7 Reasons Why Twitter Isn’t Going Away Anytime Soon

We’ve been reading the reports for months…Twitter’s growth is slowing. In its latest State of the Twittersphere report, Hubspot noted that Twitter’s growth has slowed drastically to just 3.5% in October.

And of course there are those who believe this is the beginning of the end for Twitter. It’s no secret I’m a big fan of Twitter, and no surprise that I disagree with the doomsayers.

As Hubspot noted, Twitter’s growth dropped to just 3.5% in October 2009, down from a rather robust 13% in March 2009. But here are a few reasons I’m not concerned:

1. The rate of growth is still respectable. Despite a slowing in growth, a 3.5% rate would be considered pretty good for most applications. That huge 13% increase in March was nothing less than phenomenal. Fact is, it is still growing.

2. Users are more engaged. According to the Hubspot report, we’re seeing that the average Twitter user is more engaged than in the past. In other words, the average account now has more followers than before, is being followed by more people, and is Tweeting more often. What we’re seeing is fewer “newbies” coming on who sign up and disappear, leaving behind a dead account. There was a lot of that early on. The ratio of newcomers who are sticking with it as compared to those who dabble and leave, is beginning to even out. Twitter has moved past the “novelty” stage and those who sign up now are signing up for a reason.

3. Twitter keeps showing its usefulness. Most recently Twitter has been the star in both reporting on the situation in Haiti, as well as helping to raise money for the relief efforts. With each new major news event, Twitter is often first on the scene. As we learn new and interesting uses for the platform, more people will come on board. I suspect that when the numbers for January and February come out, we’ll see a bit of a spike in growth due to recent publicity.

4. Marketers will continue to notice. As Social Media becomes more mainstream in 2010, Twitter will become a part of an increasing number of fully-integrated marketing plans. More marketers and businesses are beginning to understand the value of Social Media, and Twitter will benefit from this. Marketers are also realizing how well Twitter works alongside Facebook, blogs, websites, and other online properties.

5. More high profile Tweeps. Last year we heard about Shaq, Oprah, and Ashton Kutcher. (Though we also saw the Twitter demise of Miley Cyrus.) Two days ago a guy by the name of Bill Gates joined Twitter, primarily, it seems, to promote his Gates Foundation. Word got out and he amassed more than 100,000 followers in just about 8 hours. As of this writing he has nearly 250,000 followers, despite only posting 8 tweets. (Just for fun, go to his Twitter page and keep refreshing it…and watch the number grow). As more high profile individuals join Twitter, it lends credibility to the service. Gates isn’t merely a celebrity. He is a larger than life businessman with a philanthropic heart. This resonates with us.

6. Cross-platform promotion is increasing. I’m seeing more commercials, print ads, and websites featuring their Twitter accounts rather prominently. News organizations and television programs are also utilizing the service more, keeping Twitter in the public eye.

7. Twitter and its API are evolving at a nice pace. The folks behind Twitter, and those creating third party applications keep pushing the platform forward in a healthy way. By the end of 2010 I think the Twitter experience will be quite a bit different than it is now. As new features and uses are found and added, it will make the service more attractive to more people.

Down the line, I think we will continue to see a steady, yet slow, growth of Twitter, with occasional spikes after major events and publicity. It isn’t for everyone, but we’ll see more people joining every day, and using it more often.

What are your thoughts on the future of Twitter?

Tagged as: Marketing, Social Media, Twitter