It’s not a unique or shocking thing to hear someone say that Twitter is going down. And in a week where two billionaires had mass firings at their social media company, Facebook’s name has also been swirling around the same conversations. Or at least Meta’s name is. Maybe Meta will take Instagram with it? Whatever, the case in the future, for now, brands and affiliate marketers are making moves to protect themselves by, well, jumping off the sinking ship. But what are the available lifeboats? What platforms can brands go to keep themselves and their businesses afloat? We’re taking a look at the options that are rapidly becoming popular as the Twitter and Facebook ships sink.
Mastodon
Mastodon has been hailed as the obvious alternative option to Twitter. Its search traffic has gone up 400% in November despite launching six years ago. Opening the website to explore we were instantly met with the equivalent of a featured tweet that said “OMG I just realized Mastodon is what Twitter would be if it were Canadian” and we think that just about sums it up. So far anyway, it’s a polite Twitter. A place to swap ideas and discuss without hate, but who knows what popularity will do to it. With the right management, brands can find a lot of marketing space away from the unpopular opinions Twitter is known for.
This platform’s selling point is its “decentralized” nature, which means it isn’t owned by one single company or overlord-I mean, billionaire.
Bluesky
Wouldn’t it be the most ironic thing if all the users on the sinking Twitter found refuge on Bluesky: created by ex-Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey? Bluesky is Dorsey’s “Social Media Platforms Mark II” attempt. He’s always said Twitter was taken out of his control and migrated into something he hated, maybe this is his attempt to start over.
Bluesky describes itself as a “social protocol” meaning, according to Sky News, “the idea of a space where the users are independent of the platform itself. The idea is it would be immune from the whims of one person.”
The problem here is that the platform is still in the beta testing stage and has a waiting list of 30,000 at the time of writing. Maybe that’s a good sign for brands.
Tumblr
Ah, Tumblr. One of the OG platforms, who remembers being in the same room as MySpace and Bebo. It was always considered the weird one in the class, with a reputation for being a collection of high school nerds that kept breaking the adult content rule with fictional characters as the subject. It never really gained any traction. But maybe that’s about to change. Ryan Reynolds and Lynda Carter are among the celebs that are making the migration to Tumblr, and maybe that’s what is needed for it to gain legitimacy. Back in the day, if a celeb had a Tumblr account it was a shameful secret that they only exposed for a relatable anecdote on a late-night show. Currently, celebs are saying it’s their new refuge proudly, where they want to engage with their fans. Maybe this is the thing that will give the site the legitimacy it needs.
Where do brands fit in? Well, nerds and fans are notoriously willing to spend their money. It would be like taking candy from a baby to market on Tumblr.
And of course, the usual suspects…
All of these options, however, are quite niche, which might bother brands trying to reach a large audience. You might worry that these platforms simply don’t have the reach that Twitter has. That’s where you might find yourself rethinking the less popular but still mainstream platforms, like Snapchat, Pinterest, and Reddit. The mid-tier platforms. Instagram might be a part of Meta, but it’s still going strong on the branding side of things. It’s definitely the best option for brands and influencers, but if you’re looking to branch out there are a few underrated options.
Reddit is much like Twitter in that it’s a place for discussions, and it has the versatility of both Twitter’s politically minded chats and Tumblr’s fan addicts. Not to mention, it’s made up of forums, which are essentially another word for Facebook’s groups or TikTok’s communities: collections of people around a niche interest, usually led by a few micro-influencers at the top.
And Snapchat has taken off in terms of content. It’s said it’s news feed is the most engaging aspect of Snapchat, which is prime for brands to get involved with.
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