A quick rundown of Elon’s proposed verification system:
- $8 per month
- Price will be adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity
- Will include the ability to post long video & audio
- Paid accounts will see half as many ads
- Potential paywall bypass for articles by participating publishers
According to Musk, “This will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators.”
Whew.
As social media managers, we’re used to the fast pace of change. We know what we signed up for.
But this feels different. I don’t think we’ve ever seen the chaos of platform updates unfold in such a public manner.
And to clarify. This quick breakdown isn’t meant to be a “OMG-Twitter-is-doomed-and-we’re-all-screwed” type of piece.
1) There are plenty of those
2) I don’t think that’s true (not true yet, at least)
Yes. The way Elon is conducting public comms is an acquired taste for lots of folks.
But truth is — these proposed changes could improve the platform!
And I have a hard time a serial entrepreneur would lock himself into a $44B transaction just to run the platform into the ground.
I’m not here to argue over Elon’s publicity stunts. Frankly, I’m indifferent.
I just want to give you a level-headed breakdown of how to adjust your plan as a SMM.
A breakdown of how to insulate your brand just in case Elon does something that makes Twitter an inviable platform for brands.
And I come bearing good news!
✅ The solution is simple ✅
Diversify.
Diversify.
Diversify.
Any brand relying on ONE platform is taking a major risk.
Having a successful social presence on more than one platform protects you from unexpected changes to one of them.
Redundancy protects you.
It’s why humans have 2 arms. 2 legs. 2 eyes.
If a saber tooth tiger jumps out of the bushes and rips one of our appendages out… we’re not totally incapacitated.
It’s why investors (well, smart investors) don’t put their entire net worth into one asset class.
If a previously company undergoes a public scandal (or Jim Cramer says he’s bullish on the stock) and it crashes like crazy… investors don’t go bankrupt.
And it’s why your brand should be on 2 platforms minimum.
If a slightly unhinged tech CEO runs one into the ground… you’re not starting from scratch.
One problem though. Most brands royally f*ck up diversification.
You know the story. It’s old as time.
A single social media manager gets tasked with managing 5+ platforms.
They ‘keep the lights on’ but aren’t able to actually scale them because they’re spread so thin.
And eventually they burn out and switch companies.
TLDR… improper diversification is a fast track to 1) no notable results on any platforms 2) churning through talented social pros who don’t want to put up with your BS
So. How do we diversify the right way?
Again, it’s simple. Just pick TWO platforms.
Which two??
Well. Depends on your brand. Let’s discuss.
The game-plan for B2B brands
B2B social media managers are in luck.
There’s another writing-heavy platform with a heavy B2B audience that has insane organic reach.
Even if Twitter wasn’t so volatile, I’d recommend it to you ASAP.
What is it?
LinkedIn.
If you’re running social for a B2B that’s already active on Twitter — LinkedIn is a no brainer.
The content medium is also writing-heavy. Similar to Twitter. In fact, a lot of my best performing LinkedIn posts are tweets that I copy-pasted LOL.
So… ready to dive into LinkedIn?
Here’s what I’d do:
1) Grow personal account (ideally your founder or other C-Suite exec)
2) Once you have an engaged audience start a company page for your brand
3) Use the established personal audience to grow company page
If you don’t have the power to ghostwrite for your and exec at your company, that’s fine.
Just start a company page. It’s still fairly easy to grow on LinkedIn.
(Would you want me to write a deep dive on how to go from 0-1000 followers on LinkedIn?? LMK)
The game-plan for B2C brands
B2C brands are in a bit of a tough spot.
Right now, there isn’t a super close alternative to Twitter with a heavy consumer audience.
Tumblr might be trying to make a play at revival. But I wouldn’t bet on true success over there just yet.
Truth is, most other popular B2C social apps are leaning heavily into video — TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels.
If I had to pick a pivot to make, here’s what I’d do:
Pick one of the aforementioned platforms to focus on. I don’t have a super strong preference towards one over the others.
If I had to pick one, I’d go for YouTube Shorts and also double down on proper YouTube content. I still believe YouTube is an ultra-valuable content asset for nearly any brand.
However. It isn’t the most practical.
Instagram (yes, Instagram) is.
In my humble opinion, Instagram makes sense as a Twitter alternative because you can still repurpose written + image based content from Twitter effectively.
Carousels. Memes. Even straight up product imagery. It can still work on Instagram.
Lowers the friction to create content for another platform.
Yes. You should probably lean more into Reels.
But if you’re not an SMM with crazy short-form video skills (like myself), I still think IG is a viable option for brands looking to diversify off of Twitter.
That said. If you’re capable (or want to learn to be capable) of killing it on video — I’d probably go with YT Shorts or TikTok over Instagram to build an audience with relative ease.
It all comes down to YOUR abilities and preferences as a social pro + your brand’s target audience (where do they hang out)?
Regardless. Think through these factors and pick ONE of these platforms to double down on along with Twitter.
And real quick before you go 👇
🧠 Some final thoughts
I wouldn’t panic about Twitter yet.
For now, it seems like brand accounts are fine. I’m not seeing any major changes on the Triple Whale account yet.
There also haven’t been any announced algorithm changes or feature drops that make Twitter inviable for brands. Everything is pure talk as of now.
I’m waiting for Elon to show us how Twitter will change through actions. Not just memes and shitposts.
My tentative verdict?
All you need to do right now if your brand has a Twitter presence is…
Keep creating compelling content (these principles don’t change)
Lay the foundation for a backup plan on ONE other platform
B2B brands go hard on LinkedIn. B2C brands assess your personal skills and brand situation and decide between IG, TikTok, and YT Shorts.
And in the end…
Control what you can control. Keep it moving. We’ll be fine.
✌️
