When Elon Musk fired a large chunk of Twitter's workforce, experts were keen to warn that such a move might impact the platform's user safety and content moderation, calling on advertisers to stop pulling out their money.
These warnings now seem to have materialized, as recent research points out that half of Twitter's top advertisers have already deserted the Musk-led platform, with some already considering following suit.
Twitter Drives Away Advertisers
According to the latest study from the web-based nonprofit think tank Media Matters for America, Elon Musk has already lost half of the top 100 advertisers on Twitter. This comes less than a month after the billionaire took office.
The research shows that these 50 businesses have spent roughly $2 billion on Twitter advertisements since 2020. It is also important to note that these large advertisers spent more than $750 million on advertising in 2022 alone.
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The report has tracked a number of big companies that could be considered "quiet quitters," slowly pulling out ad spending from the social platform. This is while companies like Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Ford, and Chevrolet have already issued statements confirming their intentions to halt their ads on Twitter.
Back in October, General Motors told CNBC that it had temporarily paused its paid advertising on Twitter due to the significant change in the media platform. The Detroit-based automaker is currently "engaging with Twitter to understand the direction of the platform under their new ownership."
'Quit Quitters'
The watchdog has identified American Express Company, AT&T, CNN, Kellogg Company, and Nestle as some of the "quit quitters." The research stated that these businesses had previously advertised on Twitter but had since ceased due to direct outreach, controversies, and media buyer cautions.
The report notes Musk's decision to reinstate banned accounts and the verification mechanism that allowed users to purchase a blue tick and impersonate businesses and persons were all factors in the reduction in advertising.
The new Twitter CEO, on the other hand, recently made hints that companies and activists would start a campaign against him by banding together to pull funding from Twitter.
The previous study suggested that these emerging issues from Musk's Twitter expose the service to different types of fraud and brand imitations, neither of which are very appealing to ad spenders. In fact, Mondelez International has also reportedly stopped advertising on Twitter, citing concerns about hate speech on the platform.
News.com.au tells us that Localsearch, an Australian digital marketing provider, says Twitter's advertising is traditionally unappealing to that section of the market. To the point that most businesses opted for Facebook or Instagram for a better return on investment, Localsearch chairman Daniel Stoten told the news provider.
"Diversifying their activity across different platforms is encouraged," Stoten suggests.
The situation is delicate for Twitter, whose revenue is 90% based on advertising. Advertisers, on the other hand, do not need Twitter and can instead use other social networks.
Stay posted here for more updates.
