So, you think Twitter is dead? Your account has been so dormant that you actually need to enter your password to get back in? No idea what password would have been set by your 2006 self? You’re not alone. Many have written off the 13-year-old platform in favor of the fancy filters and intriguing imagery of other social networks. However, recent findings are showing an increased interest in the little blue bird, so you may want to do some digging for that password, after all.
Twitter is back! It’s 2019 and apparently, bird is the word. There are currently 330 million monthly active users and the app has recently seen a year-over-year download increase of 3.6%. In the first quarter of 2019, there were 11.7 million app store downloads – the most per quarter for the platform since 2015. Though Twitter still ranks well behind its social competitors in app downloads, the substantial and steady increase cannot be ignored. As Twitter regains momentum and takes flight, socially savvy businesses who hold onto its tail feathers will be able to take advantage of the vast, and largely untapped, marketing opportunities on the platform.
Quick Refresher
In case you’ve been MIA from the Twittersphere, here’s a quick rundown of what this bird is all about. Twitter was started back in 2006, so the first tweets were a rage with gossip about Britney and K-Fed, Br-Angelina and Borat reviews – very nice! The original format restricted users to just 140 characters per tweet, forcing a lot of creative abbreviations and slang that can easily be confused as typos, IMHO. Like, idk how you are supposed to interpret ICYMI without Google, lol.
As one of the Big 3 OG platforms: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (some will argue YouTube needs to be in there and sure, yes, probably, but Big 3 sounded good, k?), everyone knows Twitter even if they don’t regularly use it. The platform is easily set apart for its simple, unfussed format, most akin to Reddit than the fanciful features of its social brethren, Facebook and Instagram. The simplicity of Twitter has stayed refreshingly the same, which may have caused it users to abandon the platform or stay fiercely loyal over the years, depending on who you ask. Appropriate tech and interface updates were made over the years, but if you wanted flashy, keep-you-on-your-toes integrations, other networks were for you. Since its inception, news and sports have flocked to the platform which allows for quick, minute-by-minute updates, perfect for breaking news and fast-action commentary. In fact, journalists make-up almost a quarter of the platform’s verified accounts and an incredible 74% of users say they use Twitter to get their news.
Birds Fly South
If Twitter’s so great then WTF happened? Though there are 330 million monthly active users, there are 1.3 billion Twitter accounts in total. That’s a lot of grounded birds. It sounds especially dooming compared to Facebook’s 1.5 billion DAILY users. Here’s the thing, back in 2006 we were all putting up away messages on AOL Instant Messenger, Blackberry BBM-ing, and texting was still a fairly new development. We were thumbs-deep in all things text and Twitter was just another exciting form of communication to get our hands on.
But then, all of our phones had colors and cameras and access to the internet at all times and a whole new image-focused digital world was opened. Facebook and Instagram took off with their ability to share not just words, but images and eventually videos and just all the cool, exciting things with ease! Simply writing a quick tweet wasn’t enough to tell people about the amazing dinner you just cooked. You had to take a picture, filter it, write a detailed caption and tag your boyfriend who said it was the best ever. Twitter just couldn’t compete and many moved on.
News, sports and many celebrities remained steadfast users, but the dawn of the Age of the Influencer pulled many users to focus their efforts on other networks. Social media influencers thrive on the ability to paint a pretty picture and draw followers in with their inspiration or envy-inducing lifestyle. A picture says a thousand words and a tweet could only fit, like, 30. Harassment charges, politics and fake accounts have also led Twitter to be labeled a dirty bird, but the platform has made many changes, including cleaning out over 70 million fake accounts in 2018 and continuing to do so into 2019.
If You’re a Bird, I’m a Bird
Over the years, Twitter has been slow and steady in improving itself, drawing new and old users under its wings. In 2010, they got with the times and had a complete redesign that included the ability to view videos and photos within the platform. In 2012, feeds became a lot more engaging with the addition of content previews when a URL was shared. Then, in 2017 a rather controversial change was made: the character limit was doubled to 280! Ranters rejoice! Other smaller updates have been sprinkled throughout the social network’s history resulting in a faster, smoother, more user-friendly platform.
Today’s Twitter may not be the splashy new kid in town that it was in 2006, but it is certainly coming back into favor. There are approximately 6,000 tweets sent out per second! Talk about some active, active users, eh? Time spent on Twitter is short and sweet, clocking in at only about 3.39 minutes per session, but that’s part of the beauty in this bird! Twitter’s first fans are all grown up and coming back to their old friend. Sixty-three percent of users are between 35 and 65 years old. We don’t have as much time for long-winded, pretty platforms like when we were youngins. We have jobs, kids, bills, dirty dishes that multiply like rabbits… We want news about what is important to us, and we want it quickly. Trust, a 35 year old mother doesn’t feel the need to Insta her second cup of cold coffee.
The oldies aren’t the only ones flocking to Twitter. Generation Z (born 1995-2015) is proving to be vastly different from their generational predecessors, but still drawn to the unadorned format of Twitter like a millennial to a graffiti wall. Gen Z values honesty, reality and sensibility. They are disenchanted with image heavy sites and the fancy filters of Instagram go largely unused (legit #nofilter) as they prefer to share more natural and spontaneous content to their followers. What is old inevitably becomes cool to younger generations and, just like scrunchies and crop tops, Twitter is soon to be all the rage again.
Flippin’ a Bird
It’s also remained a top spot for internet trolls and unhappy people to make snarky comments about folks they don’t even know. In T-Swift’s wise words, “Say it in the street, that’s a knock-out, But you say it in a Tweet, that’s a cop-out.” Unfortunately for the victims, but fortunate for Twitter, these meanies attract a lot of attention with their words. In fact, Jimmy Kimmel has created an extremely popular series based on inviting celebrities to take the sting out the words by reading “Mean Tweets” on camera. And we’re all over here laughing, but also just like “dammmn, it’s 7 ammmm.” Ya, know?
And of course, Twitter has become the formal form of communication for our Commander in Chief, President Trump. The media lives for Trump tweets. Checking daily for what, often inappropriate, quip he’s sent out before the sun comes up. Bullying, unnecessary ALL CAPS and unfriendly banter with Chrissy Teigen are all common in the president’s copy, and similar to a car wreck, America cannot look away. However, Trump isn’t the first prezzy to lean into Twitter. In fact, the most popular tweet of all time was by former President Obama, and 83% of the world’s leaders are on the platform.
A Bird in the Hand
As a smart business, you likely already have an account on all major social media platforms, including Twitter. Day in and day out, the immense benefits of using Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube are put in front of brands and hopefully you’ve taken advantage of them. (If not, contact LMS today – we can help you navigate the confusing social skies.) But let’s take a look at your Twitter account. Do you have followers? Are you tweeting regularly? Do you engage with consumer tweets? With competitor tweets? If you answered “no” to any of those, you’re missing out on some serious marketing opportunities. Below are some insights into how your brand can get a social boost from the bird you’ve already got in your hand.
To use Twitter well, you need to be devoted to the platform and engaging with consumers. This is not a crockpot platform. You cannot simply set it and forget it. Post scheduling will do for basic announcements, but to truly make use of this opportunistic platform, you must be in the moment, ready to respond to current events, competitor posts, and eager, sometimes angry, consumers.
Customer Service
Twitter has long been known as a go-to for consumers hoping to catch a brand’s attention. Whether with questions, praise or the opportunity to publicly share negative feedback, consumers expect to be heard online. The instantaneous nature of the platform is especially alluring to upset consumers wanting an immediate solution to a problem. In fact, 60% of users expect a response to customer service issues within just one hour and 77% feel increased positivity towards a brand if that brand replied to their tweet. Effectively engaging with consumers in such a public, unscripted manner can do wonders to not only bring a higher level of service, but show them individualized attention and a little personality, to boot.
Marketing (BrandJacking and Influencers)
Twitter can be tough and that likely plays a large role in why brands put most of their marketing efforts elsewhere. However, it can also be a goldmine of opportunity! A tweet’s reach goes farther than you’d expect. Though there are just 330 active monthly users, each month, roughly 500 million people access Twitter without logging into an account. Additionally, 40% of users have made a purchase after seeing a product on Twitter. If you can harness that character limit and the short shelf life of a tweet to work in your favor, you will stand out and if you’re lucky… go viral!
One of the most memorable examples of expert, in-the-moment Twitter use was by Oreo during the 2013 Super Bowl. When a massive, unexpected power outage caused everything to go dark, Oreo found its spotlight with an immediate response: a tiny little tweet heard ‘round the world. It featured a simple image and caption of “Power out? No problem… You can still dunk in the dark” It was perfect, reactive, opportunistic marketing.
Power out? No problem. pic.twitter.com/dnQ7pOgC
— OREO Cookie (@Oreo) February 4, 2013
Brand jacking, also known as social jacking, is a marketing tactic through which a brand engages with competitors or trending topics in an unexpected, often satirical or sarcastic, way. This method has proven very effective on Twitter, where wit and spontaneity rule the roost. Popeyes has recently utilized brandjacking during the introduction of their new chicken sandwich. The fried chicken chain poked fun at their now direct competitor and self-titled “inventor of the chicken sandwich,” Chick-Fil-A, spurring a ‘Twitter feud’ and a fluster of consumers joining the conversation with opinions and their own witty banter. Wendy’s is another brand which has perfected Twitter use and brand jacking. With 3.38 million followers, they’ve managed to garner attention for much more than their never-frozen beef.
Though clearly playing a major role in Instagram and Facebook marketing strategy, social media influencers are vastly underused by comparison on Twitter. Influencer marketing is often very visual, with content creators sharing beautifully crafted images in brand partnerships. However, influencer marketing is no one trick pony. There are many levels and types of influencers, each best-suited to different forms of promotion on various platforms, including Twitter. Turns out nano and micro-influencers could be the winning ticket for marketing on this platform. By LMS definition, nano and micro-influencers have between 1,000 and 75,000 followers on any one platform, have an extremely loyal and engaged following, and are the most affordable with which to work.
Twitter is full of micro-communities centered around niche topics like health, sports or gaming. Building relationships with influencers in these communities and taking advantage of the smaller, but mighty power of their influence is the future of this type of marketing on Twitter. To effectively work with micro-influencers, you must gain not only their trust, but that of their followers. Simply having an influencer share a post about your product or service will not do the trick and the necessity of #ad or similar disclaimers will immediately incite speculation. Take the time to join in on the community conversations, support their efforts, and connect with those that truly fit with your brand and values. Authenticity is the name of the game in successful influencer marketing, and that rings especially true with Twitter.
Though an old bird (by social media standards), it looks like Twitter is far from out of new tricks. As the social landscape continues to shift in favor of simple, straightforward and less “enchanting” brand messaging, Twitter will surely to rise to the top. Need help taking to the social media skies? LMS is here for ya. Give us a shout at imgame@wearelms.com and check out some of our work, here.