A Brief History of Twitter

Twitter has an extensive page where you can read all about its history entitled “Milestones” but here are a few highlights: 

2006: Founder member Jack Dorsey sends the first ever tweet. 

2007: Twitter wins the SXSW Web Award. 

2009: a US plane crash on the Hudson River in New York City is first reported on Twitter. 2010, and 2011 were big years for Twitter too! They launched promoted tweets and accounts as well as different features to keep things fresh, such as live-streaming video from concerts or sporting events. President Obama marked his election victory with a tweet that year – how very democratic of him 😉

2020: They removed Donald Trump from Twitter

2021: They reinstated Donald Trump’s Twitter account

What makes Twitter unique? What’s the big deal about Twitter?

It’s a social media platform, just like Facebook or Instagram but there are some important factors that differentiate it from its competitors.

For one thing, famous celebrities and musicians use it because they can interact with their audiences directly – sometimes in real-time! And, if you want to know what people think of your latest album release – well, this is where all those opinions get airtime (often anonymously).

Another great benefit: nobody forgets anything on Twitter; tweets live forever as long as somebody remembers to retweet them for eternity… which happens surprisingly often. 

You might also be able to escape unscathed after committing “twitter-cide” by deleting some embarrassing old posts before anybody remembers to retweet them 🙂

In the age of social media, Facebook status updates can usually stay on your newsfeed longer than a tweet, unless you get plenty of retweets – though, some tweets may not be seen by many people at all – which is good because it means that you will have more room to post without pissing off followers!

Do You Still Use Twitter?

I’m not trying to be rude, but it’s a question that every musician is probably asked at one point or another. It’s worth asking, though: Does this platform really matter for musicians anymore? After all, we have social media networks like Facebook and Instagram where artists can engage with their fans in more ways than just 140 characters.

Why Should I Still Use Twitter As An Artist?

It may sound counterintuitive, but there are actually some clear benefits of using Twitter. For instance, if you’re interested in building your online presence and increasing your visibility online, Twitter is undoubtedly a great place to start! Plus, tweets reach a much wider audience than any other social media platform in real-time.

The new rules of social media say: “Don’t be everywhere“. But, if you’re on Twitter, and like it there, stick around because the platform has seen some cool results in spite of recent reports indicating a downturn over the last few years.

Twitter is the best social media platform for connecting with your fans. Most Twitter users don’t know who you are, so introduce yourself next time! You can tweet things like music video teasers and upcoming tour dates to let fans know what they’re missing out on.

Post Links Without Hurting Your Reach

Facebook downgrades your posts if they contain URLs, especially off-platform links.

Wait a minute… Instagram doesn’t even let you put clickable URLs in your captions; you just get the one link to lead people back to that URL on Facebook or whatever other platform it was shared from.

Meanwhile, Twitter lets you tweet all day long with links leading users straight into content that isn’t natively hosted by them, like YouTube videos and some music sites such as Bandcamp and, of course, Spotify.

Post As Frequently As You Want Without Hurting Your Reach

Instagram lets you post pics to your heart’s content. But sometimes, it’s nice to say something with words, especially when you want to share a lot of things in text form. If that sounds like what the doctor ordered for ya, then there really is only one choice – Twitter.

A string of tweets can show you building a larger story over a short time or reveal random misadventures from life while tweeting every 15 minutes, letting fans peek into the stream of what’s on your mind.

Support Others Without Hurting Your Reach

Being a member of the larger music community is important, but when you want to share info about your friend’s new music or thank that blogger who covered your latest release on Facebook (the same day as YouTube) then it’s possible you might be reluctant. Thankfully for u,s Twitter comes to our rescue once again!

The more you tweet, the happier your followers will be. You don’t have to do anything but reply and retweet their tweets. It’s even better when there are no barriers like financial costs to posting on Twitter. 

Sure, sometimes trolls come around every now and again, but you’re better off not engaging with them if you can help it.

Life is good here on Twitter.

And, yeah – it’s certainly still relevant.

If you’re a musician and want to improve your Twitter marketing, consider taking our FREE Twitter Music Marketing Course and join thousands of others.