Tag Archive for: Twitter

Twitter Blue Expands To Brands With Blue For Business

After a somewhat chaotic rollout for Twitter Blue Verified for standard users, the company is beginning the process of launching Blue for Business.

The new subscription option will distinguish verified businesses from verified individuals through a unique gold checkmark, square profile pictures, and the ability to link affiliated Twitter accounts.

Those who are linked as an affiliated account, such as accounts of employees, will be given a different badge next to their verified individual checkmark. 

For example, you can see the difference between the official Twitter account and the linked affiliated account for an employee below: 

Blue for Business example

It is unclear what other benefits Blue for Business accounts receive by subscribing – other than the ability to distinguish themselves from potential impersonators.

However, the announcement does describe some ways Twitter sees Blue for Business being used by brands:

“By creating this connection, we’re making it possible for businesses to create networks within their own organizations–on Twitter. Businesses can affiliate their leadership, brands, support handles, employees or teams. Journalists, sports team players or movie characters can all be affiliated. You name it, we got it. Each affiliate will be verified and officially linked to their parent handle based on a list provided by the parent business. We will share any new criteria, pricing or process as we update them.”

Currently, Blue for Business is limited to a pilot run of select accounts. It is expected to roll out broadly to brands that want to subscribe early next year. Most likely, we will learn more about exactly what the service has to offer brands other than verification.

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Twitter Relaunches Twitter Blue and Other Profile Verification Labels

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After a false start, Twitter is relaunching its verification system including the much-discussed Twitter Blue program. 

To distinguish those who are paying for verification from celebrities or well-known businesses, the new take on the system is also introducing unique labels for businesses and official accounts. 

During the initial rollout of the Twitter Blue system, there was a wave of confusion as parody accounts, trolls, and other bad actors were spending the $8 fee for Twitter Blue to impersonate public figures and companies. 

Following this confusion and complaints from several companies facing PR fiascos, Twitter CEO Elon Musk temporarily retracted the program. In theory, the new badges for official and business accounts, along with restrictions on who can apply for Twitter Blue, should help prevent bad actors from abusing the system. 

Below, we will get into what each badge stands for and who is eligible for each.

Twitter Verified (Twitter Blue) – Blue Checkmark

The classic blue checkmark will be available to users subscribing to the Twitter Blue verified program.

The program costs $8 per month if you subscribe through a web browser or $11 for those subscribing through the iOS app. Musk says the increased cost for Apple users is reflective of Apple’s commission on in-app purchases.

Along with the blue checkmark, Twitter Blue accounts will soon start receiving a number of benefits including:

  • Priority placement in replies, mentions, and search results
  • 50% fewer advertisements
  • The ability to edit tweets
  • The ability to publish longer videos

To be eligible, accounts must meet a number of criteria including:

  • Be Complete: Your account must include a display name and profile photo
  • Recent Activity: There must be activity on the account in the last 30 days
  • Established: Accounts must be older than 90 days and include a phone number for verification
  • Non-Deceptive: Twitter must find no signs of deceptive activity on your account, including signs of platform manipulation or spam.

Verified Businesses – Gold Checkmark

While verified businesses or public figures used to share the blue checkmark, they will now be distinguished with a gold checkmark. The intent is to prevent confusion between individuals paying for verification and brands established on the platform. 

For now, brands that already have a blue checkmark will see their badge automatically converted to the gold option. However, Twitter’s product lead, Esther Crawford, says the company will soon be opening up portals for businesses to apply for gold checkmarks.

Important Verified Figures – “Official” Labels

Lastly, the social network is granting important public figures an “Official” label next to their account names. This label will be applied to all of the following types of accounts:

  • Government accounts
  • Political organizations (such as parties) 
  • Commercial companies & business partners
  • Major brands
  • Media outlets

For more, explore the new Help Center page for profile labels.

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Twitter Adds ‘Location Spotlight’ To Help Users Find Your Store

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Twitter is introducing a new feature called the Location Spotlight that will make it easier for your online fans to become your real-life customers. 

With the Location Spotlight feature, businesses with physical locations can add store details like your address, phone number, store hours, and even a map showing your location. You can also add links to your website or make it possible to quickly call or message your company.

New Name For Wide Release

This feature is not entirely new to the platform. However, this is the first time many brands will have access to the profile module. 

Twitter tested much of this feature with a small number of well-known professional accounts, calling it the ‘About Module’ at the time. Now, Twitter is bringing this tool (and its new name)  to all businesses with professional Twitter accounts.

How To Get Access

Once you are eligible, update your Location Spotlight by following these steps

  1. Select ‘Edit Profile’
  2. Find and click the ‘Edit professional profile’ button near the bottom of the page
  3. Select ‘Profile Spotlight’
  4. Enter your business details (including your address, hours, website, and contact info)
  5. Select ‘Publish’ to save and display these details on your profile.
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Twitter Test Long-Form Content With ‘Notes’

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After expanding its character limit for tweets a few years ago, Twitter is testing a new feature called Notes that lets users ditch character limits altogether.

The company confirmed testing the new feature in a tweet, along with a longer Note explaining everything Notes can do:

“Notes will give people the ability to go over 280 characters on Twitter in a single piece of content, with the inclusion of photos, videos, GIFs, and Tweets. Notes can be written, published, and shared on Twitter, and read all across the Internet.”

Unfortunately for most of us, the feature is initially being tested among a select number of writers in the US, UK, Canada, and Ghana. 

As the announcement explains:

“We’re excited for the moment when everyone can use Notes, but for now, our focus is on building it right. A large part of that is engaging with writers and building community.”

Notably, the feature does not appear to be replacing Twitter threads, at least for now:

“There are situations, however, where threads aren’t enough. From the rise of the screenshot announcement Tweet to the newsletter boom, a new reality became clear: people were writing long elsewhere, and then coming to Twitter to share their work and for the conversation surrounding all those words.”

In the announcement, Twitter also detailed a few unique features which will make Notes attractive to those looking to publish longer content:

  • Formatting: Formatting tools included bold, italic, and strikethrough text, as well as the ability to add links and create lists.
  • Include Media: Notes can include one GIF, one video, or up to four static images.
  • Embedded Tweets: Include traditional tweets in Notes by pasting a URL or from your bookmarked tweets.
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Twitter Tests Dedicated Shopping Pages For Brands

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Twitter is signaling its plans to let brands establish dedicated shops on the platform through a limited test.

The company revealed it is introducing dedicated shopping pages including up to 50 products to a handful of brands as an experiment ahead of plans to roll out the feature to more retailers later this year. 

The feature allows a brand or business to add a simple “View shop” button to its profile page, which will link to a Twitter-hosted e-commerce page. When clicked, the button will then take users to your actual online store or website, where the transaction can be completed. 

As Twitter described the new feature in its blog post announcement:

“People are already talking about products on Twitter. We want Twitter Shops to be the home for merchants on Twitter where they can intentionally curate a catalog of products for their Twitter audience and build upon the product discussions already happening on our service by giving shoppers a point of action where a conversation can become a purchase.”

Only Available to a Select Few

As Twitter Shops are currently considered a beta test, the feature is only available to a small number of brands in the U.S. Specifically, the announcement only mentioned five brands that have utilized the feature so far – Verizon, Arden Cover, the Latinx In Power podcast, Gay Pride Apparel, and All I Do Is Cook.

Additionally, only iPhone users are currently able to view or interact with the shops, though the company plans to roll the feature out to other devices in the future.

Social Stores Are Becoming The Norm

The new feature underscores the increasingly blurry line between social media and online shopping. Several other platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram have rolled out their own shopping tools to brands on their platform, though the most obvious comparison is Pinterest’s current shopping system where users can discover brands and shop their products on the platform before finalizing their purchase through retailer’s own sites.

For more, read Twitter’s full announcement here.

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Twitter Confirms AMP Pages Will No Longer Be Supported

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Twitter has confirmed it is dropping support for AMP pages, adding more evidence to the growing belief that AMP (or Accelerated Mobile Pages) are on their way out of use.

In an update to its developer document for AMP pages, Twitter says it is discontinuing support for the format by the end of the year:

“We’re in the process of discontinuing support for this feature and it will be fully retired in Q4 of 2021.”

This comes after some users had noticed a lack of support for AMP going back as far as October.

What This Means For You

If you have been sharing AMP links on Twitter, you can technically still do so without any significant issues. 

However, instead of being directed to the AMP versions of your content, Twitter will automatically direct users to the original content. 

It goes without saying that this negates the point of adding AMP links instead of sharing the original page. 

Why Is AMP Losing Support?

Many people dislike AMP pages for a number of reasons, citing everything from buggy performance to criticism over the boost they received in search results for a time. 

In recent times, Google has seemed to recognize this. 

First, they did this by making AMP pages less obvious in search results by removing the icon which had accompanied pages using the format. Additionally, Google dropped requirements for pages to use AMP to be eligible to be included in the Top Stories carousel. 

The most recent evidence that Google is losing confidence in AMP is the September announcement that Google News would start showing fewer AMP pages in the results.

This has all led many to believe that AMP is on its way out at Google, as well as Twitter.

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Twitter Shuts Down ‘Fleets’ Just 9 Months After Launch

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Twitter is saying goodbye to Fleets, its take on the popular Story format across most popular social networks, after launching the feature just nine months ago.

In a recent announcement, the company said it would stop supporting Fleets as of August 3, 2021.

As Twitter explained, it had hoped that Fleets would help drive new engagement and new users. From what they’ve seen, that just wasn’t happening.

The official statement stated:

“We built Fleets as a lower-pressure, ephemeral way for people to share their fleeting thoughts. We hoped Fleets would help more people feel comfortable joining the conversation on Twitter.

“But, in the time since we introduced Fleets to everyone, we haven’t seen an increase in the number of new people joining the conversation with Fleets like we hoped.”

That isn’t to say the feature wasn’t being used. Instead, the people who took to using Twitter Fleets were already active and engaged on the platform before the feature was rolled out. 

“Although we built Fleets to address some of the anxieties that hold people back from Tweeting, Fleets are mostly used by people who are already Tweeting to amplify their own Tweets and talk directly with others.

“We’ll explore more ways to address what holds people back from participating on Twitter. And for the people who already are Tweeting, we’re focused on making this better for you.”

It is somewhat surprising to see a company be so candid about an underwhelming launch, though Twitter isn’t treating the shutdown of Fleets as a loss. Instead, they say they will apply what they’ve learned towards future improvements.

What Comes Next

When Fleets are removed from the platform, Twitter will use its current place to highlight live audio streams and chats through Spaces.

“The top of the timeline continues to be a good spot to highlight what’s happening right now so you’ll still see Spaces there when someone you follow is hosting or speaking in a live audio conversation.”

There’s no need to worry about lost content, however, since Fleets were already designed to disappear after 24 hours.

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Leaked Previews Detail The Upcoming Twitter Paid Subscription Service

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New data extracted from the Twitter app gives us the clearest picture so far of what the company’s upcoming subscription service will look like when it reaches the world. 

Rumors have swirled for quite some time that the company was planning to launch a paid service, which was confirmed earlier this year. However, pretty much nothing has been known about what features would be included, it’s pricing, or even the name of the subscription service. 

Information pulled by reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong may potentially change that, though. 

In a series of Tweets, Wong revealed the service is tentatively being called “Twitter Blue” and will offer prices starting at $2.99 a month. 

She also revealed the service will include the ability to “undo” sent tweets, manage bookmarked tweets, and access to ad-free news articles. 

All of this information is subject to change until an official announcement is made, but here’s what we know about the paid features currently. 

Undo Sent Tweets

Obviously, it is pretty much impossible to completely remove something from the internet once it’s out there. Still, Twitter wants to give you the next best thing. 

With the undo sent tweets feature, the social network will give users a short chance to rethink what they are about to send out to the world.

When enabled, the feature delays the publishing of your tweet for about 6-seconds after hitting Post. This gives you the extra chance to look over your tweet for any typos or reconsider publishing something incendiary. 

This means literally no one will have the chance to see impulsive, poorly written, or incomplete tweets if you hit undo within the short time window. 

Bookmarks Collections

Twitter Blue seems set to also offer users the ability to organize and manage their Twitter bookmarks into separate folders. 

Currently, bookmarked tweets are all put into a single “Bookmarks” list. This means the feature unfortunately becomes less effective the more you use it, as it gets harder to find what you are looking for in your growing list of saved content. 

With Collections, users will be able to keep their increasing bookmarks collection organized and easy to search through. This also opens the potential to being able to share Collections with others in the future, similar to creating and sharing pinboards on Pinterest. 

Ad-Free News Articles

Following Twitter’s recent acquisition of Scroll, it has been widely assumed the social network planned to integrate the news service into its paid subscriptions. 

Wong’s discoveries confirm this, with ad-free news offered to higher-tier paid users.

The reason for the heightened cost is that Twitter plans to share revenue with publishers on the news platform – making the service a win-win for both readers and publishers alike.

Given where the data was pulled from, it seems likely we are getting close to the official public reveal of Twitter Blue to the world. Until then, however, Wong has given us a glimpse into just what Twitter is planning for its upcoming subscription service.

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YouTube Is The Most Popular Social Network Among US Adults [Study]

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YouTube is the most popular social network among American adults according to a large new study from Pew Research Center.

The new report includes findings on social media use among adults from a nationally representative phone survey conducted earlier this year.

Overall, the results showed that social media usage has largely remained stagnant over the past few years, with just two notable exceptions.

“YouTube and Reddit were the only two platforms measured that saw statistically significant growth since 2019,” the reports stated.

Out of all platforms, YouTube had the highest usage with 81% of adults who used any kind of social media saying they used the video streaming service. 

Facebook unsurprisingly came not far behind, with 69% saying they use the platform. In third place was Instagram with 40% of respondents saying they use the social network. 

You can see the full list of social networks and the percent of US adults who use them below:

  • YouTube (81%)
  • Facebook (69%)
  • Instagram (40%)
  • Pinterest (31%)
  • LinkedIn (28%)
  • Snapchat (25%)
  • Twitter (23%)
  • WhatsApp (23%)
  • TikTok (21%)
  • Reddit (18%)
  • Nextdoor (13%)

As the report concludes:

“YouTube is the most commonly used online platform asked about in this survey, and there’s evidence that its reach is growing. Fully 81% of Americans say they ever use the video-sharing site, up from 73% in 2019. Reddit was the only other platform polled about that experienced statistically significant growth during this time period – increasing from 11% in 2019 to 18% today.”

Beyond these broad findings, the report also includes demographic breakdowns for each platform and other findings, which you can see below:

YouTube Usage Statistics

  • 95% of US adults ages 18 to 29 say they use YouTube
  • 91% of US adults ages 30 to 49 say they use YouTube
  • 49% of US adults ages 65 and older say they use YouTube
  • 54% of YouTube users say they visit the site daily
  • 36% of YouTube users say they visit the site several times a day

Facebook Usage Statistics

  • 70% of US adults ages 18 to 29 say they use Facebook
  • 77% of US adults ages 30 to 49 say they use Facebook
  • 73% of US adults ages 50 to 64 say they use Facebook
  • 50% of US adults ages 65 and older say they use Facebook
  • 70% of Facebook users say they visit the site daily
  • 49% of Facebook users say they visit the site several times a day

Instagram Usage Statistics

  • 71% of US adults ages 19 to 29 say they use Instagram
  • 52% of Hispanic Americans say they use Instagram
  • 49% of Black Americans say they use Instagram
  • 35% of White Americans say they use Instagram
  • 59% of all Instagram users say they visit the site daily
  • 73% of 18- to 29-year-old Instagram users say they visit the site every day
  • 53% of 18- to 29-year-old Instagram users say they visit the site several times a day

Other Usage Statistics

  • 46% of Twitter users say they visit the site every day
  • 65% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use Snapchat
  • 2% of adults ages 65 and older say they use Snapchat
  • 50% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use TikTok
  • Those with higher levels of education are more likely to use LinkedIn than those with lower levels of education
  • 51% of US adults with a bachelor’s or advanced degree say they use LinkedIn
  • 28% of US adults with only some college experience say they use LinkedIn
  • 10% of US adults with a high school diploma or less say they used LinkedIn
  • 46% of women use Pinterest, compared to 16% of men
  • Adults living in urban (17%) or suburban (14%) areas are more likely to say they use Nextdoor
  • 2% of rural Americans say they use Next-door

To view the full report, click here.

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Twitter Previews Subscription and Community Features

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After months of rumors, Twitter has confirmed it is launching a subscription-like feature which allows users to pay for premium content from content creators or influencers on the platform.

The company previewed the new feature it is calling “Super Follow” at its investor-focused Analyst Day event last week, along with a few other new features which are coming to the platform soon.

What Is Twitter’s “Super Follow”?

Super Follow will soon allow creators, influencers, and brands to monetize their tweets, similar to platforms like Patreon or YouTube Subscriptions.

“Twitter is working on a “Super Follow” function that can be used to earn money directly on the platform. Here are the first screenshots”

For a monthly fee, Twitter users can sign up to get exclusive content and perks from a select creator, including:

  • A supporter badge
  • Access to a subscriber-only newsletter
  • Exclusive content
  • Exclusive promotions and discounts
  • VIP community access

Unlike what you can find on sites like Patreon, Super Follow is a one-size-fits-all feature amd does not allow for separate tiers for fans or support.

While the specific revenue split is not clear, Twitter says creators will be able to earn money directly through Super Follow, making this a viable way to increase revenue from social media. This will likely also make Super Follow an attractive option for publishers hoping to find a new source of revenue other than digital advertising placements on their site.

Twitter Communities Take On Facebook Groups

Another upcoming feature highlighted at the Analyst Day event was the launch of Twitter Communities.

Similar to Facebook Groups, Communities allows users to join together around common interests or topics.

Details about the feature are hard to come by, but images shared by those who attended the event show a conversation hub which may make discussions easier for larger communities. 

Otherwise, the layout, design, and features look distinctly familiar to anyone who has been active on Facebook Groups in the past few years.

Twitter’s Goals for 2021 and Beyond

To close out the presentation, Twitter listed three specific goals to achieve in the future:

  • Double development velocity by the end of 2023, which means doubling the number of features shipped per employee that directly drive either mDAU (monetized daily active users)  or revenue.
  • Reach at least 315 million mDAU in Q4 2023, which represents a ~20% compound annual growth rate from the base of 152 million mDAU reported in Q4 2019, which was the most recently reported mDAU when Twitter first announced this ambition in March of 2020.
  • At least double total annual revenue from $3.7 billion in 2020 to $7.5 billion or more in 2023.
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