Posted on
1/12/2022

What does the future hold for influencers on Twitter?

Only 32% of marketers think of Twitter when planning an influencer marketing campaign. This may be because Twitter is text-based and doesn't rely on videos like Instagram or TikTok. To make matters worse, the future of the application is uncertain at the moment. Let's find answers to the question of what's next for Twitter.

Twitter app screenshot
Twitter app screenshot

Key Takeaways

  • In the second quarter of 2022, around 238 million people use the network on a daily basis.
  • Elon Musk bought Twitter for 44 billion, making him the company's largest single shareholder. It foresees numerous restructuring measures.
  • Twitter is not a visual platform, so marketers need to be more creative with influencer marketing campaigns.
  • 41% of users say they would buy a product or use a service because of a tweet

twitter Inc. was founded in March 2006 and is still a microblogging service provider.. Businesses, celebrities, and organizations as well as individuals jostle on the platform and share their daily thoughts, political opinions, or humorous tweets in up to 280 characters.

In the meantime, Twitter is one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, as around 238 million people used the network daily in the second quarter of 2022. At the same time, the advertising audience reach amounted to around 7.75 million people in Germany alone. This places Twitter in 15th place in the global ranking by country. In addition, influencers have built up a considerable following on Twitter, while they have failed to market themselves as well on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok platforms.

As a Public forum For an unfiltered opinion, numerous controversies have also surrounded the platform, as disputes and debates have erupted on the microblogging platform.

Is Twitter in chaos because of Elon Musk?

In the fall of 2022, South African entrepreneur and billionaire bought Twitter for 44 billion dollars and then appointed himself managing director. As he criticized the restrictions on freedom of expression on the platform shortly after the investment, experts expect a thorough restructuring.

Here are some examples of the latest news about Elon Musk according to the Neue Züricher Zeitung (NZZ):

  • On Monday, December 12, 2022, the former head of Twitter's communications department in Germany announced that he would appeal the group's dismissal to the Hamburg Labor Court. Musk fired the entire Twitter communication division in Germany following the restructuring under the new management.
  • According to Forbes magazine, Musk lost his title as the richest person in the world Wednesday, December 7, 2022. However, this loss would be short lived. The entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla had held this title since September 2021, previously the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, was the richest person in the world. By investing in Twitter, Musk's net worth fell below 200 billion dollars. Shareholders of his Tesla car company complained that Musk was more concerned about the social network than the electric car brand. According to the report, Tesla shares have fallen 47% since Musk declared interest in Twitter.
  • At the beginning of December, more precisely on Tuesday 6 December 2022, The Reuters news agency reported on the investigation carried out by the US federal authorities on alleged violations by his company Neuralink of American regulations on the welfare of laboratory animals. The company has allegedly killed around 1,500 animals, including sheep, pigs, and monkeys, since 2018. Musk has not yet commented on these allegations.

The current status of influencer marketing on Twitter

When marketers plan an influencer marketing campaign, they think of Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or TikTok first, with 93% using Instagram, 68% Tiktok and Facebook, and 48% YouTube. Only 32% think of Twitter for influencer marketing, according to Hootsuite. But just because the platform is less popular doesn't mean it's less suitable, since 41% of Twitter users would make a purchase based on a tweet, according to the Digital Marketing Institute. As a result, Twitter influencers also have the power to influence consumer behavior and generate sales.

This 32% is probably explained by the specific format of the content on Twitter. As videos revolutionize the social world, Twitter takes care of videos and images, but the platform remains text-based. At the same time, influencer marketing is mostly visual, which is why Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok are more popular for brands to collaborate with influencers.

Of course Twitter has also recognized the potential of influencer marketing. and has released several features in recent years to make marketing on the platform appealing to brands. However, it is difficult for brands to connect with influencers on Twitter because the influencer ecosystem is less developed than on Instagram or YouTube.

Twitter influencers are mostly humorous and have a unique personal style.. If the spirit and the verb are elements that you want to associate your brand with, you should still consider influencer marketing on the social network. However, like on other networks, there are micro-influencers and macro-influencers, who can also be called social media celebrities and who have millions of followers.

-> The rise in power of nano-influencers

Have you ever used Twitter as a platform for your influencer marketing campaign? Your style should be well defined when you do it. If you succeed, then you can be very successful on Twitter with influencer marketing.

Is gaming the future of influencer marketing on Twitter?

With 2.4 billion tweets about video games, they are a major topic on Twitter. In an interview with Washington Post, the global head of video game partnerships, Rishi Chadha, said:” When people think of video games, they think of Twitchers of the world, to YouTubers around the world. And it's as if, in fact, we can't forget what Twitter does. Twitter has been this focus of conversation and it has remained silent..”

Twitter is particularly appealing for video game influencers. They talk about their favorite games on Twitter, share memes, or comment on video game innovations. So there is a large audience on Twitter that is interested in this niche, and influencers are trying to monetize their content, with varying degrees of success. For example, at major video game events, things go wild and users and influencers post their reactions live.

In an effort to cut costs, Musk fired employees in marketing, content moderation, and other departments that the millionaire said were “less important.” Twitter Gaming's marketing department also had to disband, but Cadha kept her job. Teams such as partnerships and sales, the ones that generate revenue, remained mostly untouched.

About Kolsquare

Kolsquare is Europe’s leading Influencer Marketing platform, a data-driven solution that allows brands to scale their KOL Marketing strategies and implement authentic partnerships with KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders). Kolsquare’s technology enables marketing professionals to easily identify the best Content Creators profiles by filtering their content and audience, and to build and manage their campaigns from A to Z, including measuring results and benchmarking performance against competitors. Kolsquare has built the largest community of influencer marketing experts in the world, and offers hundreds of customers (Coca-Cola, Netflix, Sony Music, Publicis, Sézane, Sephora, El Corte Inglés, Lacoste, …) the latest Big Data, AI and Machine Learning technologies to drive inspiring partnerships, tapping into an exhaustive network covering 100% of  KOLs with more than 5,000 followers in 180 countries on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. As a Benefit Company, Kolsquare has been pioneering Responsible Influence by championing transparency, ethical practices, and meaningful collaborations to inspire change.

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