Turbulent Twitter: What does it mean for your organisation?

Updated: 24th January 2023

16 years, 280 characters, 450 million users and 1 new CEO later…

Wow, things have changed a lot since 2006 when Twitter joined the social landscape, run by CEO Jack Dorsey (until 2021). Owned by a large group of investors Twitter ingrained itself into the 21st century as the platform for breaking news, social action, controversy, iconic moments (we all remember the caterpillar cake scandals) and many, many opinions. But as a platform, its core function never really changed. Until now.

What’s changed on Twitter?

Ownership and staff

After months of legal wrangling, Elon Musk finally acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022. Musk then fired Twitter's board of directors and appointed himself solely in charge.

He fired Twitter's board of directors and appointed himself solely in charge and laid off almost 50% of its 7,500 staff. Some of these were reportedly let go by mistake and then asked to return. Many ex-employees have since filed a lawsuit because they weren't given appropriate notice before being let go from their jobs.

On the 18th December 2022 Musk tweeted “Should I step down as head of Twitter ? I will abide by the results of this poll”, resulting in 57.5% yes and 42.5% no.

He is still yet to resign as CEO of Twitter.

Monetisation

Musk has made many statements about the changes he wants to make to Twitter, making it less dependent on advertising and more on subscriptions (like WeChat in China, combining several online features such as messaging, games, social media, financial payments and more).

More than 500 advertisers have paused spending on Twitter causing a 40% drop in daily revenue.

He promised a lot of new features coming to Twitter including a revamped and monetised verification process ($8 per month for a blue tick), longer form text added to tweets, a new version of Tweetdeck and a paywall feature for certain publishers.

Hate speech

Musk has called himself a “free speech absolutist,” which has caused fear that Twitter could become a platform for extremist views and hate speech and see a rise in misinformation. Following the acquisition, Tweets including racial, homophobic and transphobic hate speech have increased, according to an internet watchdog group, and the Anti-Defamation League report that antisemitic posts are on the rise.

In his acquisition of Twitter, Musk has certainly rattled the social scene. The billionaire has been under scrutiny for reinstating the accounts of controversial figures like Donald Trump who was banned from Twitter in 2021 for Inciting violence, and Andrew Tate who was banned in early 2022 for misogynistic Tweets.

As well as this, Musk’s new approach of “freedom of speech not freedom of reach” has caused many celebrities and important figures to leave Twitter.

Twitter is still monitoring content for violations of Twitter’s rules. Musk made a statement on their official blog which stated that their Trust & Safety team continues its diligent work to keep the platform safe from hateful conduct, abusive behaviour, and any violation of Twitter's rules.”

Mastadon gained a huge number of users when Twitter changed hands but isn't an appropriate alternative for many brands and does not support ads.

Account status and verification

Twitter update — There are some brand new features to the platform.
Blue tick account verification was introduced and open to anyone and everyone. However, numerous fake accounts were quickly "verified" and gained the blue tick causing Twitter to halt new applications.
Those issues have since been resolved and Twitter Blue is back up and running. Twitter Blue subscribers will have access to subscriber-only features such as (the long awaited) editing tweets and 1080p video uploads.
This does not come for free though! Musk has introduced this as a paid subscription service. To get the blue tick you need to pay a monthly fee of GBP 11.00 for IOS and Android and GBP 8.00 for the website.
You can also now get a gold checkmark with square profile pictures displaying that you are an official business account and a grey check mark displaying an official government account.

New features

Long-form tweets with a 4000 (yes, you read that correctly) character limit are apparently coming in Feb 2023. Somewhat longer than the current word limit of 280 characters!
Brand new swipe feature that, according to Musk, will allow people to view different timelines (Tweets from who you follow or recommended Tweets).

Turbulent Twitter: What does it mean for your organisation?

Users will be able to see how many people view each Tweet as well as share and comment.

The ability to bookmark tweets.

What does this mean for your organisation?

Much like other social media platforms, Twitter is having its ups and downs but for many nonprofits and purpose driven brands, it’s still a strategical channel for comms and marketing.

Many brands across the board saw follower losses or a drop in follower growth toward the end of last year but it seems to have evened out for most.

If Twitter is still working well for you, our advice is not to do anything drastic until the dust settles. No need to delete accounts when you've been using this as an effective marketing and comms channel. Musks actions may be erratic but we don't yet know how this will all play out.

If your audience are still on Twitter, hang tight for now.

If you start to see abuse or harassment on Twitter as a result of Musk's looser moderation on what's published, you can mute or block accounts and, if excessive or harmful, consider pausing publishing/community management to protect your team.

You may want to consider pausing any Twitter ads you are currently running. With ads (as opposed to organic content), you can't control where it is seen and what tweets will be before/after it. With content on the platform changing, best to stick to organic tweeting only for now.

Opportunities

Twitter blue subscription can be a great way to add credibility to your brand and have the Twitter algorithm on your side. The gold checkmark can be a useful tool for your account to reach the right people that will engage with your content. As well as having your account recognised as an official business, Twitter will enhance your credibility online.

Creative Features like better quality video and longer Tweets can be utilised by verified brands to up your content game.

Longer Tweets mean not having to stress about character counts! Experiment with Tweet length, sharing more information apply more context to anything you post. This feature is at odds with Twitter’s original USP of short form content thought, so who knows how the Twitter algorithm will serve this content in our feeds. This will surely impact user behaviour, time on the platform and frequency of posting if it’s a success… but let’s see.

Experiment and see what works. Try sharing a mix of short and long form content and monitor how many accounts your Tweets reach and engage.

Navigating negativity

Although there are good new features to Twitter, we can’t ignore the increase in negativity on the platform. No social media comes without risk but it's how you deal with it that’s important.

Online security is key so ensure that access to the account is kept small and that all passwords are secure.
If you experience any negativity on social media you should identify the accounts and either block, report or mute the user.
Remain vigilant of who you follow and check that they’re not impersonating other organisations. Although Twitter has cracked down on impersonation accounts, there could be the odd dodgy one that slips through.
Look after your digital wellbeing and that of your team. Take regular breaks from Twitter, chat to your teams and take the necessary steps to remove hateful comments and accounts. It may be beneficial to look at online materials as many charities and health professionals offer guidance and tips on how to do this.

What’s next?

The social media landscape is always changing, but Twitter has been on a real rollercoaster these past few months!

The function and purpose of Twitter as a network is perhaps in question and there will undoubtedly be new challenges ahead too. Let’s hope good will prevail, but let’s also be prepared to redirect our efforts if needed.