Twitter’s growth may have stagnated, but it’s hard to believe it could die and fall out of common use in the next few years, as nearly every major brand has a Twitter account, it’s favoured by celebrities and many journalists rely on the social network for up-to-the-second updates on what’s happening in the world. Although Twitter isn’t likely to go the way of Friends Reunited anytime soon, could it become another social media network, such as MySpace and Bebo, that falls out of use and attempts to reinvigorate itself with a change of format?

Twitter is trying to reinvent some of its core features to avoid extinction and appeal to new users. They’ve experimented with non-chronological timelines, receiving a lukewarm response from most, probably because one of Twitter’s strengths is its ability to report events in real time. Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, has also hinted that the platform could drop one of its key differentiators - the 140 character limit on tweets.

Despite calling the cap on the length of tweets a “beautiful constraint”, Dorsey conceded that users often take screenshots of text in order to bypass the limit. By removing it, users would be able to create longer posts easily, which would streamline the overall experience.

Sina Weibo, Twitter’s main rival in China, also featured a 140-character limit, but recently removed the cap. Whilst only 140 characters of a post is immediately visible, users are able to click a “see more” link to see longer posts. This idea might well offer a viable solution for Twitter.

Another way Twitter is trying to adapt is through its acquisition of Periscope, an app that allows live video streaming. Brands have already started to take advantage of this technology to reward their fans with exclusive Q&A sessions, behind the scenes footage and other goodies. One example of this was when Adidas streamed football player James Rodríquez signing an extension of his contract with the brand.

Another feature Twitter has introduced in order to improve profitability is native ads. While scrolling through their feed, users will see sponsored posts in line with their interests. These ads are not distributed evenly, however, as Twitter has dramatically reduced the number of ads VIP users see. Twitter decides who sees less ads using criteria such as the number of tweets a user posts and how popular these tweets are rather than by celebrity status. This ad strategy will likely please their hardcore fans, but it does appear counter-intuitive as their main priority is retaining new users.

The reality is that if Twitter is struggling to grow and monetise the platform in its current format, they need to adapt, so there are likely more changes in the pipeline. Twitter’s investors and shareholders are growing impatient, which is certainly creating a sense of volatility and putting the company under pressure - whether they can respond well to this pressure remains to be seen. From a marketer's point of view, it’s still a necessary channel that can offer a lot. It’s important to stay familiar and ensure you’re taking advantage of new features.