Emma Fitzpatrick Monday, April 22, 2019

Most marketers rely on the big three social platforms to connect, engage and inform their followers. For B2C marketers, 97% used Facebook, 65% used Twitter, and 60% used Instagram, according to 2018 Statista data. For B2B, 89% used Facebook, 81% used LinkedIn, and 75% used Twitter.

For years, Twitter has consistently ranked among brands’ go-to destinations for social media platforms. But did you know Twitter has 32% fewer daily active users (126 million) than Snapchat (186 million)?

Because of Snapchat’s limited niche audience, marketers shy away from it. Only 8% of B2C marketers use it, and 6% of B2B businesses have an account.

So, how has Twitter managed to stay a marketer-favorite despite its small audience while Snapchat never really took off?

At first glance, you might think Snapchat has a younger demographic. Those between the ages of 18 and 29 (68%) are most likely to use Snapchat while only 26 % of adults between the ages of 30 and 39 use Snapchat, according to 2018 Pew Research Center data.

Yet, the breakdown on Twitter is pretty darn similar. Only 27% of 30- to 39-year-old adults use Twitter, and its largest segment of users are between the ages of 18 and 29.

If it’s not the demographics that set Twitter apart, what is it?

For many, it may be a force of habit. When social networks were just catching on, Twitter and Facebook were constantly duking it out to see who would take the top spot. While Facebook continued to grow at a steady rate, Twitter growth petered out. In fact, its growth trajectory looks shockingly similar to Snapchat’s.

It also helps that Twitter is a much lighter lift for businesses. It’s one of the few platforms you can still publish a post with nothing more than text and have it perform well!

Now’s the time to evaluate exactly why your business is using Twitter. What’s your goal for the platform, and is it worth the time you invest?

Sure, your tweets might get seen by a fair-sized audience. But if only one or two people retweet and the platform’s not driving traffic to your website, is that worth it?

If you’re not sure if Twitter is doing much for your business (beyond providing engagement/reach numbers on the platform), experiment by not posting for a week and see if you notice a discernable impact on your business.

Frankly, the time you gain may be better spent on other social platforms. Think of the time you’d have to create videos for Facebook and Instagram!

While you start dreaming of the possibilities, don’t delete your business’ Twitter altogether.

Over 85% of small-to-medium business patrons said it’s important that businesses provide customer service support on Twitter.

You should still check your notifications daily and respond to any tweets or messages sent directly to your company.

If you want to encourage your followers to migrate to another platform where you’re more active, pin a tweet at the top of your profile that points them there.