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Elon Musk's X/Twitter Growth for Video and Advertisers · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
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  This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, The
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  Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink,
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  and I'm your host, Will Walden. If you want uninterrupted
• 0:17
  episodes of the Elon Musk podcast, please go to
• 0:20
  clubelon.supercast.com to find out how there's a link in the
• 0:26
  show notes. Elon Musk's ex, previously known
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  as Twitter, is taking a significant step to enhance
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  brand safety for advertisers. Starting in February, the
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  company will offer US advertisers more control over
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  the vertical video ad placements through an expanded partnership
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  with Integral Ad Services. Now this move comes after the
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  platform faced criticism for its content moderation policies and
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  the impact on its ad revenue and brand partnerships.
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  Now, X collaboration with IAS involves classifying all
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  vertical video ad adjacencies to ensure they align with the
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  Global Alliance for Responsible Media Framework, or GARM.
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  The company aims to reassure advertisers that their vertical
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  video ads won't be placed next to harmful or offensive content.
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  Now this effort is a part of X's strategy to rebuild trust with
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  its advertising partners and the company's recent challenges with
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  brand safety and content moderation have led to a
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  significant loss in advertising revenue.
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  Major advertisers have reduced their spending on X and shifted
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  to other social media platforms and XS value has plummeted over
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  71% since Musk's takeover in April of 2022, as estimated by
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  Fidelity. And in an attempt to regain its
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  footing in social media arena and attract advertisers, X is
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  now positioning itself as a video first platform.
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  And the company claims that video content is integral to the
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  majority of user sessions, noting a nearly 30% year over
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  year increase in video views. However, it remains unclear if
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  this includes all video views or average video views.
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  Now vertical video is reportedly the fastest growing feature on X
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  with over 100 million daily viewers and significant user
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  engagement. And despite these claims, there
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  are concerns about the accuracy of these numbers, especially
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  considering the platform's recent changes in content
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  moderation and leadership. X is actively expanding its
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  brand safety and content moderation teams too, which
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  reverses the downsizing trend initiated by Elon Musk in 2022.
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  This expansion aims to address ongoing concerns about the
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  platform's approach to managing harmful content and maintaining
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  a safe environment for advertisers and users alike.
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  And despite these efforts, experts remain skeptical about
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  X's ability to attract advertisers back.
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  The company's recent emphasis on video content, including new
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  formats like immersive video and enhanced video Calling Features,
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  is part of its strategy to become an Everything app.
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  And the platform's claims about user engagement with video
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  content, such as the high rate of video watching in user
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  sessions, are met with skepticism.
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  Analysts and industry experts question the clarity and
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  validity of these statistics, especially given the past
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  discrepancy in data released by Axe and Musk.
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  The expansion of video content on X is also seen as an attempt
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  to win backed advertisers who distance themselves following
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  must controversial actions and his statements.
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  Now this shift in content strategy reflects A broader
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  effort to diversify the platform's appeal and its
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  revenue sources. Now, XS blog post highlighted a
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  22% increase in total ad engagements, suggesting that its
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  efforts to make advertising more relevant and impactful are
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  bearing fruit. However, there's criticism about
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  the decline quality of ads on the platform, with some users
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  noticing an influx of lower quality clickbait type ads.
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  Now, the company has established new partnerships with ad
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  verification and brand safety measurement firms, including
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  Double Verify and IAS, and these collaborations aim to reassure
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  advertisers of the platform's commitment to brand safety
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  following concerns about ads appearing next to inappropriate
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  content. Now there's a bit of report from
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  Media Matters which revealed inconsistencies in XS brand
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  safety measures with ads from major brands appearing next to
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  controversial content, and X challenged these findings and
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  responded with legal action against Media Matters.
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  The company's expanded partnership with IAS is a part
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  of its effort to bolster brand safety, particularly for its
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  growing vertical, video content. Now, despite these initiatives,
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  there's continued skepticism about X's potential gain of lost
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  advertising revenue. And experts highlight that while
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  the focus on video content might appeal to advertisers, the
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  overarching issue related to content moderation and Elon
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  Musk's management style remained deterrent to those advertisers.
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  And industry leaders believe that the root of X's advertising
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  challenges lies in his leadership.
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  Then Musk's actions and statements played a significant
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  role in this. And the platform's struggle to
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  retain and attract advertisers is compounded by the
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  availability of alternative social media platforms like
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  Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, etcetera, that are all perceived
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  as safer and more reliable by marketers.
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  Now, X's recent efforts to promote its vertical video
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  capabilities are part of a broader strategy to compete
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  directly with popular social media apps like Tiktok.
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  A pitch deck obtained by Ad Age reveals the platform's focus on
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  brand safety tools and efforts to combat misinformation.
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  Alongside initiatives to boost user engagement and AD revenue,
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  the platform claims a significant increase in monthly
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  active users and user engagement, particularly among
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  Gen. Z users.
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  In X's pitch Deck highlights its new immersive media viewer and
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  various features designed to enhance user interaction with
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  video content and attract more advertisers.
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  Now the strategy for the upcoming holiday season, One of
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  their newest strategies includes a focus on major events,
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  cultural movements. Leveraging these to appeal to
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  advertisers, the platform is reportedly offering significant
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  discounts to entice advertisers amidst efforts to broaden its
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  content offerings, including long form video and also live
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  streaming. Advertisers, however, remain
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  cautious about XS brand safety measures, especially given the
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  platform's recent challenges with misinformation and
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  controversial content. X emphasizes its commitment to
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  providing a safe and trusted environment for conversation,
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  advertising, and also content. Hey, thank you so much for
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  listening today. I really do appreciate your
• 6:28
  support. If you could take a second and
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  hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
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  platform that you're listening on right now, I greatly
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  appreciate it. It helps out the show
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  tremendously and you'll never miss an episode.
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  And each episode is about 10 minutes or less to get you
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  caught up quickly. Please, if you want to support
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  the show even more, go to Patreon Stage Zero and please
• 6:53
  take care of yourselves and each other and I'll see you tomorrow.