Since Elon Musk became the owner and CEO of Twitter on the 27th of October, 2022, he has made some significant changes. His most infamous acts so far include charging for a blue tick through Twitter Blue and ending remote working for Twitter employees.
Most recently, Elon Musk announced stricter rules on linking to other social media platforms in users’ profiles – here is everything you need to know!
How have the rules changed on links in Twitter Bios?
Initially, Elon announced on December 18 that Twitter Bios would no longer allow links to social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, in a now-deleted Tweet.
Since then, Elon has slightly loosened the rules, tweeting, “Policy will be adjusted to suspending accounts only when that account’s *primary* purpose is the promotion of competitors, which essentially falls under the no spam rule.”
This update, written on the 18th of December at 11 pm, means accounts can link to competitive platforms, but only if Twitter deems them as ‘playing by the rules’ by having non-promotional content. Twitter monitoring has cracked down on users trying to work around the rules by posting ‘Instagram dot com’ or ‘Facebook dot com’.
Why have the rules on URL links changed?
These measures have been implemented to avoid users encouraging their audience to change to rival platforms, especially Mastodon, which has seen its user base double this year.
Users have been testing out the alternative platform, which is entirely free, self-governing, and where users post “Twoots” instead of Tweets (the term has been changed to simply ‘Publish’ now, though!).
The rules also prevent linking to other rival platforms, namely Truth Social, a Twitter copy with Donald Trump’s backing.
How will the changes impact businesses?
Ultimately, the new rules aim to make it harder for traffic to move freely between social media platforms, encouraging more screen time for Twitter and governing how users explore businesses and creators.
While the rules have become more lenient, the changes are still confusing, causing businesses to become more careful with how they lay out their profiles. If accounts are found to break the rules, they will be temporarily suspended, which will be a significant blow for small businesses that rely on a Twitter audience to purchase their products or services.
Ultimately, the changes on Twitter are fast moving and no doubt there will be ongoing changes in the coming weeks, so keep an eye on our blog for the latest updates.
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