Twitter : Still ‘just setting up’ its corporate channels?
Andrew Rigby
Sixteen years after Jack Dorsey tweeted ‘just setting up my twttr’, the company relies on the platform itself and press release distribution services to communicate news about Elon Musk’s takeover
The feature
Twitter communicated its proposed takeover by Elon Musk via the PR Newswire press release distribution service. Various company executives tweeted links to it too, such as the chairman Bret Taylor.
Twitter offers no conventional corporate newsroom or media section via its company site, so there is no obvious destination on Twitter’s own corporate platforms for those who want to see the release.
There is an Investor Relations site, but even this does not include the release in its ‘Financial Releases’ section. There is a separate ‘Blog directory’, with a ‘Company’ blog area, and yet another separate Investors blog – but there is no sign of anything about the takeover on those either.
None of the above sites are clearly signposted from the Twitter platform, and the Investors site is especially hard to find as it is only promoted in the footer of the company site.
The takeaway
Those wishing to find out about the terms of the takeover, or its latest status, will have a very tough time.
This may not be just the media – there are much bigger potential audiences here, including anyone who uses the Twitter platform, and jobseekers wondering what the future of the company is.
Only carrying press releases on a third-party service is therefore a reputational risk, and one which is deepened by the fragmentation of the estate and poor signposting between corporate microsites.
Using Tweets from senior figures as the main means of letting wider audiences know about significant company news may be ‘on ‘brand’ but it will not be helpful to many of them.
It all undermines the messages about transparency and a purpose to ‘serve public conversation’ that feature on the Twitter company site.
Note: This article was written prior to Elon Musk’s attempt to pull out of the deal, and Twitter’s refusal to accept the withdrawal. The company has continued to issue tweets from senior executives and press releases via newswire, rather than using its corporate channels.
