The Future of Twitter (or X)
Many agencies have been contemplating a move off Twitter in light of either changing viewpoint on Twitter ownership or, more recently, the rebranding of Twitter as X. This is a summary of our viewpoints on that consideration:
- We center our communications on rules at Tripepi Smith, and one rule is Content x Distribution = IMPACT. Twitter is another means to distribute content. The incremental cost of doing that, given the integration to Sprout and Hootsuite, is basically $0 short of any additional monitoring it requires. Therefore, at default, the question would be why not continue posting to Twitter?
- Twitter’s user count was trending upward in the US as of Q2 – 2022, but we have not seen more recent data.
- Media personalities remain active on the platform and most reporters still list Twitter profiles on their bio pages. For speed to market with data and to the feeds of reports, Twitter still dominates.
- Moving off Twitter/X because it is now owned by Elon Musk or because of his changes in free speech policy may also appear like a political move on the part of the agency. Of course, that is the agency’s choice, just like agencies have likely not joined Truth Social. However, dropping Twitter/X without a clear justification—apart from potential objections to its leadership or loose approach to censorship—may seem like picking sides unnecessarily.
- There is no clear trend among Tripepi Smith clients of them canceling their Twitter accounts or seeking to do so.
If you decide to move away from Twitter/X as a regular platform, we recommend you still retain your agency account to preserve existing content and followers and keep your username secured. This may require occasionally logging in or posting something to keep it “active.” Social media is always evolving, and if Twitter/X experiences a resurgence in popularity, you may want to reconsider your use of the platform if you do choose to pause the use of it.
As always, we are happy to help set up any accounts as needed or talk through management strategies.