When Elon Musk first (and finally) completed his purchase of Twitter at the end of October 2022, every subsequent and frequent policy change he made at the “global public square” made top headlines.
The headlines have become smaller and tucked away, the industry’s attention less transfixed, and advertisers have continued their exodus, a reflection of the receding relevance of Twitter as an ad platform.
Late last week, Musk announced that Twitter would be sharing revenue for ads appearing in reply threads. The benefit, however, will be for creators who are Twitter Blue subscribers.
according to Reuters, “Advertising spend on Twitter Inc dropped by 71% in December, data from an advertising research firm showed, as top advertisers slashed their spending on the social media platform after Elon Musk's takeover.”
The timing of that report by Standard Media Index (SMI) probably isn't the best for Twitter, which is reeling from an exodus of advertisers, the main source of its income at over 90%.
Megha Ahuja, VP- Digital Media Planning, Carat India, says that advertisers pulled back owing to the internal chaos and instability that soon followed Musk's takeover.
“Keeping in mind the actions taken by the platform, brands decided to not put their reputation at stake by getting their ads showcased alongside harmful content.”
All the new changes are being seen in the same light as the rules and policies are being made on the go. These are based on reactions rather than the development of a robust platform,” she says.
As per the SMI report, ad spending on Twitter in November fell by 55 per cent as compared to last year. This is despite autumn and winter being traditionally a time of higher ad spends since advertisers put their brands front and centre during the holiday season.