Can Trump’s Tweets Save Twitter?
By
Stephanie Cartin and
Courtney Spritzer
2016 was a rough year for Twitter. Between the company’s dwindling market value, drop in user base, and a number of takeover rumors, it’s no secret the social media platform has been struggling. However, just when things began to look their bleakest for the social media giant, the presidential election arrived.
As more and more people began turning to the platform to watch live streams of debate coverage or follow Donald and Hillary’s barbs at one another, Twitter saw a healthy spike in users. Now, with the promise of the White House ahead and a need to be heard, President-elect @realDonaldTrump is now more active on the site than ever, which begs the question: Can Trump’s Tweets Save Twitter?
Unfortunately, even if Trump’s musings continue to cause an uptick in activity and engagement, increased utilization alone is not enough to save the company. In order to truly climb out of the hole, Twitter is desperately in need of innovation. An investment into revamping their advertising platform offers Twitter its greatest opportunity. A great deal of Facebook’s massive, sustained success can be directly attributed to the prosperity of its advertising platform. Beyond being user friendly, the targeting capabilities and impressive cost effectiveness of Facebook’s ad platform has solidified the social media giant as a must use platform for marketers and brands alike. Finding a way to upgrade and improve their ad platform is the most promising way Twitter can quickly and dramatically increase revenue, and continue to ride the momentum President-Elect Trump has helped generate through his frequent use of the platform.
Twitter must also find a way to continue to cultivate and leverage new and existing strategic partnerships with organizations such as the National Football League, Netflix and major television networks. Live streaming has already taken over social media. Developing a way for the platform to allow users to watch and live tweet simultaneously, without a need to switch screens or applications, would be a major breakthrough and potential game changer. This could help attract and capture the attention of millennials, who no longer watch television in the traditional way. Creating a way in which users can live stream the online content and programming they are already consuming while allowing them to concurrently share their thoughts, ideas and opinions in real time, and in one place, is guaranteed to attract some of this elusive demographic back to the platform, or even attract coveted new users.
So while Trump’s tweets may have helped create a great deal of buzz for both himself and the platform, the activity and engagement that has come with it is not enough to restore Twitter’s dominance as a social media platform. If his entertaining late night tweets aren’t enough to help recapture its previous success, perhaps he can lean on his vast network of business connections to connect Twitter with the right people to implement the ideas shared above. So then again, maybe Donald Trump can in fact save twitter.
Stephanie Abrams Cartin is the co-founder and CEO of Socialfly, a social media marketing and influencer agency. A graduate of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, Stephanie first began her career in sales at Marriott International. While helping friends launch entrepreneurial endeavors, she recognized the tremendous positive impact social media could have on a business’ sales and marketing efforts.
Courtney Spritzer is the co-founder and COO of Socialfly. Beginning her career as a financial analyst at American Express, and a bond underwriter at Hanover Insurance Group, Courtney recognized early on the tremendous opportunity social media presented businesses. In 2010, Courtney met her now business partner, Stephanie Abrams Cartin who shared the same insight and vision of a future in the field.
