According to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, Twitter, now named X, has started offering a 50 percent discount on video ads to some advertisers in the US and UK. These ads will run alongside trending topics under the platform’s “Explore” tab. The offer is timed around the Women’s World Cup and is set to end on July 31st, which conveniently aligns with another change to Twitter’s ad policy. Starting August 7th, advertisers who have not reached certain spending thresholds will lose their official brand account verification.
To retain the gold checkmark indicating a verified brand account, brands will need to have spent at least $1,000 on ads within the prior 30 days or $6,000 in the previous 180 days, according to emails obtained by The Wall Street Journal. This change is aimed at encouraging advertisers to invest more in Twitter ads and to ensure that verified accounts are associated with reputable brands.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, has previously expressed his desire to reduce the platform’s reliance on advertising revenue. Instead, he aims to generate more revenue through premium services like Twitter Blue subscriptions. While the official number of Twitter Blue subscribers is not public, it has been reported that nearly 640,000 users were paying for the service as of April. However, over half of its earliest 150,000 adopters are believed to have canceled their subscriptions.
Efforts to promote Twitter Blue subscriptions seem to be negatively impacting Twitter’s advertising business. In a move to prevent data scraping, Musk implemented temporary limits on the number of posts users can read earlier this month. Verified users were given preferential treatment to see more tweets. As a result, fewer users are seeing ads, causing advertising prices to rise. The Wall Street Journal reported that one agency experienced a 15 percent increase in advertising prices during this change.
Threatening to remove verified checkmarks can be seen as a risky move for Twitter, considering the emergence of alternative social media platforms such as Threads and Bluesky. These platforms are gaining popularity, and consumers are showing a willingness to switch platforms. Threads, for instance, reached 100 million registrations in just five days. Additionally, other attempts by Twitter to generate additional revenue, such as increasing API pricing, have not been well-received. It remains to be seen if Musk’s bold strategy will pay off for him and the platform.
In conclusion, Twitter, now known as X, is offering a 50 percent discount on video ads to select advertisers in the US and UK. This offer aligns with another change to Twitter’s ad policy, which will remove verified checkmarks from accounts that have not met specific spending thresholds. Elon Musk’s goal to shift Twitter’s revenue source away from advertising towards premium services like Twitter Blue subscriptions may be impacting the platform’s advertising business. By restricting the number of posts users can read, fewer people are seeing ads, leading to higher advertising prices. This move comes with some risks, considering the growing popularity of alternative social media platforms. Only time will tell if Musk’s strategy will be successful.
