Twitter is considering a subscription based model…

According to CNN, in order to increase their dropping Ads revenue, Twitter is considering a subscription based model where users would have to pay to use the platform.

This sparked a lot of conversations on Twitter. Here is my take on this proposed model from Twitter.

To make it easier to read and follow, I will make my points in bullets:

• Ads. revenue is not dropping. The fact is that Twitter is not making as much as they’d projected from paid Ads.
• Brands would rather direct their budget towards influencer marketing with real measurable results rather than expensive Twitter Ads with mere algorithm based data. So it makes sense for Twitter to seek other avenues to boost their revenue.
• According to a research by Wall Street Journal, Twitter claims just 13% of social media advertising budgets compared to 57% for Facebook. Reason is simple, Twitter Ads is not delivering result to advertisers.
• Twitter should know that if they’re going to do a subscription based model for people to use their app, then they’ll need to guarantee that all the unjustified bans and accounts suspension need to stop.
• Below is a data from Adweek comparing Facebook and Twitter paid Ads result.

It’s not head to head comparison cos Twitter do not release all their stats.

• From this data above, average CPM (cost per impression) is significantly higher on Twitter, at up to $3.50 (QUITE EXPENSIVE!) compared to an average CPM of $0.59 on Facebook. For ROI, Facebook claims 109% which most advertisers can agree with, Twitter however does not release stats on ROI.
• How many brands can afford to pay about $20,000 or so (last time I checked) for a Twitter sponsored hashtag trend that has little or nothing to show for it.
• A survey conducted by AdAge ranked 5 online Ads platforms in terms of importance by ROI. Google was of course the clear winner, followed by Facebook, and then Twitter. LinkedIn and Yahoo are the last two if I remember clearly.
• Twitter still has a whole lot to improve on if they want to earn enough revenue from paid Ads or start earning from subscription model.
• That said, would I pay to use Twitter? Personally, if they can assure me of my account security while I run paid gigs with my handle, why not? I’d pay! YOU?