Is your brand still on X / Twitter?
Social Media Today had a bit of a scoop last week:
X has seemingly been hesitant in reporting its latest EU user figures, as required by the Digital Services Act (DSA), with its most recent update coming this week, nearing the end of the reporting period.
And now we know why, with the platform seeing a 10.5% decline in EU users since August last year. (Read the Full Story.)
I suspect the same can be said for what is happening in the United States as well. Why? People and brands (myself included), have “retired” their profiles in hopes of a better day on the platform. I have moved to BlueSky.
But it begs a strategic discussion by brands:
What is more valuable? Attention (potential size of audience) or Brand?
Here are the facts.
Getting attention is hard. That is why social media marketing / advertising is now table-stakes for marketers. The people are there. Go there. Join them.
But what is the cost to the brand when the platform itself is toxic?
A research abstract found on PLOS.org, reported:
Numerous studies have reported an increase in hate speech on X (formerly Twitter) in the months immediately following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform on October 27th, 2022; relatedly, despite Musk’s pledge to “defeat the spam bots,” a recent study reported no substantial change in the concentration of inauthentic accounts. However, it is not known whether any of these trends endured. We address this by examining material posted on X from the beginning of 2022 through June 2023, the period that includes Musk’s full tenure as CEO. We find that the increase in hate speech just before Musk bought X persisted until at least May of 2023, with the weekly rate of hate speech being approximately 50% higher than the months preceding his purchase, although this increase cannot be directly attributed to any policy at X. The increase is seen across multiple dimensions of hate, including racism, homophobia, and transphobia. Moreover, there is a doubling of hate post “likes,” indicating increased engagement with hate posts. In addition to measuring hate speech, we also measure the presence of inauthentic accounts on the platform; these accounts are often used in spam and malicious information campaigns. We find no reduction (and a possible increase) in activity by these users after Musk purchased X, which could point to further negative outcomes, such as the potential for scams, interference in elections, or harm to public health campaigns. Overall, the long-term increase in hate speech, and the prevalence of potentially inauthentic accounts, are concerning, as these factors can undermine safe and democratic online environments, and increase the risk of offline harms.
[Emphasis added.]
As a brand evangelist and driver of focused-attention, in late 2024, I posted on my Twitter account:
Friends, I have been a Twitter user for over 15 years. I loved the community I built here, but I can’t continue to participate in a platform that has forgotten it’sI have moved on to BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/richarddedor.com
Should you stay on X?
Which platform is bigger? Still X. Hands down. They had the lowest growth of any social platform and BlueSky will be the same.
Which platform is safer? BlueSky. Zero question.
Brands are like people. They have emotions and the best ones have values. To that end, I advocate forgoing the size and “authority” of X, for others like BlueSky (and even TikTok) at this point. You have to protect your brand to build a safe and welcoming community.