#TwitterForAgency: How businesses can leverage the Twitter advantage

Twitter has been around for sixteen years and, in the tech industry, that is quite a remarkable case of longevity.

As a micro-blogging facility where, through short and mostly text-based posts called “tweets,” Twitter has become the venue for news to erupt and go viral and for movements to take root and spread.

While other social media platforms may dominate, in terms of user base or ability to create curated content, Twitter, with a global audience of 237.8 million users as of Q2 2022, has owned the space for “what is happening and what people are talking about right now.” Twitter is where people go to get the on-dits on sports, music, entertainment, technology, gaming, business and cultural changes, among others.

This presents various possibilities that brands can leverage to boost their digital presence and drive their businesses.

Recently, representatives from Twitter’s Asia-Pacific offices and its exclusive Philippine reseller Entravision MediaDonuts gathered its clientele and agency partners for its first in-person event after more than two years.

Held at the Enderrun Tent last September 29, the event titled “#TwitterforAgency” gave the attendees a sneak peek into what’s next for Twitter: from its product roadmap focusing on solutions that drive purchase, emerging trends and conversations that can shape the future for this platform as well as creative executions that can tap communities and conversations to grow their business.

Together with my marketing teammates from SKY, I attended this event to gain some insights on how to leverage Twitter for our company and the brands we carry.

Some of my key takeaways from this learning session include:

• Twitter is the platform to launch something new and connect with what’s happening. Given its unique position to capture what is current and what drives conversations, Twitter’s audiences are likely among the first to try out new products.
• People visit other social media platforms for who they know, people visit Twitter for what they care and are passionate about. On this platform, people are leaning into their passions: they buy, try and share their experiences in real-time.

• Twitter audiences are seen to be broad – have diverse interests, affluent – have significant purchasing power, and growing – mostly young (72% between the ages of 16 and 34) with more joining the platform everyday.
• To succeed on Twitter, you must harness the influence of communities. Communities form public and real-time conversations about topics that people are passionate about. Some of the fast-growing communities on Twitter include gaming, food, music, beauty and finance. Users in these communities tweet at least three times more than the average Twitter user, driving a lot of the conversations. Brands are also seen as part of these communities and of users’ enjoyment of the platform.

Wondering what people on Twitter are talking about and how you can ride on these conversations? Here are today’s Twitter trends that can become tomorrow’s big movements:

• The Great Restoration which encompasses a heightened focus on one’s well-being as well as a growing appreciation for the environment. Rewilding or “getting back to nature” is seen as a way of coping with anxieties from external factors such as politics and the global healthcare crisis. People are looking for changes in their home and community environments sparking demand for livable cities where there are green spaces and where people can rebuild lost connections and feel at peace with nature. Conversations are also seen to be leading towards topics involving self-reflection, mutual support, green spaces, outdoor exercise, nature photography and forest bathing.
• The Force of Fandoms which shows how pop culture topics drive conversations among passionate fans of music, TV and movie personalities, who are no longer content sitting on the sidelines but are actively finding their tribes online for support and friendship.
• Finance Goes Social which is marked by the democratization of finance-related conversations, among both finance experts and non-professionals. More people are talking about money: how to make it and spend it.

Global leading PR firm Ogilvy & Mather stated “With over 500 million tweets a day, Twitter is the world’s largest focused group.”

By listening, learning from and joining Twitter conversations, brands can bring their attributes to light and get people to talk about them.

Many thanks to Entravision MediaDonuts and Twitter for this very enlightening learning session.