The year 2020 was one of the most extraordinary years for news. From the start of the year, our goal on Al Jazeera English’s flagship Twitter account was to cover the world-changing events that shaped the year and affected our lives in a way that was informative, digestible and engaging. And, as always, we kept true to our ethos of emphasizing the human story and uplifting the voices of under-reported communities.
Users turned to our Twitter account for the latest and most accurate updates on the stories that defined 2020 – and there were many. We covered everything from the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and the COVID-19 pandemic to the death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter protests that fanned across the US; from the democracy protests in Hong Kong and Nigerians rising up to #EndSARS to the violence in New Delhi. And, as the year progressed, we provided second to none coverage on the devastating explosion that shook Beirut and the ramp-up to the divisive US presidential election that culminated with Joe Biden’s historic win.
Our content strategy on Twitter was focused on relating the news in creative ways through the production of original native content and making strong use of every feature Twitter had to offer. We worked tirelessly throughout 2020 to not only provide timely coverage of the news through live updates, but also to break down complex news stories and effectively engage with our audience around important events.
From leveraging Twitter treads and excelling at creating Twitter Moments to optimising original video content and always finding new innovative ways to distribute our most important written journalism, our strategy paid off with more than 88 million views and 8.5 million engagements (likes, comments and retweets).
1. Twitter threads
We used Twitter threads to break down the news in an accessible format.
Important events and anniversaries were marked in carefully curated Twitter threads, breaking down information in an easily accessible way and using multiple social assets to create greater impact and to spark conversations.
2. Twitter Moments
By using Twitter Moments, our users were able to follow the backstory and the latest developments with ease. Our Twitter Moments have resonated with our audience and Twitter has featured the majority of them on its feed which has further bolstered our presence on the platform.
3. Fleets
We were among the first news publishers to use Twitter’s story-like feature ‘Fleets’ to cover the day’s top stories. We launched a news recap service that highlights those stories in an easily consumable way.
4. Twitter VIT (Very Important Tweeter) app
We also used the Twitter VIT (Very Important Tweeter) app to engage with our users in an interactive way. By using the app’s Q&A feature, we managed to have a more dynamic conversation with our audience about the Black Lives Matter protests that swept through the US and gained further international support in 2020. It allowed us to have two-way communication with our fans, to hear their questions and provide them with answers on the global movements that shook the world.
5. Social videos
Optimising our video content for Twitter has been key to our strategy. Through short-form videos, we provided an in-depth look into important events that had the world talking.
Since the beginning of 2020, we have seen a significant increase in the number of users following our Twitter account and interacting with our content. We have also seen record-breaking traffic from our Twitter account to our website (aljazeera.com).
Here is a snapshot of how we grew on Twitter in 2020:
Twitter will continue to be an integral part of our social strategy over the next year as we build on the successes we have achieved on the platform in 2020. Make sure to follow us so you don’t miss out!
Find out more about our Twitter strategy here: https://ajenglishtwitter.medium.com/al-jazeera-english-on-twitter-in-2020-11030bb59379
