Twitter is now “X,” but this article is still relevant. If you’re frustrated with the direction Elon has taken this once-fun platform, keep reading!
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With Twitter entering chaos mode in the wake of Elon Musk’s purchase of the platform, many users are exiting (or thinking about it). If you’re considering such a shift in your social media efforts, here’s what you need to know about some of the top Twitter alternatives.
Why are people looking for alternatives to Twitter?
Since Musk bought and took over management of Twitter in October, 2022, the Twitterverse has gone through radical changes — from half the workforce being laid off to a major rise in hate speech and misinformation — that have riled many users.
As Jcurve’s social media pro Nicole Banchs put it, “With every update and policy change, people are losing hope for Twitter. A lot of them are hanging around for the memes and just to see what happens, but that, of course, takes away from focusing on anything else.”
Other lowlights from the last few months include:
After the layoff of half the former 7,500 employees, Musk issued an ultimatum to those remaining: commit to a “hardcore” work ethos or leave. Hundreds left.
Twitter rolled out a supposed account verification system in which anyone could purchase a “blue check” for $8 without any actual verification.
The platform suffered a significant outage in late December, furthering concerns about its reliability.
Janitorial staff were fired, allegedly without notice, causing trash and moldy takeout meals to pile up and forcing remaining employees to bring their own toilet paper to work. (TP makes the news again, yay.)
Celebrities have been leaving since last April, along with many non-famous people. MIT’s Bot Sentinel found that the platform lost over 1 million users in just the first week after Musk took over.
And The Guardian reported that market research agency Insider Intelligence has predicted Twitter will lose 32 million users in the next two years due to frustration with “technical issues and the proliferation of hateful or unsavoury content.’”
To be fair, some people are excited about some of the changes, praising Musk’s “free speech absolutism.” But if you’re ready to say “Bye” and Twitter has been one of your main social channels up until now, you might be wondering where else to make your home online. So…
What Are the Best Twitter Alternatives?
Glad you asked. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular platforms Twitter users might want to migrate to.
TikTok
TikTok is currently one of the most popular social media platforms due to the potential reach it offers users. You can create and share short videos with music, special effects, and other creative elements which have a higher chance of going viral than on other platforms.
TikTok was first known as a space to create content related to music, dance, and comedy, but many people and companies also use it for business promotion through education and personality-driven content. It has a broad user base, but it skews younger and female.
Our clients love TikTok, and so do we — check out our TikTok success course (coming soon)!
Says Nicole, “With TikTok, you have the ability to stand out, and it’s a lot easier than other platforms to find your niche. In our course, we’ll help you understand the algorithm, get started the right way, and film fun and fresh short video content.”
Pros and cons of migrating to TikTok
Pros
First, TikTok is known for its ability to help users create viral content, as its algorithms are designed to surface popular content.
The platform has gained a lot of popularity recently, especially among younger users, but it also supports business use. TikTok has over 1 billion active users, with people of all ages and from many different countries.
It has a wide range of features that allow users to be creative with their content, including music, special effects, and other creative elements. It also has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for users to create and share videos.
Cons
If you’re used to blasting out short, text-based Tweets, you may find it takes a little more effort to start posting videos. However, it’s not as hard as you might think, and we’re here to help! Here are a few examples to inspire you…
How to convert your tweets to TikTok
1. Mini music video
Take a quick video and just slap your words and music on top of it. Here’s an example from Jcurve’s Founder and CEO Kathryn Aragon.
2. Copycat method
There are new fun trending ideas on TikTok every day. For example, one recent trend was to list out the four biggest mistakes you’ve made in your area of expertise.
3. Talk to the camera
The simplest way to adapt your tweet to TikTok is to simply hit record and talk.
Instagram is a photo- and video-sharing social media platform. It allows users to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters, and share them on their profile or with their followers. Most people add text-based captions and hashtags to their posts.
You can also share “stories,” short-form videos that disappear after 24 hours, and “reels,” which are more permanent. Instagram is known for its focus on visual content and has a broad and active user base.
Says Nicole, “Instagram’s organic reach isn’t as good as TikTok’s, but it’s great if you want to build a strong community. Instagram is built for each individual user. So if you can make content that your audience LOVES and keeps clicking on, Instagram will make sure your content will always be at the top of their homepage.”
Pros and cons of migrating to Instagram
Pros
Instagram has a large and active user base, with roughly 1.5 billion monthly active users, around three times as many as Twitter.
Instagram is known for having high levels of engagement, with users often commenting, liking, and sharing each other’s content. This can make it a good platform for building a community and interacting with your followers.
Instagram also has a wide range of features that help users be creative with their content.
Cons
First, it’s owned by Facebook’s parent company Meta, which is a turn-off for some people.
Second, there are a lot of features to understand.
Says Nicole, “Regular posts and stories are only for your followers, and even then not all of them are seeing your stuff — just the ones who click on you the most. It’s like a little popularity contest among your followers. For outreach to new people, you need to use Reels.”
How to convert your tweets to Instagram
A great way to make attractive Instagram posts is to use free templates on Canva.com. “Canva has so many beautiful templates, you can just slap your words on and go. Of course, you can also just share your own photos and then use your Tweet for the caption.”
Here are a couple of examples to inspire you.
Note that Instagram seems to be modeling its reels feature after TikTok, so you can use similar strategies, which makes sharing content across platforms a lot easier.
LinkedIn is designed for business connections and professional networking, but it has evolved somewhat to encompass more personal usage as well. It has an estimated 875 million users with 310 million of those active, and its user base skews older and more highly educated.
Pros and cons of migrating to LinkedIn
Pros
Because LinkedIn is designed primarily for text-based posts, it’s an easy transition from Twitter. It’s also a great platform for business purposes, yet it’s not as rigidly formal as it used to be.
Cons
You have more limited reach on LinkedIn because you have to make “connections” for people to see your content.
How to convert your tweets to LinkedIn
You can post anything on LinkedIn that you could on Twitter because it’s text-based. That said, the main strategic difference is that you need to make “connections” with people.
You can start by letting LinkedIn find your contacts or suggest people you might know. Then branch out to look for specific people or types of people you want to connect with. Start engaging with their posts, or just go ahead and send a request to connect.
Mastodon
Mastodon is an open-source social media platform designed to be similar to Twitter. Users can post short messages called “toots” and follow other users to see their toots in their timeline.
Mastodon is decentralized, meaning it’s not controlled by a single company or organization. Instead, it’s made up of a network of servers operated by different organizations and individuals.
Users choose which server they want to join and create their own rules and policies for their community.
Mastodon is available as a website and as a mobile app. It is a relatively new platform and has a smaller user base compared to some other social media platforms.
Pros and cons of migrating to Mastodon
Pros
Mastodon is probably the most Twitter-like alternative you’ll find.
Because Mastodon is open-source and decentralized, people see it as an alternative to mainstream platforms that gives more control over their online privacy and data.
Cons
Mastodon has a much smaller user base than mainstream platforms, so your reach is more limited.
Because it’s made up of multiple servers, there are some limitations on how, and how much, you can connect with people across the entire network.
Mastodon’s decentralized nature also makes it a little more confusing to get started with. The main difference from other platforms is that you have to choose which server you want to make your account on.
Lastly, there’s an issue with fake accounts being created, but that’s hardly limited to Mastodon.
How to convert your tweets to Mastodon
Once you’re set up on Mastodon, you can “toot” just like you would “tweet.” The main difference is that the server you make your account on may have certain content rules you have to follow, so make sure you’re aware of those. Otherwise, toot away!
Reddit is a social media platform organized around topics called “subreddits.” Users can subscribe to subreddits of interest to them and participate in discussions by posting comments, text, links, and other content. It’s known for its diverse and active community of users who engage in a wide range of discussions.
It’s a relatively open platform, with few restrictions on the types of content that can be shared, which has led to a diverse and sometimes controversial culture.
Pros and cons of migrating to Reddit
Pros
Reddit’s user-base size is on par with Twitter’s and is equally diverse. It’s also a primarily text-based platform, making it an easy switch.
Another plus is that being organized around subreddits rather than individuals can give users more of a community experience.
Cons
Reddit has some distinct differences from Twitter and other social platforms that new users will have to adjust to (although once you get used to them, you may come to love them).
First is the subreddit structure, which means your posts are limited in reach to whichever subreddit you’re posting in.
Next, Reddit allows users to upvote or downvote content to show whether they like it or not. This helps push the most popular or relevant content in a subreddit to the top.
Another difference is that Reddit allows users to participate anonymously, whereas Twitter and many other platforms require users to use their real name or a pseudonym associated with their real identity (at least, in theory).
Reddit allows subreddit communities to self-moderate and set their own rules and policies. This means that each subreddit can have its own culture and standards for behavior. Twitter has a centralized moderation system and a set of rules that apply to all users.
How to convert your tweets to Reddit
You can post text just like on Twitter, but you can also make longer posts. The key difference is you have to select which subreddit to post to.
Keep in mind that each subreddit has its own rules, so be sure to read and follow them to avoid having your post removed, your account banned, or incurring the wrath of your fellow Redditors.
Facebook is still by far the largest social network on the planet. In recent years, it has been falling out of favor with many users concerned about privacy and misinformation. Its active user base skews older, with younger generations seeing it as gramma’s social media.
Pros and cons of migrating to Facebook
Pros
With roughly three billion users, most people have some familiarity with Facebook. It’s also built for text-based posting, so it’s an easy switch from Twitter.
Note: If you’re an Instagram user, you can link your accounts and automatically share your Instagram posts, reels, and stories on your Facebook profile or business page.
If you’re looking for local connections, Facebook’s Events feature can clue you in to all kinds of interesting groups and happenings in your area.
Cons
As with Instagram, you’re in Meta territory, which some find distasteful. However, that perception may be shifting as Twitter continues its, um, transformation.
Younger generations see it as outdated and on the decline, especially for business uses.
Says Nicole, “I think for businesses, Facebook is dying. People are clinging for dear life, and companies are still pouring money into ads, but looking at the analytics, they’re not getting much out of it.”
How to convert your tweets to Facebook
On Facebook, you can post text just like on Twitter, but you can make longer posts, turn your posts into graphics, and create stories. You can also adjust privacy settings to control who can see your posts.
With Facebook, you can create a page or group for your business to post to a more targeted audience and bring people together around your area of expertise.
How to Connect on a New Social Media Platform
Whichever social media platform you choose as a Twitter alternative, here are a few tips for success.
1. Search for hashtags or your favorite topics to find your community or audience.
2. Once you find groups, subreddits, or other communities, observe what others are doing and learn the culture.
3. Add value. Share your insights, educate people in your areas of expertise, and try to provide some entertainment as well.
Protect Your Content and Your Business
Social media platforms change and die. Don’t rely on any single one for your marketing or business. Social media plays a huge role in any well-rounded content marketing strategy, but you need to diversify your platforms through proper content distribution.
Find and connect with your audience in multiple places so if one of them goes away, you’ll still be able to reach them.
Need help with your content strategy, production, or distribution? Request a consult.