2 Min Read
Turbulence at Twitter
Big shakeups are happening at Twitter. Maybe you’ve heard about them.
Elon Musk has owned Twitter for mere weeks, yet his takeover has already caused huge amounts of confusion and controversy on the social network.
It’s left a lot of brands wondering: What are we supposed to do now?
For most organizations (and individual users) the answer is don’t do anything drastic.
Some brands have a bona fide crisis on their hands following changes to the verification process that opened them up to imposter and parody accounts. That story continues to evolve with no clear answer for how Twitter will validate or verify individual accounts going forward.
Outside of those headline-grabbing cases, our advice to clients has largely been to pay close attention but don’t take any significant actions.
Don’t Act Rashly, Stay Alert
Musk’s Twitter shakeup has major lessons for PR and internal comms for the platform itself. But when it comes to day-to-day posting and engagement on the platform, there’s time to watch and wait to see how the many developments ultimately play out.
Now is certainly not the time to launch a massive paid campaign or rely on Twitter as a primary messaging platform. However, there are opportunities to be strategic and proactive. Here are three steps to take now:
- Increase monitoring of brand mentions and activity as well as news around Twitter and other social media platforms more broadly.
- Check your social media calendars for any posts that may require an edit or pause given the changes at Twitter and the proliferation of parody accounts.
- Review and update your social media playbook as needed for additional guidance on uncertainty like this.
This uncertainty underscores something it’s all too easy to forget when it comes to content: Across all communications channels, the medium impacts your message.
Having a space where you control how content is developed, delivered and displayed is really invaluable. An original and owned platform, whether it’s your own website, a user portal or a good old-fashioned printed newsletter, offers more control over the content and its context.
