For years, many people have been found posting about the numerous crazy things we see on Twitter. From wild stories to posts with thousands of likes, most tend to say one thing: How is this site free?
Well, from now on, it might not be. The head honchos at Twitter have clearly heard the commentary, and have decided to act on that – from now on, Twitter will include a feature known as Super Follows. While it might sound like something a child came up with, the actual use of the process is pretty smart. For those who maybe want to stop their Twitter from being hard to monetize, Super Follows allows for the provision of exclusive content only to those willing to pay for access.
Now, any tweet you send could be sent to everyone. Or it could be sent to Super Followers specifically. The choice is yours entirely, and it means that users can determine just how exclusive they want to be. For those with big followings who wish they could turn those Twitter impressions into pounds, though, the opportunity now exists.
The process is likely to be kicked into action some time in the near future in full, but the company has been showing off its latest toy in recent press moves. The company has so far made one reason for making this change, though; by 2023, they want to have doubled their incoming revenue. As such, the company sees the chance to make more money on advertising and through the Super Follow system as a way to help them bridge the financial gap between Twitter and some other social media behemoths.
Is Super Follow the right move for Twitter?
Naturally, you don’t need to look too far to find people calling Twitter ‘vultures’ and all manner of other names. However, if you thought that social media companies wouldn’t be looking for ways to increase their income, you haven’t been paying attention. One thing to note is that in the example, an account was shown to have a Super Follow rate of $5/month. So, in essence, it’s going to be like having a Patreon page – you can ask people to pay $X/month, and then rely on that as a form of income.
Given many people have Twitter accounts that go into the thousands, even millions, of followers, it makes sense they might want to cash in on their obvious fame. In a way, it might actually make tweets seem a bit less advertising-friendly. Why? Because when the tweets are exclusive to an audience who is paying, the begging bowl does not have to be shaken around quite as much.
So, this might actually go some way to making Twitter feel less like a place where individuals are shilling. There’s a lot of discussions to be had about the rights and wrongs of such a move. For now, though, the one thing we know for sure is that this is happening, and it won’t be long until the features are rolled out in full.