As Twitter Turns 10, How Can It Convince Young Users to Show Up to the Party?

Despite what you've heard, the social network that changed how we talk to each other is still at the party.

- Marty Swant

Twitter is not dead, and this is not its eulogy. Enough of those have been written already. Rather, it is a diagnosis of where the company is and where it’s headed on this, its 10th birthday—and what advertisers think of it.

In 140 characters or less, Twitter is the playful bluebird/social media monster that changed how we talk to each other—and even sparked a literal revolution or two. At this milestone, the social network that made “tweeting” part of our global vocabulary and culture would seem to have plenty to celebrate, boasting 320 million monthly users, a billion-dollar ad business and celebrity devotees from President Obama to Katy Perry. It has become an essential player in the consumption of news, brand engagement, customer service and entertainment.

But as the whole world knows, Twitter’s user growth has been stuck in a slump for a while, and questions are not going away anytime soon about whether it will be able to spur a turnaround by attracting Gen Z and the younger end of the millennial demographic. No, not when kids flock to mobile apps like Snapchat, Instagram and Kik as they steer clear of their parents on Facebook—without giving a second thought to Twitter, seemingly.

Again, the question is: What does the predicament of the onetime darling of the social space mean for advertisers who have emerged as its most stalwart ally? One social media marketer who asked to remain anonymous puts it this way: “When talking with clients about millennials, Twitter just doesn’t come up anymore, you know?”