Twitter Blue Pioneering Social Media Subscriptions in the World
Yesterday, Twitter announced its latest effort to reimagine the social media game: Twitter Blue, a paid subscription. This latest offering from the global remote-based social media goliath presents the brand with a fresh way to generate revenue from its still-expanding user base.
In fact, from 2017 to 2020, Twitter’s roster of global social media users leapt up 6.9%. This is in spite of stiff competition from the similarly growing Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, and the latest young gun, TikTok.
But how does Twitter Blue change the game for the company.
Twitter Blue Price Point
“They say the best vampires don't bleed their victims dry, but give them the strength so that they can bounce back only to be fed on again.” — Dwight Schrute, The Office
3.49 CAD or $4.49 AUD. This translates to approximately 2.89 USD. When we see this price point, we can't help but think of that quote from "The Office.
But at this price point, Twitter Blue falls towards the very bottom of the 21.52% of companies in the online membership space that charge between $1.00 and $14.00 per month.
However, societal shifts show that this is increasingly becoming the norm in the digital and streaming industries that see almost constant new competition. One specific example is the online streaming space. In 2021, there are an overabundance of streaming services. Here are just a handful of them.
1. HBO Max ($9.99 per month)
2. Netflix ($8.99 per month)
3. Disney Plus ($6.99 per month)
4. Hulu ($5.99 per month)
5. Sling TV ($35 per month)
6. Amazon Prime Video ($119 per year)
7. Fubo TV ($64.99 per month)
8. Crackle (free)
If a user were to pay for all of these services (though it’s unlikely), they would be paying well over $1,500.00 annually. This doesn’t even include add-on services (like ESPN), premium variations, or newer streaming options from network televisions, such as Peacock.
The Tyranny of Small Decisions
But many consumers aren’t viewing these decisions holistically. They’re weighing each individual transaction. Telling someone to give you $100.00 per year is quite different than telling them to pay $10.00 per month.
After all, a cup of coffee can easily exceed that price in 2021. However, now we’ve created an environment reminiscent of what Alfred E. Kahn wrote about in his 1966 essay, “The Tyranny of Small Decisions“. In it, he dissects how tiny, seemingly insignificant choices can funnel down into bigger, unintended, and potentially negative consequences.
So, instead of spending a couple hundred dollars each month of cable and “premium packages”, people are now opting to dedicate incremental amounts to a wide array of offerings.
This will inevitably lead to one of two realities:
People will eventually be spending much more on content than they did originally on cable.
People will selectively choose their go-to online streaming preferences, leading to many streaming juggernauts falling to the wayside, either via bankruptcy, acquisition, or both.
Twitter Blue’s Opportunity
So, what does this have to do with Twitter Blue?
Twitter Blue is now preemptively the latest digital offering in the content market. It will need a strong business model to hold up against alternatives. Because regardless of whether or not there are other paid social media offerings (and there will undoubtedly be), every day individuals are always going to be doing minor arithmetic on their BATNA, or their best alternative to a negotiated agreement.
In essence, they’ll be asking themselves, “Is this my best option?“ And if not, “What is?”
The Business Model of Twitter Blue
Like many businesses, Twitter is jumping on the paid subscription bandwagon with its Twitter Blue offering.
But does this make sense?
Kicking off the Twitter Blue’s ascent into global relevance, the company launched the effort in Canada and Australia. In Twitter’s official blog, the brand highlighted key features.
Bookmark Folders
Want an easy way to better organize your saved content? Bookmark Folders let you organize the Tweets you’ve saved by letting you manage content so when you need it, you can find it easily and efficiently.
Essentially, the Twitter Blue Bookmark Folders acts as an organizational tool for the platforms users. The issue with a feature like this is the sort of tool that social media companies like Facebook would have introduced for free.
Since Facebook launched its business back in 2004, it ran off a “move fast and break things” mantra. While this approach ultimately led to Facebook’s repetitive public relations nightmares (i.e., election hacks, selling user data, etc.), it has also contributed to the platform’s focus on continuous improvement.
While helpful, the Bookmark Folders feature doesn’t seem ground-breaking in 2021.
Undo Tweet
Typo? Forgot to tag someone? Preview and revise your Tweet before it goes live. With Undo Tweet, you can set a customizable timer of up to 30 seconds to click ‘Undo’ before the Tweet, reply, or thread you’ve sent posts to your timeline. Correct mistakes easily by previewing what your Tweet will look like before the world can see it.
This is a feature that matters more for celebrities and those with a large public reputation than the average, everyday Twitter user. In a world, where many public figures are rightfully scrutinized for tone-deaf, racist, and blatantly nonsensical comments, many could probably use a tool that helps them avoid an unnecessary public relations outbreak.
But, again, this is not a ground-breaking feature.
Social Media Undo & Deletion
Platforms like Gmail have had undo features for a very long time. And it’s free. While we’ve used this feature in instances of catching that last-minute typo, this is very far from a reoccurring necessity. In addition, the Gmail’s feature has a timer reminiscent of what Twitter promises with Twitter Blue.
However, how many of us are going to take the initiative to set it far back enough? After all, it’s not like people set out to make mistakes with their content. And the coronavirus pandemic is a full reflection of how many react after the fact, whether it be in business or other aspects of life, instead of preparing well ahead of time.
Similarly, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok all have features that allow users to delete and/or undo messages sent via chat. And, yes, they’re complimentary.
But let’s say these platforms didn’t have a solution like this in place? Then what?
We'll, a user could always delete the tweet…
Just to reiterate, the average Twitter user is not the person who needs this feature. This is more so for celebrities and politicians who are held under a much greater microscope.
Reader Mode
Reader Mode provides a more beautiful reading experience by getting rid of the noise. We are making it easier for you to keep up with long threads on Twitter by turning them into easy-to-read text so you can read all the latest content seamlessly.
Admittedly, this is the most beneficial feature of Twitter Blue. User experience and design is increasingly important in 2021 as the Digital Age sets out in full swing. Here are just a few statistics on user experience and design.
88% of users are less likely to return to a website after a bad user experience.
39% will stop engaging with content when the images won’t load, or the loading time takes too long.
Brands have a very short amount of time to make a strong first impression. Visual appeal can be assessed in about 50 milliseconds.
Website design is critical. 42% of online shoppers base their opinion of a website based on the overall design alone, and 52% of shoppers will not return if the overall aesthetics are not up to par.
Social media platforms already have this capability. If a user logs into Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook, the content is written in one steady stream because of the nature of the platform.
However, Twitter may view this as being revolutionary for them because of its roots. For the unacquainted, developers initially designed Twitter as a micro-blogging platform, hence the character limit. Users could share their thoughts in brief blurbs as opposed to paragraphs of text, which was available on Facebook.
While having the option to view text in one readable stream makes sense, it’s only revolutionary for Twitter, not the rest of the world, which has been long accustomed to mobile-friendly technology. And again, other platforms offered this feature for free.
Other Features
Subscribers will also get access to perks, such as customizable app icons for their device’s home screen and fun color themes for their Twitter app, and will have access to dedicated subscription customer support.
There is a lot to unpack with the “other category”. While it’s refreshing to see a social media platform offer additional customizability with their features, it falls in line with the gamification of social media. And that’s okay. Twitter should be trying to make the experience fun for its users.
Although anyone with an Android device, knows that customizable app icons are widely available, and most likely with more unique offerings than what Twitter Blue probably has, at least while the venture is in its infancy.
For instance, does Twitter Blue have an app icon pack designed to look like Batman fonts and color schemes? We think not.
With the fun color themes for the platform itself, is this a feature that will make or break the experience. Odds are, it won’t, but options are always nice.
And lastly, the subscription customer support. Social media platforms are universally known for their weak customer service approaches. When a platform hosts billions of users (and counting), it has to be challenging to meet all of their needs. The only issue is that you would need a subscription to Twitter Blue to capitalize on this approach.
Potential Pitfalls of Twitter Blue
Advertising in the Digital Space
Social media, similar to streaming, is about ease of use and exclusive content.
Twitter could force its users down this rabbit hole by making the free experience unbearable (i.e., social media advertising). However, 65% of people choose to skip online videos ads. When they do so, this naturally minimizes the success of an advertising campaign, especially if they’re quite lengthy. Having a skippable ad feature hurts the opportunity for companies and advertisers globally.
So, what if the advertising is designed to be unskippable?
Enter Hulu.
For those who have used the platform, Hulu’s ads are notoriously unskippable at the entry-level subscription. For us, personally, we found them so irritating that we went ahead and bumped the subscription (though many programs still feature ads).
That said, Hulu’s advertising revenue continues to climb exponentially. In fact, from 2019 through the 2022 forecast, Hulu ad revenue is expected to nearly double, reaching $3.1 billion annually.
However, Hulu is a streaming service. The user goal is to simply watch content, not engage with it. On the other hand, Twitter is a social media platform, built off connectivity, communication, and continuous interaction.
Would creating unskippable ads turn off users?
Quite possibly.
Twitter Brand Loyalty
Whereas streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu have access to exclusive content and shows that thrive off nostalgia and diehard fanbases, Twitter doesn’t have anywhere near the brand loyalty at the individual user level. But when the company is viewed holistically, it just might.
In 2019, Twitter’s brand loyalty rose propelling it to 11th place from 23rd globally. Meanwhile, Facebook saw a massive plummet from 8th place to 24th. Overall, brand loyalty is a keen predicter for long-term brand success. In continually saturated marketplaces, brand loyalty is liquid gold.
Twitter Blue’s Prospects
While Twitter continually tests new features, the initial offering of Twitter Blue feels extremely limited for a paid monthly subscription. However, Twitter continues to drive increasing revenue annually.
In 2020, Twitter brought in $3.72 billion in revenue, up 7.5% from 2019’s $3.459 billion. However, Twitter’s primary revenue streams fall under one of two categories:
Advertising revenue
Data Licensing
With the latter of which becoming more problematic as the global population increasingly learns of the perils surrounding data, Twitter Blue may be an attempt to create a new revenue stream. Whether or not Twitter Blue is actually a game-changer, remains to be seen.
Navigating Twitter and the social media landscape is challenging. As platforms and companies jockey for dominance, standing out from the pack is a demanding initiative.
Fortunately, businesses don’t have to go it alone, and everyday Rizzo Young Marketing LLC works to make the process a little bit easier.
Schedule an Intro Conversation with the social media marketing team to see how.