Is Twitter Still a Competitive Social Site?

If you were looking to improve your engagement on social media five years ago, you would have been told to do the majority of your marketing on Facebook and Twitter. Today, Twitter is still a prominent outlet, but it’s been displaced as one of the top social platforms by Instagram and other up-and-coming social sites.

You might have wondered: Is Twitter on its way out as other social media sites grow?

The answer to that question isn’t “no,” but it’s not exactly yes either. A lot of factors go into answering this complicated question.

Twitter’s Lost Popularity

At one point, Twitter was the second leading social media platform after Facebook. However, once Twitter reached 300 million daily active users, it plateaued around that figure while Facebook continued to grow and reached 1 billion daily active users and beyond.

Since then, Twitter has been surpassed by other sites as they gained in popularity. Both Snapchat and Instagram have outperformed Twitter in total daily active users, and their numbers continue to rise.

Instagram is currently the fastest-growing social media platform, which was a distinction Twitter enjoyed only a few years back.

Twitter Stocks Are Dropping in Value

Recent analyst reports show that Twitter’s shares have been falling fairly rapidly. They recently suffered a three-day losing streak after the company made two separate decisions that were more in favor of the bull than the bear. During that time, Twitter stocks dropped 11.5 percent per share and since then, they’ve gained only 2.5 percent.

A large factor in the rapid decline was the company’s split decision to sell its operations or forge ahead and try to revive the platform. At the current time, Twitter is reportedly trying to team up with Salesforce to expand its business niche and return some life to the network.

But until a decision is made, it’s entirely possible that Twitter stocks will continue to lose value. Both Twitter and Salesforce have declined to comment on the possible merger and what that would involve for both companies, so consumers have been left to speculate on whether Twitter still has the juice to re-experience big growth in the social world in the future.

Twitter Still Has Its Uses

Despite Twitter’s fairly stagnant performance in recent months, the site is not a lost cause just yet. It doesn’t look as healthy as Facebook and Instagram, but many other social networks are toddling along with fewer than one million users. Compared to them, Twitter still stands tall.

Millions of consumers continue to use Twitter to engage with companies and friends. It’s a great way to share quick bursts and catch up on news.

Almost imperceptibly, though, it’s transformed into a business platform. Twitter is still a powerful social source for marketing and connecting with customers. Companies of all sizes can generate followers with whom they can share news posts, exciting tidbits, niche-specific comments, and more.

Small companies, such as this consulting business run by Sam Ovens in New York City, have been using Twitter to network and grow a bigger following. By maintaining a constant online presence and attracting engagement from followers old and new, a company can use Twitter to maximize its business presence and network with other firms and individuals who are on a similar journey.

Twitter isn’t really listening to the cries of consumers anymore. It’s become more focused on the business end of things, and if the platform is serious about surviving, it might as well be more open about appealing to businesses in general.

An alliance with Salesforce could be an extremely smart move for Twitter. The merger could make the venerable social platform even more business-friendly and increase the likelihood of growth for both companies.

Melissa Thompson writes about a wide range of topics, revealing interesting things we didn’t know before. She is a freelance USA Today producer, and a Technorati contributor.