It’s no secret that Twitter has been undergoing some major changes in recent times. And one more is on its way. As of April 15th, 2023, only tweets from Twitter Blue subscribers will be recommended in the “For You” tab. This is clearly a move to make Twitter’s subscription-based service more enticing to its users. But what does it mean for creators?
In this article, you’ll learn more about this change so you can decide, once and for all, if you want to sign up for Twitter Blue. Plus, some handy tips will help you stand out whether you choose to pay the monthly subscription fee or not. Let’s dive in!
As you may already know, there are two feeds you can access when exploring Twitter.
There’s the “For You” feed, which displays a mix of content. Here, you’ll find tweets from accounts you’re following and recommended content from other users. What you’re shown is based on Twitter’s algorithm, featuring trending content and posts based on your interests and activity. Then, there’s the “Following” feed, which only shows tweets from accounts you follow and displays them in chronological order.
One of the great things about the “For You” tab is it allows you to discover content from other users. You never know when you’ll come across something interesting! And as a creator, it’s beneficial to have your content shown here since it can expand your reach.
However, back in March, Elon Musk shared this would be changing. He stated that, as of April 15th, only verified accounts (such as Twitter Blue subscribers) will be eligible to be in the “For You” recommendations. You can see his tweet on the matter below.
Starting April 15th, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations.
The is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle.
Voting in polls will require verification for same reason.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 27, 2023
At the time of publishing this article, the change has yet to go into effect. And time will tell if it sticks! However, this means more of us will feel the push to become Twitter Blue subscribers if we want our content to be recommended to other users. In doing this, it creates more of a pay-to-play vibe where creators sometimes feel the push to spend to widen their audience.
Once this change goes into effect, it would be wise to monitor your analytics. Twitter has some great built-in analytics that will allow you to track changes over time. Pay attention to the data and see if your reach declines after April 15th. If there isn’t a change, don’t sweat it!
If your reach does show a decline, you could consider subscribing to Twitter Blue to see if that helps at all. But at the end of the day, you still need to focus on creating high-quality, valuable content. Even with a verified account, Twitter isn’t going to recommend low-quality content.
If you’re not interested in joining the ranks of Twitter Blue subscribers, that’s understandable! Luckily, you can still take some steps to improve your Twitter reach. This way, you won’t have to stress about subscriptions or algorithm changes quite as much.
If this has you feeling a little apprehensive about what your feed will look like moving forward, don’t worry just yet. You still have control over the content you’re seeing on Twitter. For one, you can choose to select the “Following” tab and see updates from those you follow in chronological order. However, you can take it one step further to minimize the noise.
Now is a fantastic time to begin creating Twitter lists if you haven’t already. This way, you can pick and choose who is on the specific lists you create. You can even make them private if you want! Then, you can focus on just the tweets from the accounts that matter the most to you.
Just because Twitter is a busy place doesn’t mean it always has to be like that. You can cut down on the noise and eliminate clutter in your field by curating lists that truly matter to you.
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