Which Is the Better Social Media Platform, Twitter or Post News?

January I ran an experiment to see whether new kid Post News could topple Twitter as my favourite social media platform.

One of my favourite parts of this writing journey I have dragged you all along on has been the experiments I have tried. I try things out and then share my findings with you. 

Over the last year, as I chased the money, I didn't do enough of these. Something I am going to change this year. 

So my first experiment was to try two new concepts that have appeared in the last couple of months. The first was to try to grow a following on Post News, and my second was to grow a following on Twitter using the new Twitter blue membership. Post News costs nothing; Twitter blue costs £11 a month. 

As a math teacher, I worked out that looking at a percentage increase would not work. I was starting with nothing on Post News and 2500 followers on Twitter. One new subscriber would give me a 100% increase on Post News, whereas, in contrast, I would need to achieve a total of 5000 followers on Twitter for the same percentage. 

For that reason, I will compare the actual growth as a plain increase in followers. This may also mean the results are biased when you take in the fact I have more followers on Twitter, and it also has a large audience. Or so you would think.

The Experiment

The experiment was simple on made a plan to post consistently on both platforms. As many times as possible, this was the same content. However, I could post longer-form articles and links on Twitter because Post allows longer articles. 

For thirty days, I posted daily up to three times a day at different times on both platforms. I looked at the rise in followers and post engagement and spoke to people about what they considered the best features. 

During the experiment, I promised myself I would not look at the results or do any analysis. After a month, I sat down to analyse these results, and I have to say they shocked even me. 

Post News

Post News is a new platform, and up until very recently, there was a waiting list to join it. I believe that list has gone, and you can sign straight up. It is an easy platform to use and is structured similarly to Twitter. 

The clean white interface makes it very appealing. Although it accepts longer-form articles, it also works on short photos and comments. It is a mix of Twitter and Medium in that regard.

The editor for longer articles does not have the functionality of the other sites, but it is new, and I am encouraged that the developers are improving the experience monthly. 

When I asked the members there what they thought the best part of Post News was, this was one of the responses I received. 

I'm "meeting" people who were not already my friends (unlike Facebook, which I have abandoned.) I've also been enjoying fewer memes, although--sadly--those seem to have begun proliferating.

Twitter

Although most of you will know Twitter, Twitter blue is a new service. If you join the service, Twitter boasts that you get a better news reading experience with more filtered news. 

You get early access to new features developed and additional functionality, such as sorting your bookmarks and using unique icons for your gadgets. 

One of the most attractive features for many is the chance to gain a blue tick beside your name. Previous to this, you needed to hit specific metrics to be able to apply for it. With Twitter Blue, you are granted it regardless of follower count. 

Incidentally, it took Twitter twelve days to assess my account and grant me a blue tick and only 3 hours to take it away when I stopped paying. Not that I am bitter at all. 

When I asked what the best thing about Twitter was, this was one of the responses I got that I thought said it all.

The horror, the horror

The figures speak for themselves

So conclusively, can I tell you which is the better platform? From my experience, I can say that I am going to be concentrating on Post News and attempting to grow a following there. 

Results speak for themselves; keeping in mind I started with no followers on Post News, I now have 36, which is a good increase, and if the growth continues, I will have three figures in followers by Easter. 

The other reason I am happy with this is that on Twitter, I lost thirteen followers. I believe this is partly due to the departure since Mr Musk took over, but if this continues, I can see many influencers looking for a new platform. So it is best to be on Post News before everyone else tries to join it. 

Views on Post News have gradually increased; with only 36 followers, I get more than ten views on many of my articles. However, once again, on Twitter, the statistics are down; on average, I get thirty views even though I have 2500 followers. 

If you are a numbers person on Post News, 25% of my followers interact with my posts on Twitter 0.012% of people do. It has always shocked me how few people see the content you post on Twitter; I never believed it was this low. 

Future experiments 

Every writer is different; your results may differ on Twitter. From talking to others, though, most people find that Twitter has a limited reach. 

Post News being new comes with its risks as well. There is no guarantee it will stay the course as such a new platform, but then there is no guarantee Mr Musk might not get bored a delete Twitter at some point. 

Post News could be an excellent addition to any writer's portfolio. 

This was a fun experiment to try out at the start of 2023. If there are others you would like to see me take on or platforms that need road testing, drop me a comment, and I will add them to my list of 2023 experiments.