At a recent event, Twitter's (NYSE: TWTR) top brass laid out the company's plans to swell Twitter's user base and implement a suite of new monetizable features.
Currently, Twitter takes in 86% of its revenue from targeted advertising. And yet, the platform has struggled to keep pace with competitors like Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL). As it stands, Twitter currently represents 0.8% of the digital ad space, according to EMarketer.
In light of these facts, Twitter is looking to find new ways to compete with other social media platforms. Twitter plans to do this by giving content creators new ways to monetize their content through the use of the new "super follow" feature. The new feature would allow creators to offer their "super followers" access to exclusive tweets, audio tracks, and other content in exchange for a monthly fee. Of course, Twitter will then take a percentage of that fee.
"We also think that an audience-funded model where subscribers can directly fund the content they value most is a durable incentive model that aligns with the interests of creators and consumers," said Twitter's Chief Design Officer Dantley Davis at the event, quoted by Bloomberg.
Twitter hopes that audiences will follow their favorite creators onto the platform, growing Twitter's user base and swelling its coffers with increased ad and subscription revenue. The "super follow" feature is due out later this year. And yet, Twitter is already making some very rosy projections about the platform's growth in the coming years.
According to Twitter's latest U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the company plans to double its revenues, from $3.7 billion to $7.5 billion between now and the end of 2023.
Twitter isn't only relying on its new subscription model to make those projections. Executives at the company believe there's room for Twitter to grow in the digital ad space. Currently, Twitter pulls in 85% of its ad revenues from brand advertising. This sort of advertising has declined in prominence due to the rise of online shopping. Today companies want ads that lead to direct sales rather than ads that build brand awareness. Twitter plans to increase direct response ad sales by targeting small to medium-sized advertisers.
At the event, Twitter also announced plans to accelerate the pace of innovation at the company. "We've been too slow," said Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, quoted by Bloomberg. "If you compare us to our peers on the market, this is especially stark."
In line with these statements, Twitter plans to double "development velocity" at the company between now and 2023. Theoretically, this should quickly increase the number of new monetizable features available on Twitter.
Even before the announcement, investors had been betting hard on Twitter's growth. The stock has swelled by at least 33% since the beginning of 2021. Still- whether Twitter can double its user base, its revenues, and its stock price between now and 2023 remains anyone's guess.