, helping eliminate bots and providing brands with more quality insights into how their Twitter ads are performing. Small businesses can better engage with customers at a more affordable and flexible rate by offering advanced advertisement opportunities and rivalling competitors such as Facebook and Instagram.
And if there’s one takeaway for marketers from the past few years, with the rise of Groups on Facebook and Linkedin, Clubhouse and other community-based platforms taking off during the pandemic, people are searching for more places to connect with each other. Twitter Spaces is testing and building out its live audio content offering, which allows people to join the conversation. Brands that can tap into this new offering in its early days are likely to see the best results, engaging with their followers directly and building thought leadership in the process.
An opportunity to engage with customers
Arguably the most convincing reason to include Twitter as part of your marketing strategy is the opportunity it provides for business leaders to engage with their audiences directly. CEOs and company leaders are increasingly turning to the platform to share their unfiltered thoughts and experiences, building authentic relationships and brand advocates in the process.
In a world of perfectly curated posts and filtered brand messages, research shows that 86% of people believe authenticity is important when deciding what brands they like and support. This especially rings true for business leaders who aren’t afraid to shy away from joining the conversation. Telstra’s outgoing chief executive Andy Penn and Salesforce’s chief executive Pip Marlow are both great examples of leaders who share personal anecdotes and their honest opinions about today’s issues - earning them an impressive following on the platform.
Leveraging Twitter as part of your thought leadership strategy will allow leaders to directly engage with their target audience and convert new customers in the process.
Hopping on board the Twitter train
While Facebook, Instagram and TikTok remain top of mind for many digital marketers, Twitter is enjoying its moment in the limelight and we could see an influx of new signups on the platform increasing your overall reach. The past year and a half has proven that Twitter is ready to take on the next chapter, rolling out new features, honing in on authentic users, and making it easier for businesses to grow reach and engagement.
If you’re unsure where to start when it comes to social media management, there are many platforms that can offer real-time insights to help build and execute your digital marketing strategy, including Metigy. The tides are changing for marketers this year and it’s clear we’ll need to keep an eye on the ever-evolving social media landscape to remain relevant to customers.