The Future of Twitter: What Brands Need to Know

The news of Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter has taken the advertising world by storm.?

In a recent press conference, Musk stated he wants, “to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans.” Additionally, he has stated lofty goals of doubling Twitter’s usership by 2025 and multiplying revenue 5x by 2028, reducing the platform’s reliance on advertising and diversifying revenue streams.?

Many marketers are left “worried that Musk will reopen the floodgates on uncivil behavior on the platform,” according to AdAge.?

Let’s explore the potential benefits, consequences, and opportunities surrounding Twitter’s transition to being a privately held company.?

What are the potential benefits for the future of advertising on Twitter??

• Reduced bot traffic due to user authentication?
• As a public forum requiring user-ID, light will be shed on bot traffic that could carry over into other platforms, driving a fundamental shift for ad-tech as a whole. A reduction in bot traffic could have a significant impact on the quality of Twitter ad inventory.? Indeed, Musk announced that clarity on bot accounts could hold up the deal, as of May 17th.
• Greater accountability by unanonymyzing
• Again, with stronger user authentication, the vast amount of anonymous users on Twitter will be forced to either leave the platform or show their true selves. When your name and image are tied to your profile, content is likely to be more refined and less risque.?

What are potential downsides of the Twitter acquisition for brands??

• A subscription model could remove advertising potential
• There is speculation that Musk may push for an entirely subscription-supported Twitter , meaning fewer or no ads for certain paying users. His outlined plan to boost Twitter revenue by 5X within the next 6 years includes decreasing the percentage of revenue coming from advertising to 45% as opposed to the current 90%.??
• Removal of guardrails will leave some brands exposed
• For brands without proper brand safety parameters, the removal of Twitter’s content safety guardrails could mean ads get placed alongside undesirable content.?

In reality, Twitter has always been a very uncensored space. It is one of the only platforms that allows adult content and it is dominated by opinion-based user-generated content. If your brand is already advertising on Twitter, you should be comfortable with UGC and the risk of controversial content potentially being around or near your brand.?

Yes, Twitter has worked closely with industry groups, such as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media , to ensure there are some safety parameters in place regarding topics like hate speech and violence. They’ve also taken measures to block individual accounts in order to stop the spread of misinformation. However, free speech is not a new concept for the platform.?

What innovation could Elon Musk’s Twitter provide??

• Twitter’s further expansion into the metaverse
• As a tech-pioneer, we expect to see Musk drive Twitter’s immersion into the metaverse. We will keep a close watch on further developments on immersive Twitter ad units such as the recently released 3D ads .?
• An open-source algorithm may give advertisers more robust data insights?
• If able to be analyzed properly, the open sharing of the coding for the Twitter algorithm may give advertisers insights into how content is suggested. This will allow brands to optimize their content to maximize its viewability.??

What does this mean for brands on Twitter??

In short, we don’t know yet. Time will tell. But, as we anticipate Musk’s next move, we can make informed speculations about the potential implications this acquisition will have for brands and advertisers on the platform.?

Any place where you are advertising around user generated content, there are both opportunities and challenges.?

What should brands be doing??

The future of Twitter is still unknown. Our teams here at True Independent Holdings will continue to keep a pulse as more developments come in. For now, brands should continue to operate as usual and simply stay up to date as more announcements come out from Musk and his team.?

It’s not time for a mass exodus from Twitter. Simply continue to work with your media agency and evaluate if you’re going to meet your campaign goals on Twitter as it stands. Understand the trade-off of reach/attention versus brand safety for any channel with UGC, whether it be Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, or others.?

As further developments unfold, we will continue to update this post, so bookmark this page as an ongoing resource you can refer back to as time goes on.?