Elon Musk seems desperate to revive the business of Twitter. so much that the red social is offering free advertising to try to win back the brands that advertised on the platform and that they decided to abandon their investment plans after the takeover of the controversial technology magnate.
The company would be offering free ad space on Twitter, promisingor match advertisers’ ad spend up to $250,000. This was announced on Friday by the economic newspaper ‘Wall Street Journal’, which had access to internal emails in which this plan was discussed. “The total of 500,000 dollars in advertising must be executed before February 28,” says that information.
Twitter recently promised advertisers that they would return $500,000 in free ads to the platform as long as they spent at least half a million dollars. The company wants them to be used during Super Bowl week, the time of the year when they earn the most revenue.
weakened business
This Twitter incentive responds to the financial need to attract brands to winding up an advertising business that has deteriorated since Musk bought the platform for $44 billion. And it is that the introduction of controversial changes in the social network —from the return of extreme right accounts or the permissiveness with disinformation about the covid to putting the blue mark of check for sale—has driven away its major advertisers. These seek to promote themselves in safe spaces and the measures introduced by Musk mean that they no longer see Twitter as a space where to advertise.
More than 75 of the top 100 advertisers on Twitter before Musk’s arrival have not invested in the platform during the first week of 2023, according to Sensor Tower data. Among the big brands that have paralyzed their advertising plans on Twitter are General Motors, Pfizer, United Airlines or Volkswagen.
At the end of November, ‘Platformer’ pointed out that, in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Twitter’s advertising revenue had fallen by up to 15%, which is equivalent to a loss of about 16 million dollars.
Advertising revenue is the main driver of Twitter’s business. Up to 92% of Twitter’s revenue in 2021 (4,500 of the 5,000 million dollars) come from advertising. That is, therefore, essential for their survival.