In a previous post, I wrote about the insights and large-scale impact that Twitter provides. More than seven years after news of a US Airways plane landing in the Hudson River and the earthquake in China broke on Twitter, the social media network continues to take a front row seat with events like the recent earthquake in Ecuador, terrorist attacks in Paris, and the announcement of Beyonce’s latest project. Twitter sits at a critical crossroad in its state as a publically traded company: Either listen to Park Avenue “analysts” and traditional business perspectives demanding more users, or return to its roots and reinvent itself by exploring alternative revenue sources like I propose below.

Re-Animate its Most Prolific Stars

Sifting through over 13 million interactions and 6 million unique influencers for the many emerging and established companies we work with, our team at VizSense has identified the kings of Nordstrom’s coupons, the best location to prelaunch a niche indie film and more. Twitter is one of the many platforms that we use, and more importantly, these industries use to get their message/endorsement/opinions into the public square. With over 300 million users (not including the troves of bots), Twitter could easily step back and explore the many alternative ways to work with these communities and re-animate Twitter’s most prolific stars (I’ll save that for another post).

Jumpstart On-the-Ground Content

It’s no surprise people today expect everything in an instant—yes, that is even faster than a New York minute. With today’s thirst for news and information in real-time, many are glued to their phones and smart watches which can provide news feeds to alert users about the latest ISIS bombing or presidential primary results. This thirst gives Twitter a more fortified position and the opportunity to look beyond its “moments” feature into creating information nomads—a flock of on-the-ground, newsgathering “blue birds” that could migrate around a particular event and jump start the flow of real-time content.

Embrace its Role as a Bridge      

On any given day, brands, entertainers, and industry leaders are distributing their comments, opinions and favorite pictures across a wide spectrum of social media. Peer-based platforms like Facebook and Snapchat are for “friends” only, whereas Instagram and Twitter were designed to give an individual a public, global voice. While Twitter focuses on increasing its content features (video, Periscope, etc.), it should also investigate the central role it plays in using its global voice position to bridge social platforms. For example, we’ve seen Super Bowl ads that quickly captivated audiences on a large scale because a Tweet of a YouTube commercial link was shared on other social platforms. 

The Future is Organic

Brian Gregg, head of McKinsey’s consumer digital-excellence initiative said that “In three years, the millennial is going to be the highest-spending consumer in the U.S. Yet only 1% of millennials surveyed said that a compelling advertisement would make them trust a brand, while 43% of millennials rank authenticity over content when consuming news.” Brands that are able to discover, identify, and engage millennials and their friends, neighbors and fans will certainly better understand their consumers. These organic influencers are the most potent marketers in today’s landscape and will play an increasing role in driving consumer spend.

As the future of Twitter and its stock price sways with the pendulum of Park Avenue rhetoric, Twitter leadership should risk exploring disruptive revenue models that leverage the many facets of their existing user base, instead of creating new features hoping to lure in new users.   

To learn more about how VizSense is solving and simplifying the influencer marketing conundrum for today’s most visionary brands, corporations and agencies, contact us. We also urge you to download our free eBook, Making Sense of Influencer Engagement: The Essential Elements of a Successful Influencer Outreach Program or register for VizSense's Influencer Tradecraft Workshop where you can learn how to discover, understand and engage your most credible influencers.