Most consumers are aware that Elon Musk recently purchased the social media platform Twitter. Internet opinion on this action is incredibly split. Some see it as a strategic and necessary takeover of a platform that was losing money. Others see it as yet another monopolistic consolidation of our current media environment. While we won’t dive into the validity of either opinion, what we wanted to do today was talk about alternatives for Twitter.
The facts are simple: Twitter activity has significantly increased, as more users want to see the drama unfold. Likewise, many Twitter users are deleting their accounts, looking at alternatives for Twitter whether due to personal or professional reasons.
What made Twitter unique?
If you want to compare social media to the restaurant industry, it would look something like this:
- Facebook is your chain family restaurant;
- Instagram is your fast casual establishment;
- LinkedIn is your business lunch café;
- Twitter was your fast food restaurant.
All of these provide value to their target audience. And that’s what made Twitter unique: its target audience was looking for something fast, snappy, and easy to digest.
If Twitter were to collapse, where would its audience go for the same experience?
Option 1: Mastadon
As of this publication (November 2022), Mastadon appears to be emerging as the leading alternative for Twitter. For those flocking to Mastadon, they advocate its decentralized network. It can be difficult to setup, but promotes that the content you select to see is what you will see. In other words, no algorithms to choose your feed for you.
Option 2: Reddit
Reddit has been around for a long time, first launching in 2005. It has what can best be described as an “old school message board” style setup. If there is a primary reason to choose Reddit, it would be the community-like focus that most Twitter users felt from following their favorite brands.
Option 3: Hive Social
Hive social began to make the rounds in the early days of the pandemic in response to perceived bias within the current platform. Visually, it might remind you of Instagram though like Mastadon it advertises an algorithm-free experience.
Option 4: Discord
If you’re a fan of Twitter’s constant barrage of information, Discord may be the alternative you’re looking for. Like Reddit, it’s community-focused with an emphasis on real-time communication. There’s a Discord for almost anything, and the platform has gained considerable traction over the past several years within the gaming community.
Option 5: Parler
Parler is yet another platform that grew in popularity during the early months of the pandemic. Its focus is on providing an experience in contrast to what was perceived as the stifling of free speech. Though different from Twitter, it may provide an experience closer to what you’re looking for within social media.
Other alternatives for Twitter
The reality is there are many other options out there, and what is right for one business might not be right for the other. It’s helpful to sit down with an expert and go over your business needs, your customer base, and how you envision a Twitter-less marketing strategy.
It’s also entirely possible that a year from now we’ll all look back on the worry of losing Twitter as an unfounded concern. Our advice is to stay flexible: be prepared for possibilities, and willing to adapt if necessary. That’s been the basis of social media marketing since the MySpace days, and will continue to be so for a long while to come.
