X, previously Twitter, has undergone massive upheaval in the last several years. Following an acquisition by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in 2022, the text-based social media platform underwent a name change, mass layoffs, and a loss of ad revenues. Following a dip in users, X isn’t as brand-friendly as Twitter once was, but the platform will still be used by 348.6 million people worldwide in 2024, according to a May 2023 EMARKETER forecast.

This guide explores key details about X, its history, its significance, and the ways marketers and advertisers can leverage the platform.

A brief history of Twitter/X

X has been a major source of news, direct communication with brands and public figures, and controversy since its founding by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams in 2006.

Until the rebrand to X, individual pieces of content on Twitter were called “tweets,” though they are now referred to as “posts.” The first tweet came from Dorsey in March 2006 and read “just setting up my twttr,” referring to the social network’s original name.

X found initial success through people posting during sporting events, but the 2011 Arab Spring was a pivotal moment for the platform, as people in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia posted about mounting protests.

Then in 2013, Oreo changed X forever with a timely post about a power outage during Super Bowl XLVII, which read, “Power out? No problem. You can still dunk in the dark.” The tweet was evidence that brands could be reactive, fast-acting, and witty without developing massive long-term campaigns.

In 2014, Ellen DeGeneres tweeted a selfie during the Oscars, which at the time was the most retweeted tweet ever.

X was instrumental in the 2016 US presidential election, which resulted in a win for Donald Trump, who maintained a notorious presence on the platform throughout his term in office.

In 2020, X played an important role in communicating information about the COVID-19 pandemic, but the site was also rife with misinformation related to the virus.

All these events brought X to the Musk era.

Struggles with X

Twitter was already struggling with monetization before its sale to Musk. US ad revenues climbed by an astonishing 42.2% YoY in 2021, per an EMARKETER forecast, but they’ve dipped every year since then. The text-based platform is not a place users typically go to shop or browse products, resulting in advertising challenges.

Sale to Musk and rebrand to X

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the current owner of X and the ideator behind its rebrand from Twitter. Under Musk’s leadership, X has struggled with its aim to become an “everything app” as it faces challenges with monetization, brand safety, and US user decline.

Acquisition timeline

  • January 2022: Musk begins purchasing stock in Twitter.
  • April 2022: Twitter accepts a $46.5 billion bid from Musk.
  • October 2022: Musk’s takeover is finalized.
  • March 2023: Musk values Twitter at $20 billion, less than half of what he paid for it.
  • May 2023: Musk hires former NBCUniversal ad head Linda Yaccarino as Twitter’s new CEO.
  • July 2023: Twitter rebrands to X. Yaccarino posted on the platform, “X is centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking—creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities.”

Rebrand to X

Musk has a long history with the letter X. One of Musk’s earliest tech ventures—which would go on to become PayPal—was almost named X.com. His rocket company is SpaceX, his generative AI company is xAI, and Tesla’s flagship SUV is the Model X, so it’s no surprise he picked this letter to rebrand the company once called Twitter.

But Twitter already had global brand recognition. Musk’s intentions with this rebrand were, theoretically, to build a super app, which would combine messaging, payments, social networking, and commerce into one platform the way WeChat has in China. However, trust issues, a lack of users, and the way people actually use X have made those ambitions challenging.

Effects on the social network

Musk’s tenure has featured support from and the reinstatement of accounts from far-right US political and media figures. Reduced moderation against antisemitism, racism, neo-Nazism, and child abuse on the platform has lead to an environment that could hurt the brand safety of its advertisers.

These issues have had tangible effects on social media marketing on the app. Many prominent brands have ditched X altogether, both as an ad platform and as a place to have a native presence.

What is the marketing and advertising opportunity on X?

While the platform has seen upheaval recently, it remains a channel for brand marketing either through native content or through paid ads reaching custom audiences.

In the past, X has been a supportive environment for native brand content, allowing direct communication with consumers and providing a platform for a playful brand voice. That said, a decrease in users and brand safety concerns due to racist and offensive posts on the platform led many brands to stop using X in 2023.

Ad spend overview

X is a major player in paid social media advertising.

  • EMARKETER projects X’s US ad revenues will be $1.04 billion in 2024, down slightly from $1.06 billion in 2023 and down considerably from $2.36 billion in 2022.
  • X is the only major social media platform EMARKETER projects will lose ad revenues in 2024, according to an October 2023 EMARKETER forecast.
  • X will account for just 1.6% of US social media ad spend in 2024.
  • EMARKETER downgraded its worldwide X ad spend forecast back in March 2023 after a decline in spending by X’s top 10 advertisers, including Amazon, IBM, and The Coca-Cola Co., according to our Twitter 6 Months After Musk report.
how emarketer's twitter ad revenue forecast has changed
How EMARKETER’s worldwide X ad revenues forecast has changed, 2021 to 2023.

Ad types

X has a number of ad types, which include the following:

  • Image ad: Photo that showcases a product.
  • Video ad: Video that drives engagement or drives users to a website or app.
  • Vertical video ad: A full-screen extension of the standard video ad.
  • Carousel ad: Offers six swipeable images or videos.
  • Collection ad: Similar to a carousel but with more options for advertisers.
  • Text ad: A standard post with boosted reach. Brands and users can also promote an organic or regular post for engagement.
  • X Amplify: An ad featured within relevant video content.
  • X Takeover: Allows advertisers to take ownership of the Timeline or Explore tabs.
  • X Live: Promotes livestream content.

Campaign objectives on X

Campaigns on X can be targeted toward different objectives, including awareness, consideration, and conversion, according to the company.

  • Awareness campaigns target reach.
  • Consideration campaigns can help with video views, pre-roll views, app installs, website traffic, and engagement. X Amplify is a form of these campaigns that pairs pre-roll ads with brand-safe video content.
  • Conversion campaigns can focus on app reengagement or website conversions.

Native marketing

X has historically been a tool for native marketing and honing brand voice. Brands can respond to customers in real time on the platform and craft unique, sometimes raunchy posts to give consumers a feel for their brand identity. Brands like Wendy’s have done a good job of standing out on the platform, creating a distinct persona while engaging with consumers and other brands.

Best practices

If your brand chooses to use X for paid advertising or native marketing, make sure your social media professional has a firm grasp on the platform so you can reach your target audience. What works on Instagram or TikTok won’t work on X because both the format and tone are completely different.

  • Be aware of your audience. Make sure you understand the ages and other demographic information of who you want to reach on X in order to craft the right tone.
  • Be original. A funny original post on X can pay off. Even if your brand is building on an existing meme, make sure the post adds something new to the conversation.
  • Approach messaging holistically. Paid ads can’t do it all on X, so if your brand is using the platform, make sure to maintain a native presence.
  • Be timely. Content on X can quickly become irrelevant.
  • Take risks, but use caution. A risky post on X can go viral and boost brand awareness. But if it misses the mark, it can raise the wrong kind of attention—and X users can be ruthless.

What are X’s audience demographics?

X will have 348.6 million users worldwide in 2024, a decline from its peak of 373.6 million in 2022, according to a May 2023 EMARKETER forecast.

In the US, X will have 51.6 million users in 2024, a decline from 2022’s peak of 58.9 million.

  • Of X’s US users, 19.0% are between ages 18 and 24, 22.1% are ages 25 to 34, and 18.3% are ages 35 to 44. Usage tapers among older and younger demographics.
  • Penetration of X is highest among Black (21.6%) and Hispanic (21.0%) people. Penetration among white people in the US is 12.2%.

What are the challenges to marketing on X?

The Musk era has brought a litany of challenges to marketing and advertising on X, but the platform faced problems related to brand safety and monetization long before the billionaire’s takeover. 

Brand safety

All social media platforms face brand safety challenges, and X is no exception. On platforms where anyone can post about or interact with a brand, and where ads can show up beside any kind of content, brand safety can be tenuous. X faces unique challenges due to its own format and history.

  • Ads and posts can appear beside unsavory content. In 2022, some ads mistakenly ran alongside content related to child sexual abuse, which resulted in advertisers cutting back on spend.
  • Posts can miss the mark. In 2021, Burger King found itself in hot water after tweeting “women belong in the kitchen,” a tone-deaf tweet that was widely ridiculed.
  • Accounts can mimic real brands. One account called Nihilist Arby’s has existed for years as a parody of the fast-food chain. And while the account clearly states it’s a parody, it still risks confusion with the real brand.

Moderation

After Musk’s takeover, X laid off 50% of its staff, many of whom worked with trust and safety on the platform. With fewer content moderators, X has run into issues with racist, explicit, and downright illegal content.

Monetization issues

X has always faced challenges with monetization. Users on the platform aren’t generally inclined to shop or even browse products. Without users inclined to engage with shoppable ads, the platform’s ad business has remained small compared with the likes of Meta or TikTok. Musk has attempted to boost revenues by introducing a paid premium tier, but reception has been lukewarm.

Musk-era controversies

Brands have reduced ad spend and marketing presence on X, both because of brand safety issues and because of the platform’s shrinking audience. Some brands have left due to decisions like the one to reinstate accounts from controversial figures, including InfoWars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. But many have pulled back simply because X’s ad model has always had challenges with users who aren’t focused on purchasing.

Social media on the whole has become less focused on networking and more focused on entertainment, which presents an existential challenge for a text-based platform like X. And while X has made moves to pivot to video (like courting creator MrBeast to post on the platform), statistics on views and revenues have little transparency, making the platform unreliable for creators.

Which platforms compete with X?

As X wanes, other platforms have vied to take its ad dollars and audience.

Decentralized, text-based platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky have seen moderate success, but Instagram’s Threads probably has the biggest audience of these competitors. Threads has a very similar interface to Twitter and is directly connected to users’ Instagram accounts. When Threads was released, sign-up numbers were astronomical; since then, however, the platform has struggled to maintain users. That said, Threads was one of the top 10 most downloaded apps in December 2023, according to Appfigures.

Other, more news-oriented platforms have also attempted to replicate X’s appeal. In April 2023, newsletter platform Substack introduced Notes, a short-form content feature similar to X. The founders of Instagram also released an AI-aggregated newsfeed app called Artifact, but the platform shut down within a year.