New CEO of Twitter, Linda Yaccarino arrived with the mission to “save” the social network and attract advertisers. A veteran in the advertising sector, she has a profile very focused on the digital market and knowledge in sales.
As the most powerful figure on Twitter, the executive must implement a series of measures to restore the glorious times, and the Canaltech listed some actions Yaccarino must take to get the network back on track.
10. Reduce Elon Musk exposure
Musk is a showman and loves the spotlight on himself at all times. The best proof of this are the prominent positions he occupies in all of his companies, always taking on the mission of being a spokesperson.
The billionaire is the figure with the most Twitter followers, which serves as an incentive for publications at all times. In many cases, they bring interesting content about their companies, but there is a lot of nonsense, controversy and lack of clarity in their tweets.
To bring back the respectability of the social network, it is necessary to curb Musk’s impulse to announce things as if he were at a bar table with friends. He also needs to reduce exposure of personal convictions because this has the potential to alienate investors who disagree with his positions.
9. Restore security
One of Twitter’s biggest dramas was the feeling of insecurity since Musk entered the company’s headquarters with a sink – the end of the verification seal (expanded to Twitter Blue subscribers) and the charge for two-factor authentication via SMS are examples of this .
Twitter’s Wheel service, which was supposed to show posts only to selected people, had a bug that exposed all reserved tweets. As if that weren’t enough, the platform launched two-factor encryption in direct messages for paying audiences only.
For Twitter to be trusted again, it is necessary to end monetization on top of essential security features. In addition, developers need to work better on protections to prevent bugs, data leaks or attacks that threaten the service.
8. Review API billing
Yaccarino needs to restructure the strategy to review the charge for using the Twitter API — and who knows, maybe even extinguish it. It is impossible for small and medium developers to pay thousands of dollars a month to have functional solutions operating on the network.
Nor is it possible to establish a value fixed in dollars and very heavy for the rest of the world. This alienated partners and left users orphaned from solutions they had been using for a decade, such as Tweetbot and Twitterific.
It would be more effective to create a model in which the creator transfers a portion of his profits to the service. Thus, whoever created a non-profit open source solution could keep everything running for free. Those who profit a lot from Passarinho Azul would pay a monthly fee based on earnings.
Microsoft recently opened up its Copilot API so that more developers can build AI solutions on top of the company’s services. Bing, Windows, and Microsoft 365 Apps will support these products, which could make the platform more user-friendly for third parties. It is an example that Yaccarino could adopt in his administration.
7. Create (and follow) a long-term plan
No company thrives without solid, actionable planning, not even Twitter with all of Elon Musk’s wealth and experience. Linda Yaccarino will need to set very short, short, medium and long term goals to reach superapp X.
That means the CEO needs to put her house in order—and her boss. You can’t create things every day according to Elon Musk’s mood. It is necessary to create a calendar of actions to implement resources progressively, without interference or external interventions.
As she has been a leader for 20 years, the executive seems to know which way to go, as long as she is free to do so. If Musk goes down the road, that’s another story.
6. End public testing
One of the things that made Musk’s inability to lead Twitter most clear was the constant comings and goings of resources. Conducting the “Twitter Blue case” may have been the biggest testament to inexperience ever seen in a major social network.
There were three months of many controversies and different labels, which undermined the confidence of a large part of the public. As soon as he released the blue tag to everyone, there was a flood of fake profiles followed by the barrage of criticism from companies and brands afflicted.
Another notorious case was the threat of banning profiles with links to other social networks. The platform announced this, even deleted accounts and later withdrew the measure in the face of negative repercussions.
This lack of experimentation conveys a message of amateurism and lack of commitment to the public. The initial tests should go back to being private and the public restricted to Twitter Blue subscribers, always with the collection of feedback. That should become even more important now, with Musk leading the product and engineering team.
5. Disable Twitter Blue visibility boost
Musk ended the dream of an equal and free social network for all when he implemented paid account prioritization. Now, should a person have more reach just because they have better financial conditions and are willing to pay for Twitter?
Creators should grow in the service on their own merit and not based on their bank account. Yaccarino needs to put individuals on the same level of equality for the platform to be fairer.
Those who want more visibility can still hire Twitter Ads to put their campaign on air or promote individual publications, as is already the case today. This, yes, is a transparent and honest way for those who want to pay for the highlight.
4. Back with content moderation
It is impossible to imagine a social network without content moderation in 2023. Fake news, hate speech, sexual exploitation, pedophilia, racism and many other crimes can be committed without proper monitoring.
Elon Musk didn’t entirely end moderation when he took office, but he did take actions that reduced monitoring. Yaccarino urgently needs to resume this to bring back the reliability of the contents posted there.
The totally free “City Square” concept defended by Musk opened space for radical voices that should not have visibility. It is not about censorship, but about establishing rules, ethical limits and acceptable standards of behavior that do not violate the laws of the countries where Twitter operates.
3. Restore press relations
Yaccarino will need to show Musk the importance of having a good relationship with the press. Journalists help disseminate information, answer questions from users and provide a crucial service for any company.
The first measure should be to rehire professionals for the communication team and avoid poop emoji responses to press requests. You need an internal structure capable of producing informative releases and blog posts with relevant data — unlike Musk’s sometimes confusing tweets.
It is also necessary to make yourself available to listen to experts, accept criticism with maturity and try to correct any problems. As the CEO comes from a prestigious media brand (NBCUniversal), she is expected to demonstrate the importance of public relations.
2. Stop messing with your Twitter identity
Musk wants to create superapp X at all costs and there’s no harm in dreaming big, the problem is having to do away with Twitter to reach that goal.
Instead of exchanging one for the other, Yaccarino needs to convince Musk that the ideal would be to create a “Twitter 2.0”: strengthen social resources, improve everything that already exists today and then make a gradual progression.
Any marketer knows how much easier it is to work the strategy on a brand that is already known worldwide. This can start without repeating actions like changing the logo to Dogecoin symbol dog, for example.
The logo is the visual identity of a company, that is, changing it unnecessarily causes confusion and demonstrates a lack of professionalism for all the company’s audiences.
1. Wash dirty clothes at home
In addition to the constant squabbles on Twitter, Musk has already put a lot of people in a tightrope due to the lack of dialogue. Business problems must be resolved internally, because leaks can cause irreparable damage.
Twitter Files was an attempt by Elon Musk to expose the excesses and problems of the previous administration. He invited a group of trusted journalists to pass on various materials about manipulating the algorithm and favoring speeches aligned with Passarinho’s ideologies.
There were several articles on The Free Press website about the “banned lists” of users, banned topics and boosting of allied profiles. The problem with that was the negative exposure of the platform that Musk had just bought.
In addition to not having achieved the objective of holding the previous management accountable, it also helped to devalue his company, which is currently worth no more than 45% of the purchase price.
Linda Yaccarino’s mission is difficult, but the professional is seen in the market as a good choice. If it can implement its ideas and turn a profit again, perhaps Twitter can consistently win back the hearts of the public and the interest of advertisers.
