How Twitter’s New Conversation Dynamics Will Affect Your Brand

The way conversations work on Twitter is about to change. This year at CES, Twitter announced some experimental changes affecting tweet threads that we could be seeing as soon as the first quarter of 2020. Users will soon notice a new option for controlling the number of conversation participants on the compose screen: Global (anyone can reply), Group (people the user follows and mentions), Panel (people specifically mentioned in the tweet), and Statement (no replies).

This new feature is an adaptation to combat the constantly increasing problem of cyberbullying that many users face when a tweet reaches beyond the intended audience. It is a step beyond Twitter’s new ability to hide replies, introduced in November 2019, and seems to be a happy medium between unlimited public reach and highly-monitored private groups, as seen on Facebook.

In the age of fake news, many users are concerned about how this could affect the spread of misinformation and make it easier than ever to silence criticism. Twitter has acknowledged the potential for exploitation and plans on monitoring for abuse during this experimental phase.

While this change could undoubtedly limit brand visibility on Twitter, it will likely result in mostly positive engagement from followers and fans of a brand. As we’ve said before, the quality of followers is far more valuable than the quantity. A smaller group of highly engaged, enthusiastic fans is a better advocate for your brand than a large group of silent social media lurkers. Limiting reach on certain tweets creates a sense of exclusivity, as well as a safe space for your followers to chat without the abuse and harassment often seen with wide-reaching content, while still being available for genuinely interested parties to view the thread and potentially join in the conversation.

To learn more about getting your message to the right audience on Twitter, click here, or up your whole Twitter game here with our list of best practices. Need help revamping your Twitter strategy? Get in contact here!



Ignite Social Media