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Everyone’s Loudly Quitting Twitter – But Who’s Leaving?

Users, celebrities, and advertisers are all announcing their departure from Twitter. But are they truly going away or is it all just sound and fury? Robert Rose of the Content Marketing Institute delivers a soliloquy on whether it’s time for your brand to fly the coop and what alternative options are waiting in the wings. 

Watch the episode 

Aired: November 18, 2022 

Read the transcript 

Hello there and welcome. Well, have you jumped off the cliff that is Twitter? It seems like everybody, from users to advertisers, are headed for the door. Where are they going? Well … This is the news you need to lead in content marketing. 

Hello everybody. Robert Rose here with the news. It’s what’s new, but – more importantly –what’s important in the world of content marketing. And for the best in best practices – you can always go to contentmarketinginstitute.com. 

This week was another milestone for Twitter in what seems like, well, let’s just call it a trend. Employees are hitting the exit (most of them unwillingly), and they are being joined by executives – including executives in security, safety, and privacy.  

Advertisers are also jumping ship. Ad giant Omnicom has joined a number of other agencies in recommending that brand marketers suspend their Twitter spend. They join brands such as Chipotle, General Motors, General Mills, Mondelez, and United Airlines on a growing list of companies that aren’t going to put much advertising – if any – on the network.  

Users are also headed toward the exits, or maaaaaaybe they are. Like the actual platform itself, it’s more about WHO is leaving than the actual numbers. And celebrities are creating the impression that more may be leaving than actually are. Celebrities like Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rimes, Toni Braxton, and Brian Koppelman have all announced their departure.    

In all those cases, we should note that these celebrities are taking the approach that we see quite a few others that aren’t celebrities taking: announcing their departure but keeping their account alive and open – you know, just in case. 

What’s our take at CMI?

What should you be thinking about as Twitter does its thing?  

Well, it calls me back to my Shakespeare … Twitter walking around like Macbeth, lamenting the uselessness of life. “Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying … nothing.”   

Thank you. I’m sure you’ll catch me at my summer revival of Macbeth this next year.  

In any event – our take is that, indeed, we agree: It’s time for a considered pause. For any brand that has gone all in on Twitter, it is time to pause and look for alternatives.   

The new decentralized social network Mastodon has certainly seen an influx of new users. And with the ability to create your own server on Mastodon, there is certainly something VERY interesting to explore there – especially if your brand has used Twitter as a customer service platform.  

Additionally, from a reach perspective, TikTok and Instagram continue to thrive. 

Related: TikTok: Time To Get Serious About Its Content Marketing Promise? 

So, if you’re thinking about what you and your brand might do, just know you have a bit of time. It may be less than an hour before the tale being told by an idiot burns Twitter to the ground. Or it may not. It may rise and become a trusted platform again. But you have the time to make this a considered decision.  

The one thing that’s for sure is that we would, indeed, advise taking a pause – certainly from those splashy moments, like exploring Twitter Spaces with that industry influencer or big spends on brand advertising. But also think twice about making a dramatic announcement that you’re leaving – unless, that is, you’re really prepared to leave.    

Think twice about making dramatic announcements about leaving @Twitter – unless you’re really prepared to leave, says @Robert_Rose via @CMIContent. Click To Tweet

Just remember that Macbeth wasn’t really lamenting his impending doom. He was actually really bummed out about how long it was going to take for the uselessness to end, saying, “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.”  

But for today, that’s 5 minutes of the news you need to lead in content marketing. I’m Robert Rose and remember: It’s YOUR story. Make sure your story is filled with sound and signifying all the things. And tell it well.  

 I’ll see you next week. 

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