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To put it mildly, Elon Musk’s acquisition of X (previously Twitter) has been tumultuous. Additionally, while instability may garner media attention, corporations do not seek it out when allocating their advertising budgets. After all, strategic planning relies heavily on stability.

X is still a useful part of many firms’ marketing mixes even though it isn’t the biggest player in the digital advertising market. It makes sense that advertisers who are already using the site are wondering what will happen next given the recent adjustments that have created confusion.

In addition to reviewing the major advancements to date, this post will examine three potential future X situations, their implications for marketers, and how to get ready for them.

After a well-publicized effort to back out of the transaction, Elon Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition of X on October 27. Musk has implemented drastic reforms since seizing power, firing hundreds of workers and forcing many more to quit after he had they take a “loyalty oath.”

Musk’s first significant project was a membership service that charged $8 per month for verified status. However, once parody accounts used the tool to mimic well-known businesses, the rollout was immediately criticised. The stock of the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly fell 4% after a phoney tweet suggesting that “insulin is free” was posted by an account impersonating the corporation. A tense relationship between X and corporate marketers began after the incident.

The 2023 rebranding to “X” reflects Musk’s overarching goal of making the platform “the everything app.” This was originally alluded to in October 2022 when he called X “an accelerant to creating X, the everything app”—a notion modelled after WeChat in China, which integrates chat, payments, shopping, and other features. Musk designated Linda Yaccarino to oversee commercial operations in May 2023 while he concentrated on developing new technologies and products.

Musk has a great affinity with the letter “X.” From his first online banking business, X.com, which later evolved into PayPal, to SpaceX, he views “X” as a representation of the future and limitless potential. His strategy at X is similar to that of his other businesses, particularly Tesla.

It is well known that Tesla doesn’t spend any money on conventional advertising. According to its financial filings, marketing costs are “immaterial,” and Musk stated in a 2019 tweet that “Tesla does not advertise or pay for endorsements.” Rather, we just spend that money to improve the offerings.

However, not every business is like Tesla. Since digital marketing yields quantifiable results, the majority of well-known firms make significant investments in it. For X to be successful, helping brands reach their advertising objectives must coexist with creating a fantastic product.

Advertising services provide for a large portion of X’s yearly revenue, but since Musk took over, those profits have drastically decreased.

Musk acknowledges the value of advertising to X’s operations, but he appears to find it difficult to interact with advertisers in a productive way.

He regularly shares politically charged information and right-wing conspiracy theories, and since taking office, he has dissolved important content moderation teams. For advertisers, who have many other options, such as TikTok and Snapchat, to reach their viewers, these actions have created a volatile situation. Major companies like Unilever and CVS Health have consequently stopped spending money on the site for advertising.

Musk famously said, “I don’t want them to advertise,” in a foul-mouthed tirade in late 2023 in response to what he saw as advertising “blackmail.” But his behaviour seems to indicate otherwise. X sued a number of companies in 2024, alleging that they were planning an illegal boycott of the platform.

Musk appears to be overlooking the bigger picture, though. Depending on their investment judgement and business interests, these brands independently and strategically decided to break with X. In addition to hurting advertising income, the aftermath has caused the platform to receive a lot of bad press.

X continues to be a useful platform for companies in spite of recent difficulties. It still serves as a gathering place for breaking news, real-time discussions, and cultural events, providing a distinct setting that distinguishes it from rivals. It still has the potential to be a substitute advertising channel for internet behemoths like Meta, Google, and Amazon if handled properly.

A number of platforms have tried to take advantage of Elon Musk’s mistakes in order to attract X’s user base, ranging from Mastodon to Meta’s Threads. But according to Statista research, X attracts a different audience than its competitors. It might have an advantage when it comes to accessing particular client segments because of this differentiation. For instance, X is especially useful for reaching educated populations because its members are statistically more likely to have a college degree than users on other social media platforms.

People that utilize X are more likely to live in large cities.

Additionally, they are much more likely to be interested in sports, travel, and video games.

Because of this, a lot of brands keep an eye on X in the hopes of finding the stability and certainty required to support more advertising expenditures.

It is practically hard to foresee Musk’s next move, though, and since X is now privately held, his decisions will have a significant impact on the company’s course. It makes more sense for companies to plan for a variety of potential outcomes in light of this unpredictability. The following scenarios show the most likely fates for brands on the platform, depending on the priorities Musk decides to prioritize.

In this case, Musk goes beyond what makes sense in his recent acts. He completely changes his approach, concluding that X no longer need traditional advertising revenue, rather than attempting to regain advertisers and their much-needed short-term investment. The focus shifts from advertising to creating a better product that can generate revenue via subscriptions.

Musk’s “better product” is presumed to be an open-source platform with little content limitations that is designed to draw a devoted user base prepared to pay for premium features. This approach shows a growing understanding that, at least during this turbulent transition, advertiser demands may be fundamentally at conflict with Musk’s vision for X.

It looks more like a retaliatory gesture than a sincere desire to mend those ties, despite the company’s recent lawsuit against advertisers suggesting an attempt to re-engage them. Musk is probably aware that legal action won’t release marketing funds. Rather, the action is part of a larger plan to become independent of ads.

In 2023, X submitted applications for several financial licenses in the US, indicating intentions to launch financial services and payment processing on the platform in support of this change. These changes indicate a conscious attempt to lessen dependency on advertising and diversify sources of income.

In order to draw in well-known content producers, X is anticipated to increase its video capabilities. X reported 1.5 billion posts about gaming in the first half of 2022, second only to the 10.4 billion posts about news, demonstrating the platform’s significant presence in that community. Gaming would be a logical place to start.

Keep the story of your brand under strict control: Engage with your audience and keep an eye out for brand mentions. Because X has less stringent content control, you might need to be more proactive in preserving and enhancing the reputation of your company.

Monitor audience trends and behavior: You may need to make quick adjustments to stay connected if certain client segments start moving to other platforms. However, keep an open mind because X might draw in new user demographics, which could allow you to reach a wider audience through your current presence.

Consider your platform choices: Keep an eye out for new platforms that are promoting themselves as substitutes for the “new X.” Threads is a great place to start, especially as it makes it easier for businesses to gain momentum by using their current Meta audience.

Elon Musk’s public remarks frequently confirm the generally held belief that he undervalues the importance of advertising.

There are indications, though, that his position might be more complex than it first seems. “Highly relevant ads are actually content, but low-relevancy ads are spam,” Musk wrote in an October letter to advertisers. This implies that if advertising on X more closely matches user interests and platform experience, he might see a future for it.

Few would contest that X provides brands with the best advertising tools available right now. When compared to platforms like Instagram or Google, the platform performs poorly in terms of complex targeting capabilities, but it shines at customer service and real-time engagement.

Musk might be more receptive to tailored, performance-driven marketing, even while he still has doubts about conventional brand-led promotion. In this case, X might create new formats and performance indicators to update its ad offerings. More personal information from users would probably be needed for that, or for the platform to gather more in-depth behavioral insights. Restoring some kind of content moderation would also be necessary to win back advertising trust.

Advertising on X has a lot of room to grow, and businesses would embrace a reliable, performance-based substitute for the established digital behemoths. However, this would only be feasible in a setting that guarantees brand protection, and it would necessitate a significant change in Musk’s existing strategy.

However, financial realities may compel adjustment. Musk estimates that after the acquisition, X’s worth has dropped by about $24 billion. Platforms that allow them to safely and successfully contact their audiences will always be given priority by advertisers. It would take a significant course correction to turn X into one of those platforms, but Musk is accustomed to making audacious, surprising reversals.

Take charge of the story behind your brand.
Keep an eye out for brand references and maintain audience engagement. You might need to take more active measures to safeguard and mold your brand’s reputation in real time if X has laxer moderation.

Keep a tight eye on audience shifts.
Be prepared to modify your approach to accommodate people who switch to different platforms. Keep an open mind, though, because X might start drawing in new audience groups, which would present new chances to expand your current presence.

Look at other platforms.
Watch out for up-and-coming rivals that want to establish themselves as alternatives to the “new X.” Threads is a good option since it gives businesses the ability to use their current Meta ecosystem to efficiently and rapidly increase their following.

For a long time, Elon Musk has been skeptical of the effectiveness of conventional advertising. He frequently minimizes its significance in his public remarks. But his opinions might be more complex than they seem. “Highly relevant ads are actually content, but low-relevancy ads are spam,” Musk wrote in an October letter to advertisers.—a claim that suggests a potential receptivity to performance-based, tailored marketing.

At the moment, X (previously Twitter) isn’t renowned for providing the best advertising options. It performs exceptionally well as a customer service and direct user connection platform, but it lacks the advanced targeting features that companies anticipate from sites like Instagram or Google.

Musk continues to criticize widespread, brand-oriented advertising. However, his position may be more accommodating when it comes to data-driven, tailored marketing that produces quantifiable outcomes. X would need to drastically improve its ad platform in order to become a key participant in this industry, creating new formats and analytics that are more beneficial to performance marketers. More thorough user data collection, either directly or through behavioral insights, would probably be required for this change.

Importantly, Musk has previously opposed stricter content regulation, which is necessary to restore advertiser trust and guarantee a brand-safe environment. However, X has a clear chance to establish itself as a reliable performance marketing substitute for the established tech behemoths.

But Musk would have to change course significantly from where he is now going in order for that to occur. There is genuine pressure to change, as he thinks that X’s value has decreased by $24 billion since the acquisition. Wherever they can securely and successfully reach their audience, advertisers will go. X has the potential to become a competitive force in digital advertising again if Musk is prepared to make a daring change, which is nothing new to him.

Start with testing on a modest scale.
To determine whether X can provide both a safe atmosphere for your business and good advertising success, start with small campaigns. Beyond what is available in the platform’s native dashboard, think about putting up extra tracking tools to keep an eye on where your ads are being displayed.

Strategically scale
A cautious approach makes logical because large brands have more at stake. However, there might be a chance to obtain an early-mover edge before rivals arrive if the redesigned X platform begins to provide an outstanding Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). If the results are there, scale up fast.

Recognize X in relation to the larger media mix.
Examine closely how performance is tracked and attributed in X. Does it have a significant impact on your customers’ decision to buy? Consider how it supports other channels and advances your overall marketing objectives as part of your larger media plan.

In a potential future, X develops into a super-app in the Western way, including services like ride-hailing and payments (with Tesla, of course, included). In order to profit from the transactions that take place within its ecosystem, Elon Musk might relaunch the platform as a rival to China’s enormously popular WeChat, which is home to millions of mini-apps and games.

A similar metamorphosis is already being pursued by Meta. Its goal is to create a single, integrated advertising platform by combining Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. In an effort to influence the next phase of digital engagement, it is simultaneously investing billions of dollars in the development of the metaverse.

X would take a different route to becoming a super-app, one that is based on combining the essential features of our digital life. The first step would probably be payments. Notably, Block, a significant force in the payments industry, is currently led by Jack Dorsey, the original inventor of X. The establishment of a strong payments infrastructure by X may entice developers to provide services and mini-apps on the platform.

However, spotting the opportunity is one thing, but seizing it is quite another. If Musk decides that a high-stakes makeover of the platform is more important than pursuing traditional advertising, he may follow this daring course.

However, trust is still the biggest obstacle. Customers may be deterred from adopting X as a safe place to handle their finances for the same reason that advertising have shunned it. Why would regular people trust X with their financial transactions if brands don’t trust it to protect their investment and produce results?

Create a full-funnel approach.
Should X effectively evolve into a super-app, it might provide advertisers with complete access to the consumer journey, from awareness to purchase. Users may find, compare, and finish transactions all within the X ecosystem using a wide range of mini-apps. The same strategic approach is applicable to any developing super-app environment, even though this reality might still be a long way off.

Embrace an ecology perspective.
Super-apps consist of extensive networks of related services. The most innovative companies enter first, creating strategic alliances and building a presence on important mini-apps. Playing throughout the ecosystem, not just in one aspect, is the key to success.

Use global models as a source of inspiration.
Even while WeChat doesn’t have a direct Western counterpart, other markets can teach us important lessons. Gojek in Indonesia, for instance, combines payments and transportation onto a single platform. Examine what does well in these settings and try modifying those strategies to fit your market and brand.

Any one of these strategic avenues could be pursued by X, or perhaps all three in succession. Or it could go in a completely different path. For the time being, we will all be intently observing the next chapter as it develops in real time over the course of the upcoming days, weeks, or months.

The fundamental query for brands is still whether continuing to be engaged on X has more potential advantages than disadvantages. In the past, the response was straightforward. There were customers, the platform required little upkeep, and having a presence on X—typically bolstered by sporadic promoted posts or mild brand awareness campaigns—seemed like a safe bet.

However, the terrain has changed. Marketing demands more focus, strategic thinking, and a more thorough evaluation of risk against reward in today’s version of X. Short-term prudence is prudent. Brands shouldn’t discount the chance that X might develop into a platform that offers both intriguing new opportunities and novel problems.

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