Twitter’s public life on the Wall Street began when it announced that it filed an initial public offering on the 12th of September, 2013. From then on, Twitter’s moves have been scrutinized to no end and have often been the topic of discussion on most finance websites. Its stocks initially showed a lot of promise but has been on a rollercoaster ride ever since.
In a prospectus of 800 pages, it revealed its game plan and how it planned to raise money. With an initial plan of raising $1 billion, Twitter eventually reached a market capitalization of $32.76 billion. In the recent weeks, Twitter’s stock has nosedived mostly because of fears of it not doing well when it comes to advertising.
Should technology pundits be worried about Twitter’s market performance?
As a technology company, we are more interested in what Twitter can do in terms of technology than what it can do to investors. However, following Twitter’s numbers tells us if we should continue to prefer Twitter over Facebook or other social networks. Right now, we do believe that Twitter is a very important tool that will continue to rise in its importance.
There is no point in comparing Twitter with its rival Facebook or even with LinkedIn, as all the 3 sites serve very different purposes. Twitter’s public offering story has been very tumultuous to say the least. People have been buying its shares and selling within a matter of weeks. These short term fluctuations point at a basic insecurity or fear that Twitter will not make the kind of money it expects to make.
Why are investors scared of Twitter?
The root cause of these fears is its revenue strategy, which is to offer advertisements. Twitter advertisements hold more promise than Facebook simply because people who use Twitter tend to follow celebrities and other authority figures more than people on Facebook. Twitter has an element of social power that Facebook doesn’t. It is very easy to notice that most celebrities are active on Twitter rather than on Facebook.
If a certain advertisement makes to the timeline of a celebrity or something is retweeted, chances of that product or service being used is greater than a full-fledged Facebook campaign. This is not to say that one must abandon Facebook ads but what we must understand is that there is no comparison between the two.
Comparing Twitter with Facebook
Let us try and compare Facebook with Twitter as they are both public companies. We hesitate to do this, but we will still do it because of the enormous queries we receive constantly regarding Facebook and Twitter ads. Here are some of the main reasons why Twitter is one of the most valuable technology companies today and we should continue to prioritize our social media activities on Twitter.
Twitter has a better advertising strategy than Facebook
Facebook has more than 5 times the number of active users than Twitter and these users share more than 10 times the content that Twitter users share. However, the cost per thousand impressions (CPM) is higher on Twitter than on Facebook. Also, Twitter’s promoted tweets are more favorable to business users than Facebook’s ad products. We may also add that the click-through rates are higher on Twitter than on Facebook.
It is also interesting to observe that more people use Twitter from the mobile phones than they use Facebook. Twitter was initially built as a 140-character tool to be used through text messages. Eventually, it reached a stage where it can compete with the big names of the Silicon Valley. Being the superior tool that it is, Twitter may actually trounce Facebook when it comes to advertisements.
The celebrity connection
Twitter obviously is a better platform when it comes to celebrity engagement. More celebrities on Twitter are active than on Facebook. Politicians, government offices, police, army, psychologists, doctors and every other thought leader uses Twitter. What we can understand is, Twitter tends to attract thought leaders and their followers, whereas, Facebook tends to attract people and their friends. It is easier to monitor Twitter and people’s engagement there than people’s engagement on Facebook because it is a walled garden.
Twitter celebrities need not even be actual celebrities. They could be anonymous celebrities made famous just by the content they share. There are several people whose identities we do not know but continue to post amazing content that they, otherwise, wouldn’t on Facebook. This anonymity and privacy sets Twitter apart from Facebook. That is also one of the reasons why advertising on Twitter may be easier, as we will know whose followers like what.
Twitter is immediate
The way content can spread on Twitter is vastly different from how it can spread on Facebook. On Twitter, all that one needs to do is share content and it can get retweeted and shared by complete strangers. This is because Twitter is a public forum unlike Facebook. On Facebook, sharing depends on known connections and that can take a lot of time. A certain viral content can travel through the world faster on Twitter than on Facebook.
Thus, it may be a better option when considering advertisements. There is a larger audience who will be able to spread it across Twitter in a relatively short period of time. This immediacy sets Twitter apart from its competitors. Immediacy is very important when it comes to advertising or marketing. The more quickly a message gets through, the better it is for people to sell their products or services.
Twitter is democratic
One of the main reasons why we prefer Twitter over Facebook is because of its democratic appeal. Journalists, reporters and just about anyone in the industry prefer Twitter to Facebook. It is a valuable broadcasting tool that can spread information in a democratic way. Facebook on the other hand has certain restrictions and it also depends on people who may choose not to share certain content simply because they do not like the friend that shared it. That kind of bias can be avoided on Twitter as what is shared is visible across the world to everyone.
Twitter is brief
There is no denying the fact that Twitter is brief, concise and keeps it short. In just 140 characters, what could be said in a lengthy paragraph can be summarized and shared across the world. As tweets are inherently short, people tend to read it more than going through lengthy posts on Facebook. This ensures that people prefer Twitter content to Facebook content.
Moreover, Twitter feed is usually filled with informative links whereas Facebook newsfeed can be cluttered with a lot of unwanted information such as pictures that are purely personal in nature. Twitter is more professional when it comes to content sharing than Facebook.
Twitter is mobile friendly
The Twitter app is easier to use than the Facebook application. Twitter does not have the awkwardness with which Facebook switches between its TimeLine application and its Messenger application. Facebook also feels a lot more awkward because of its many features. Twitter being the simpler one, is easier to handle on a cellphone than Facebook.
That alone can spark success more than anything else. It is a known fact that people have begun to use Twitter more on mobile phones than on the computers. Whereas, Facebook is still heavily used on computers than on mobile phones. People carry their mobile phones all the time, which encourages them to tweet more often than post status updates on Facebook’s, let alone click through advertisements on Facebook application.
All said and done, we still do not like to compare Facebook with Twitter. They both serve very different needs and are very important tools in the field of SEO, web content and marketing. If one wants to witness growth and success, one better be able to choose both when drafting a digital marketing strategy.
Twitter’s success should not be gauged according to its stock performance and what happens in the New York Stock Exchange does not necessarily tell you how important or unimportant it is when it comes to performance. Twitter is a solid tool that is very important for SEO, web and Internet Marketing and to ensure increased revenue. If you plan to compare Twitter with Facebook, just try and understand what your goals are. If you want to advertise on a platform that is more focused, Twitter is the way to go.
