Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2022 – Twitter
Twitter has adopted a new, faster development timeline, which has seen it add a lot more features over the past 18 months – though many of those new updates have also fallen flat or had little overall impact.
Still, Twitter’s numbers continue to improve, both in terms of engagement and revenue. And while there are key elements that will require more focus, it is theoretically on track to meet its ambitious growth targets, which it announced earlier this year, in response to a group of activist investors taking up Twitter board seats and calling for significant improvement, or the replacement of the current management team.
In other words, Twitter needs to improve, or Jack Dorsey and Co. could soon be out of the job. So what’s Twitter going to do in 2022 to build on its momentum?
Building payment frameworks
Twitter’s main push over the past year, at least in terms of its business efforts, has been building pathways for creators to make money from their tweets, while also establishing expanded revenue streams for the platform itself.
New options like Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces facilitate direct monetization for users, while Twitter’s also developing its own Twitter Blue subscription option for access to new tweet features.
Twitter’s creator tools look set for moderate success, with users, for the most part, hesitant to actually pay for tweets, and few creators able to offer adequate enticement. But Twitter Blue, which is close to its next stage, could end up being a solid earner, if Twitter can get its offering right.
Thus far, Twitter Blue hasn’t been a big winner in testing (accessible to Australian and Canadian users), but the next stage, as you can see above, does look more promising, and if Twitter can build more value into the Blue package, it could be a key element in maximizing the app’s earnings potential – and saving Twitter’s exec team from the wrath of the new board.
Shopping via tweet
Twitter, too, is developing its e-Commerce options as it looks to tap into the rising mobile shopping shift. It’s already testing new shop elements on its Professional Profiles, its variation of business pages, along with direct, in-stream buying from tweets.
Will that work out?
It largely depends on how accustomed users are with spending money in-app, which is another element of its creator monetization push. Getting money for creators is one thing, but building habitual behaviors – i.e. getting Twitter users used to paying money in the app – is another consideration, and that could extend to in-stream purchases if Twitter can get it right.
Expect to see Twitter’s in-stream buying tests ramp up in the second half of next year.
Crypto and NFTs
While Facebook leans into the metaverse concept, Twitter is taking more practical steps into the next stage of tech development, with new options that enable people to make payments via cryptocurrency, and new display tools that align with the rising trend of showcasing NFT purchases in the app.
This could be a key area of growth, if both crypto and NFTs remain more than a trend, with Twitter already being a key connective tool in both communities and establishing links with prominent users in the space. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is very keen on Bitcoin, particularly as a tool for democratizing payments in emerging markets, and if Twitter can become a key element in that shift, and that shift does catch on in a more significant way (i.e. crypto processes are not shut down by respective governments), then it could be a valuable, functional area of focus for the app.
Expect to see Twitter expand its integrations, on both fronts, in 2022.
New video tools
You can also expect Twitter to make video a bigger focus next year, as it looks to integrate the full-screen presentation options and tools leftover from Fleets into new areas.
Twitter’s already working on this, and if it can lean into the broader interest in full-screen, short-form video that could be an engagement winner, with more focus on expanding tweeted videos into full-screen mode when tapped.
That’ll also lead to new trends in usage, where users entice viewers to tap into full-screen mode to see the full context.
Writer: Andrew Hutchinson
Source: Social Media Today
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