From Threads to the X Platform: What Associations Should Know

Since the late 2000s, social media—and in turn, digital marketing—seems to be developing at a breakneck pace. It can be challenging for individuals outside of marketing to stay up-to-date with the sheer number of developments, so I've selected three of the top marketing news topics that association leaders should make note of. 

Twitter/X

As you may have heard, Twitter owner and CTO Elon Musk renamed the company "X," and placed the logo where the Twitter bird formerly resided. (We use both Twitter and X interchangeably when referring to the platform). Much has been written about this decision, but for now, associations should be monitoring any embedded Twitter feeds that are on its website, as many are reporting this functionality is no longer working due to changes to Twitter's terms and conditions. No current fix is available. Monitor the developing story via the Twitter Developer Community. 

Threads

Meta's response to Twitter's recent changes has been a new platform, simply called "Threads." Many brands have flocked to Threads to take advantage of the uncharted territory and the initial fury has seemed to slow. That said, Threads will remain a place to watch moving forward, as its initial success indicates it may have staying power. I always advocate for careful consideration before adding a new platform to your marketing channels. In the meantime, keep up with Threads by joining as an individual to get a feel for the platform and its users. 

Open rates are out

With the recent changes to many privacy laws and platforms' responses to these laws, open rates are no longer comparable apples-to-apples as they once were. In short, how Apple calculates open rates and how Microsoft Outlook calculates open rates are very different, so your email platform may be making adjustments to how it presents the data back to you. Interested in learning more? MarTech.org has a helpful guide, including other key performance indicators (KPIs) that you can include in your reporting instead. 

In this rapidly changing digital landscape, association leaders should stay informed about these developments and consider their potential impact on marketing strategies. Adapting to new platforms, monitoring changes in established ones, and reevaluating KPIs are all important steps to ensure effective and relevant marketing efforts.

Laura Ludka is in Corporate Marketing at Smithbucklin.