Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, The
Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink,
and I'm your host, Will Walden. If you want uninterrupted
episodes of the Elon Musk podcast, please go to
clubelon.supercast.com to find out how there's a link in the
show notes. Elon Musk's ex, previously known
as Twitter, is taking a significant step to enhance
brand safety for advertisers. Starting in February, the
company will offer US advertisers more control over
the vertical video ad placements through an expanded partnership
with Integral Ad Services. Now this move comes after the
platform faced criticism for its content moderation policies and
the impact on its ad revenue and brand partnerships.
Now, X collaboration with IAS involves classifying all
vertical video ad adjacencies to ensure they align with the
Global Alliance for Responsible Media Framework, or GARM.
The company aims to reassure advertisers that their vertical
video ads won't be placed next to harmful or offensive content.
Now this effort is a part of X's strategy to rebuild trust with
its advertising partners and the company's recent challenges with
brand safety and content moderation have led to a
significant loss in advertising revenue.
Major advertisers have reduced their spending on X and shifted
to other social media platforms and XS value has plummeted over
71% since Musk's takeover in April of 2022, as estimated by
Fidelity. And in an attempt to regain its
footing in social media arena and attract advertisers, X is
now positioning itself as a video first platform.
And the company claims that video content is integral to the
majority of user sessions, noting a nearly 30% year over
year increase in video views. However, it remains unclear if
this includes all video views or average video views.
Now vertical video is reportedly the fastest growing feature on X
with over 100 million daily viewers and significant user
engagement. And despite these claims, there
are concerns about the accuracy of these numbers, especially
considering the platform's recent changes in content
moderation and leadership. X is actively expanding its
brand safety and content moderation teams too, which
reverses the downsizing trend initiated by Elon Musk in 2022.
This expansion aims to address ongoing concerns about the
platform's approach to managing harmful content and maintaining
a safe environment for advertisers and users alike.
And despite these efforts, experts remain skeptical about
X's ability to attract advertisers back.
The company's recent emphasis on video content, including new
formats like immersive video and enhanced video Calling Features,
is part of its strategy to become an Everything app.
And the platform's claims about user engagement with video
content, such as the high rate of video watching in user
sessions, are met with skepticism.
Analysts and industry experts question the clarity and
validity of these statistics, especially given the past
discrepancy in data released by Axe and Musk.
The expansion of video content on X is also seen as an attempt
to win backed advertisers who distance themselves following
must controversial actions and his statements.
Now this shift in content strategy reflects A broader
effort to diversify the platform's appeal and its
revenue sources. Now, XS blog post highlighted a
22% increase in total ad engagements, suggesting that its
efforts to make advertising more relevant and impactful are
bearing fruit. However, there's criticism about
the decline quality of ads on the platform, with some users
noticing an influx of lower quality clickbait type ads.
Now, the company has established new partnerships with ad
verification and brand safety measurement firms, including
Double Verify and IAS, and these collaborations aim to reassure
advertisers of the platform's commitment to brand safety
following concerns about ads appearing next to inappropriate
content. Now there's a bit of report from
Media Matters which revealed inconsistencies in XS brand
safety measures with ads from major brands appearing next to
controversial content, and X challenged these findings and
responded with legal action against Media Matters.
The company's expanded partnership with IAS is a part
of its effort to bolster brand safety, particularly for its
growing vertical, video content. Now, despite these initiatives,
there's continued skepticism about X's potential gain of lost
advertising revenue. And experts highlight that while
the focus on video content might appeal to advertisers, the
overarching issue related to content moderation and Elon
Musk's management style remained deterrent to those advertisers.
And industry leaders believe that the root of X's advertising
challenges lies in his leadership.
Then Musk's actions and statements played a significant
role in this. And the platform's struggle to
retain and attract advertisers is compounded by the
availability of alternative social media platforms like
Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, etcetera, that are all perceived
as safer and more reliable by marketers.
Now, X's recent efforts to promote its vertical video
capabilities are part of a broader strategy to compete
directly with popular social media apps like Tiktok.
A pitch deck obtained by Ad Age reveals the platform's focus on
brand safety tools and efforts to combat misinformation.
Alongside initiatives to boost user engagement and AD revenue,
the platform claims a significant increase in monthly
active users and user engagement, particularly among
Gen. Z users.
In X's pitch Deck highlights its new immersive media viewer and
various features designed to enhance user interaction with
video content and attract more advertisers.
Now the strategy for the upcoming holiday season, One of
their newest strategies includes a focus on major events,
cultural movements. Leveraging these to appeal to
advertisers, the platform is reportedly offering significant
discounts to entice advertisers amidst efforts to broaden its
content offerings, including long form video and also live
streaming. Advertisers, however, remain
cautious about XS brand safety measures, especially given the
platform's recent challenges with misinformation and
controversial content. X emphasizes its commitment to
providing a safe and trusted environment for conversation,
advertising, and also content. Hey, thank you so much for
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