Don’t have time to scroll through a day’s worth of tweets?
Some Twitter users may have noticed something different on their iOS devices when checking their feed this last week. Twitter released a new update called “While you were away.” For those of you who haven’t seen or heard of this new Twitter feature, “While you were away” is meant “to fill in some of those gaps” that come from not being able to be on Twitter all day. Every Tweeter knows that Twitter’s feed goes fast, and it’s easy to miss important tweets if you’re busy for even an hour or two. But now Twitter’s attempt to save you some time scrolling is here.
Saving you time
What the feature does is take the “best” tweets from your network and prioritize them, showing you what you missed. If you’re on Twitter all the time, on the other hand, you will not be shown this feature as often, if at all. What I like about this feature is its responsiveness to the user’s habits. If you check your Twitter on your iPhone or iPad frequently, you won’t see this recap feature as often. If you rarely open the Twitter app, you’ll see this feature much more often, since there’s more you’ve missed. Twitter’s making a smart move here, adjusting their feature to the different habits of Twitter users. Responsiveness in social media is so important, especially when it comes to user’s needs.
Responding to your unique, individual needs
Responsiveness and flexibility in strategy makes the strategy work. In this example, would the “While you were away” feature be useful to Twitter-lovers, who spend hours a day on their feeds? Probably not, because they are not missing much. But for the busy entrepreneur who is in meetings and being innovative and all that, Twitter may not always be a priority. It’s handy to have a tool like “While you were away,” and it shows Twitter’s willingness to meet the needs of many of its users at once. [Tweet “It’s good to remember that responsiveness in social media is essential for success.”] What we can learn from this new feature is that in social media, we have the tools to meet many needs at once. Since social media is a fast-paced living organism, online marketers can be creative in finding ways to reach many audiences and avoid leaving people out. That’s one of my favorite things that we do at SocialNicole–being responsive to the needs of others in innovative ways. For wisdom on how Twitter’s “While you were away” feature can benefit your business, contact us or leave a comment below!