Since Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter there have been lots of changes to the social media platform; each received with a varying degree of excitement and criticism. With some calling for full boycotts of the platform, and others doubling down on their loyalty to the site many are left wondering if their presence on the platform is necessary. Let’s explore the changes to Twitter and what weight they’ve carried as well as what may still be to come.

The Big Changes:

Elon Musk officially purchased Twitter on October 27, 2022 and immediately launched into a myriad of changes to the platform. Within the first few months of ownership, Musk laid off upwards of 6,000 employees (nearly 80% of the company’s employees at the time of acquisition) in an effort to help the company break even. On top of laying off the majority of the workforce behind one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, Musk has also:

• Rebranded Twitter as “X” - This change is probably the most visible of all, as the “Twitter” brand is officially dead as far as the company is concerned. This change has also been the formal end of long-standing terminology surrounding the platform such as “Tweet” and “Retweet”, which are now simply “Post” and “Repost” on all instances across the former Twitter.
• Been Replaced as CEO - After a poll was conducted by Musk based on the input of Twitter Users in order to “encourage democratic changes”, the purchaser of the microblogging platform was “voted out” and replaced by Linda Yaccorina, a successful advertising strategist and former head of sales with NBCUniversal.
• Added Ad Revenue Sharing for Creators - A long-awaited feature, qualifying users and organizations of X can now qualify for direct monetary rewards from the platform. While the revenue stream has proven thus far unreliable for smaller creators, users with high engagement rates on posts have been reported to have earned thousands of dollars in revenue.
• Doubled Down on Twitter Blue - Although not originally launched by Musk’s leadership, Twitter Blue (now X Premium) is a “paid verification” service on the app. Musk claims that this service is inspired by the desire to cut down on bot accounts and misinformation by highlighting “real users” for a “small fee”. Perks of the subscription include the ability to edit posts, 1080p video uploads, extended character limits, and being able to engage in Revenue Sharing. This verification model has, however, added a degree of confusion to determining who is real and who is not and has since been built to include multiple different “ticks” next to usernames to help clarify businesses, government agencies, celebrities, and general users.

Many of these changes are working in tandem with the adding of the company to Musk’s larger X Corp with the intent of developing Twitter into “Twitter 2.0” - an all-in-one application where users can send and receive money, place voice and video calls, publish articles, microblog, and more. These changes have ushered in a sense of uncertainty amongst users due to a degree of “lawlessness” under Musk’s leadership. With less staff to handle user concerns, there has been a noticeable increase in unsavory language and user-reported hate speech on the platform, resulting in many advertisers moving away from the platform in the past year.

The Impact on Advertising:

Amidst the rapid changes to X, there has been a significant change to the body of advertisers on the platform. Immediately after Musk’s acquisition, more than half of Twitter’s top advertisers paused their advertising spending on the platform. While some advertisers have restarted their spending, most have not returned to their forming spending habits. The New York Times reported that ad revenue generated by X was down 59% year-over-year comparing April 2022 to April 2023, signifying a massive hit to the company’s primary source of revenue.

As advertisers have slowly begun to resume their spending, some are further pushed away by the lack of “family friendly” advertisers which X has begun to accept onto the platform to help makeup for the losses seen by the company. Many of these newer advertisers are promoting online gambling and marijuana products, making the highly sought after ad slots less savory for legacy advertisers who value positive public image such as Disney and Amazon.

What’s Coming:

While it appears that Musk’s behavior is not likely to change, it is likely that X will soon have more consistent security and rule enforcement. This hope for the future is a part of the reason that some businesses have begun to reassociate with the platform. As the AI-backed vetting program which Musk has been working on helps cast out bots and fake profiles from X, the “wild west” feeling should fade, allowing everyday users to more faithfully engage with each other. This combined with Linda Yaccorina’s take over of Executive Operations has many advertisers breathing a sigh of relief.

Ultimately the decision about advertising on X comes down to what your business decides; due to the turmoil on the former Twitter, plenty of alternative text-based platforms have sprung up including Meta’s Instagram Threads, and direct competitor Bluesky, both of which are likely hedging their bets on the complete collapse of the Twitter empire. Savvy marketers have already begun expanding horizons into advertising on said platforms.

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