As every marketer knows, rumors have been circulating about Twitter’s decline. Is Twitter dead? Has the platform changed? Is it still useful, or is it dying fast? While the network has certainly evolved over the past year, we’re happy to report that in our opinion, Twitter is still highly relevant, and we don’t think it will disappear anytime soon.
As a B2B marketer you probably use Twitter regularly, so you know that this year brought change. And like anything else, change on social media can be scary. Recently, Twitter added in-feed image display and large header photos that look eerily similar to Facebook cover photos. They also extended their advertisement options for business users and allowed everyone to do things like pin, filter and prioritize tweets. In the face of all these shifts, any smart marketer would be questioning whether or not Twitter is still worth the effort.
In the past few years, Twitter has experience rapid growth. Because the feeling of using the channel has changed, and the audience is far wider, people are saying it’s dead. As this article explains, using Twitter is indeed a different experience than it was in the early days, but it isn’t going anywhere. Much like early blogging, Twitter is evolving and will continue to be a useful means of online connection, bridging the gap between the media and the public.
Twitter has changed quite a bit since its beginning. Conversation streams used to require clicks to explore, but now they’re clustered within your feed–that’s just one feature that was nonexistent a few years ago. Perhaps most noticeable is the platform’s ever-increasing emphasis on the visual, a stark change from its early, text-driven genesis. If you like data, this chart highlights other changes from the past eight years, and this piece describes profile changes that took place this spring, along with a brand new font. More than likely, Twitter’s evolution will continue, and we’ll all be more-or-less happy to adapt.
Since adapting takes work and time, you might be wondering whether or not Twitter’s still worth it. The answer is yes. Twitter is still an ideal place to make connections, recycle content, build communities, learn, participate in conversations and put content in front of targeted users with advertisements.
Twitter cards are an amazing resource for B2B marketers. Essentially, they make it possible to attach a media experience every time certain pieces of your content are linked. Since Twitter is all about sharing and re-sharing, Cards provide a valuable opportunity to spread your brand experience far and wide. They give you an element of control over how your content appears to the public, ensuring consistency, and there are seven types, which means there’s something for everyone. Yes, B2B products are a perfect fit.
(Click here to expand)
