Mar 23, 22 | 3 min read
twitter feed algorithm
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After receiving several criticisms from its users, Twitter decided to take a step back and listen to them. According to its own statement , "they moved the timeline backwards and removed the tabbed experience," where the user could previously find the algorithmic feed.
Since 2016 , Twitter has been trying to create an algorithmic feed, and in October 2021, it made the biggest change to achieve this goal: it created a feed with only Tweet suggestions based on the algorithm , instead of the old, but cool, chronological feed, which used to show us the latest Tweets from the people we follow .
As you can imagine, this change was not well received by users. The algorithmic feed ended up filling our timeline with tweets on the same topic, from people we don't necessarily follow.
During the Super Bowl, for example, you'd only read about the Super Bowl. Ok, that might be great if you're a Super Bowl fan, but what if you actually like using Twitter to find out what else is going on?
Lessons you, as a marketer, can learn from Twitter's decision
The biggest lesson Twitter has taught marketers is the importance of listening to our audience .
Maybe a cool, innovative idea isn't what trinidad and tobago email list your customer wants, and it's okay to be humble and take a step back when necessary. After all, your customer will be the one using your product or service, so everything needs to make sense for their real needs .
It seems pretty obvious, right? But that's not what always happens. While Twitter is making an important decision due to listening to its audience, this isn't always the case on other social platforms. TikTok just introduced 10-minute videos to compete with YouTube , but creators are having second thoughts about the update.
Ok, it's not that bad. But it might seem like TikTok is pushing some updates just to be more competitive with other platforms, and not because they are actually willing to listen to their users and make decisions to improve their experience.
And what content tips can marketers get?
After Twitter gave us this insight into customer centricity, we as marketers can take inspiration and try to apply some of these insights into our daily routine.
As a die-hard Twitter user since 2009, I can guarantee three main things:
We like to be heard. Well, who doesn't, right? So try to put your client at the centre of your decisions and don't hesitate to take a step back if you feel your decision wasn't the best one at the time.
We call for interaction and conversation with brands. Not just on Twitter but on social media in general. We want the sense of human touch, not just ads popping up everywhere.
Last but not least, we like to do stuff together on Twitter . It may sound a bit strange, I know, but in 2015, Game of Thrones was the most talked about TV show on Twitter , because everyone wanted to not only watch it, but also discuss it with other people.
We really love the sense of community that Twitter allows for, and this can be a great way to try and successfully position your brand on this platform – starting or joining a conversation that your audience would love to be a part of.
It's exciting to hear and learn about more cases like this, where the company really puts the customer at the center of any decision. Twitter is a great case study regarding customer centricity, but we are sure that this will happen more often and that this is the right path for us from now on: building brands together with the customer, in a two-way street .
