8 Ways How Using Twitter Can Damage Your Online Reputation

By Steven W. Giovinco, Recover Reputation

Before Musk’s ownership, Twitter was a helpful online reputation management tool.

Now, using it might actually harm your web presence.

Twitter can be a great place to connect with others and share headline-like thoughts. But under Elon Musk’s ownership, it is quickly the wild-west of online content where nearly anything goes. Yes, Twitter is known for both breaking news and vitriol. However, the platform seems even less neutral and more adversarial, amplifying negative voices.

This may be fine for some but it leaves regular users, business owners, students, and newshounds in the crossfire. Recent changes–some might say chaos–can actually lead to online reputation damage rather than improvement.

How? While things in Twitterland are still in flux with changes announced daily, businesses and individuals who use Twitter for casual discourse could face problems. Ultimately, their online reputation can be weakened, and, in some cases, damaged.

The World in 280 Characters

Let’s briefly review what Twitter is really good at. Users can share thoughts with the world and get instant feedback, making it invaluable for gauging public opinion on almost any topic. Plus, because it’s so widely used, it gives a nearly real-time pulse on current events, and because of its ubiquity, is integrated into many sites/platforms.

Twitter as Reputation Tool

Twitter is a great online reputation management tool. It helps share quality content–blogs, posts, articles, videos, etc. — which helps build or repair a damaged web presence because negative links get pushed down–suppressed–down off the first page of Google searches. In turn, this makes it more likely that potential clients will see you as an expert in your field, leading to more sales. Additionally, because you control the content on your account, you can minimize problems that might result from someone else’s posts.

But there are ways Twitter could actually damage your online reputation. Here’s how.

1. The “Musk Effect”

Just being on Twitter can be a dance with controversy. Whether you condone or are a fan of owner Elon Musk, many people will see you as being connected to controversy. This can be a turn-off for potential clients or business partners, and lead to reputation damage by being associated with turmoil.

2. Driven by Personal Interests

As a public figure, Elon Musk is no stranger to “stirring the pot” and some might say that he is more interested in serving his own agenda than enhancing a safe user experience. A business driven by ego rather than sound business decisions could make the site unstable for regular users, and without internal regulatory guides–as is the case here–could create an unsafe environment for business where profiles and Tweets are at risk of being taken down.

3. Platform Instability

Perhaps as a direct result of the above (and more), Twitter is a particularly unstable social media platform. Policies seem to be written in real-time, change on a whim and shift with little notice. The result for users is that one day a post might be fine; another day, it could be deemed in violation of newly written terms. Why work hard to build a web presence if it could be removed? Tweeting could be a waste of valuable time–or worse.

4. Impacted by Poor Quality Content

Twitter seems to be turning from business-related topics and breaking news by journalists towards ever more controversial topics, resulting in poor-quality content. This is likely to reduce the amount of traffic a professional Twitter brand receives, which could lead to a drop in positive content found in Google search results. In other words, your message could be lost in the fray, neutralizing your brand’s voice and destroying any positive impact you built on Twitter.

5. New Negative Comments

The “new” (more toxic?) Twitter may foster an environment where just a regular post could lead to negative comments–and a damaged reputation–for some of the reasons mentioned above. Social media can be a great way to build an excellent web presence and attract new clients by showcasing your expertise, but here it might create more problems than it’s worth if someone writes hostel and untrue comments that later appear in searches.

6. Arbitrary Banning

Besides arbitrary policies seemingly driven by ego or by unsound business practices, a profile could be banned for almost any reason. For example, journalists’ accounts were suspended because they seemed to annoy Musk; other accounts were removed after a claim of “doxing”. Although some were reinstated after a swift backlash, this indicates that your account and online presence could easily be left in limbo or made ineffective.

7. Polls Are No Way to Run a Business

Vox populi, really? Musk seems fond of “the people have spoken” as evidenced by his frequent use of polls. They range from, “Should I step down as CEO of Twitter?” to, “Should I reinstate Trump?” While getting feedback is generally laudable, constant voting is not a good way to run a business: it’s capricious, lacks leadership, and is selectively enforced. A poll might wipe out the trustworthy expert you built over the years on Twitter.

8. Controversy Reinstated

As more controversial figures are reinstated to the platform, the quality of discussion on the discourse is likely to decline, making it less useful for businesses trying to build an online presence. Also, one of your Tweets could draw undue ire from a newly reinstated poster, and cause reputation damage.

What to Do?

When developing an online presence, it’s important to be active on a variety of other platforms. A diverse content strategy is prudent if one main platform declines, and is a great way to mingle with a variety of potential clients. This could include spending more time on sites you already use, as well as seeking out new ones. Reviewing successful strategies used by others in your industry is a good place to start, and then actively post your own content.

Here are some recommendations to consider:

• Reddit: Popular posting site, with many specialized “subreddits” or groups where comments can be minimally moderated. Be mindful, however, Reddit can be a bit of a “free-for-all” depending on the Subreddit.
• LinkedIn: Business-oriented sharing and posting site, but is becoming more spammy.
• Instagram: Image/video only, with comments
• Pinterest: general interest images, but can leave comments
• Medium: Blogging site for a range of topics; great for online reputation management
• SlideShare: Business presentation; used to be more popular
• Mastodon: Smaller Twitter-like social media site which has grown since the announcement of Musk’s takeover

Do some research to find the platforms that will work best for you and your industry. Familiarize yourself with how successful businesses are using them, and actively post on them yourself.

Time to Quit the Bird

If it’s time to move on from Twitter, let your followers, clients, and mailing list subscribers know that you’re active on other platforms going forward. This is an excellent opportunity to connect with some old and current clients too, by the way.

Conclusion

Twitter now is not a platform for building and maintaining a positive online reputation. While it was once an excellent way to suppress negative links on Google searches or build an excellent web presence, it seems that this is no longer the case. Twitter can actually damage your online reputation by being linked to a flamboyant owner, Musk, courting controversy which might drown out your brand, and providing more opportunities for negative comments lodged against you. There are alternatives out there, so get ready to move to another site.

Questions?

Feel free to reach out to Recover Reputation with any questions, see my Ebook, learn about ethical online reputation management pricing, and read case studies.