The tumultuous tale of Twitter

Despite its millions of users, legions of celebrity endorsements and massive global reach, recent reports suggest all is not well at Twitter. The tech-giant’s share price has been freefalling, and top executives have been axed in the face of questions about its future viability.

While it is premature to be penning Twitter’s obituaries, the channel does face some serious challenges.  Four high profile executives have recently departed Twitter including its heads of HR and media, and its new algorithm has been met with mixed reactions (prompting the infamous #RIPTwitter hashtag). The algorithm means that its user base will no longer miss out on Tweets they would have otherwise been interested in seeing, but some critics say it will kill the instantaneous conversation that is at the heart of its success.

We decided to ask savvy marketers how they feel about Twitter’s prospects going forward as a platform via our website, and the results were mixed. 43% of marketers believe that the prospects for Twitter and its user base are positive, while 36% feel that its outlook is bleaker, along with 21% who are uncertain. It seems that even marketers – who typically have great faith in social channels
– are divided on the subject.

Ultimately Twitter’s strength lies in its user base, which is 320 million-strong. However, it has found monetising this huge exposure challenging.  Perhaps the new ad-friendly algorithm will be its saviour after all?