In today's era of information overload, being timely can be a game-changer in the world of social media engagement. Today’s Masterclass Mentor understands this concept well.
Edgy is the Founder of The DeFi Edge, a leading web3 research and media company. Starting his journey out as just a single Twitter account with 0 followers, Edgy has organically grown The DeFi Edge into one of the most trusted profiles on Crypto Twitter with over 255k followers.
In a recent discussion with our cohort, he shared some valuable insights about 'Twitter Timeliness' - a term he uses to reflect the significance of time and topic in getting your message across to your audience on Twitter.
Supply and Demand Model
According to Edgy, the principle of Twitter Timeliness is similar to the basic economic model of supply and demand. It's all about knowing what information your audience is demanding at a particular moment and supplying that information before anyone else does. It sounds simple, but there's an art to it. Edgy gave a fantastic example to illustrate this concept.
Imagine it's June 2023. You want to write a Twitter thread about the collapse of FTX. You decide you’re really going to put your heart and soul into this post so you write the most gripping, well-researched thread covering the ins and outs of this unprecedented scandal. It’s a masterpiece. Then, you hit send and… crickets.
Why the lack of traction? It’s likely because the content you created, while engaging, was not timely.
Now, imagine if you were to write the same thread during the second week of November in 2022, just as the collapse was happening. Your thread would likely have done some serious numbers! The reason? Demand for that information was high, while the supply was limited. Very few people had deep insight into what was actually going on with FTX as the events unfolded. There was high demand for information but limited supply.
One of Edgy's most viral Twitter threads illustrates the perfect marriage of relevance and timeliness. Back in June of 2022, he wrote about the collapse of Three Arrows Capital. As this event played out, the ‘Twittersphere’ was desperate for more information about what had gone wrong exactly. Given Edgy’s expertise in this space, he seized this opportunity and wrote a thread to provide information on a topic for which there was immense demand. The post was retweeted over 4,000 times with 14k likes. Relevance + timeliness = virality.
The Timeliness Checklist
When it comes to Twitter Timeliness, Edgy recommends asking yourself two questions before writing anything. The first is, "What do people want to know about?" and the second is, "Can I share a unique opinion on this?" If the answers to both of these questions are positive, then you probably have picked a good topic for your post. Let’s use another example to showcase the checklist in action.
Earlier this summer, Edgy noticed that many people in the Crypto Twitter community were falling victim to SIM swaps (an increasingly prevalent scam in which criminals convince your phone carrier to activate a new SIM card in their possession, granting them control over your phone number). Edgy wanted to write a thread on this, as it was both relevant to his audience and timely, but he wanted to make sure that he had unique insight to share. He spent some time researching the topic and saw that there was lots of content stressing the inefficacy of SMS two-factor authentication, but little on how to actually protect yourself. So Edgy decided to go deeper to find some unique insights to share. In his post, he described a spectrum of security, detailed and recommended the strength of Yubikeys, and even used a timely video game meme from Zelda (Tears of the Kingdom had just come out) to drive home his message.
Using Timeliness to Increase your Twitter Presence
Building a presence on Twitter is important for web3 founders looking to build a strong community around their product or service. Twitter Timeliness provides you with the power to increase your presence on the platform. Whether it's about being the first to share news or exchanging valuable perspectives on hot topics, this supply and demand approach will help you build meaningful connections with other Twitter users.
