X Offers Ad Credit Matching to Shopify Merchants
Hey, remember a few months back when reports suggested that X was on track to post a major financial loss for the year, but X executives were like ānah, our ad revenue will be fine, weāll make heaps on the U.S. election and the Olympicsā?
Yeah, Iām guessing that didnāt happen, because Elon Muskās personal social network is making a big push to eek out more money in the final stretch of the year.
This week, X has started pushing full-screen promotions for X Premium, as it seeks to get more people paying to use the app.
In addition to this, X has announced a new promotion, in conjunction with Shopify, which will see X match Shopify merchantsā ad spend this holiday season.
As per X:
āFrom now through December 1st, we’re offering Shopify store owners an unbeatable deal to help you scale your business and drive more sales. To help you take advantage of this exciting new update, weāre offering a 100% ad credit matchĀ when you speak with an X Ads Specialist.ā
As you can see in this overview, there are some provisos on that, in that youāll need to commit to a level of X ad spend, and connect your Shopify info through to X. Your ad credits will then be valid for only 30 days, but these are fairly minor considerations for, effectively, free X ads.
But you also donāt offer something for free if itās in high demand, and as such, the promotion itself suggests that X is still in a pretty tight spot on overall ad intake.
Of course, many advertisers have turned away from X, due to Elon Muskās controversial changes at the app, which have seen major shifts in moderation (putting more reliance on Community Notes, which is not up to the task), and a rise in the presence of right-wing political commentary.
And above all that, a rise in the presence of Musk himself. Muskās clearly using the app as a bullhorn for his own political views and preferences, and thatās made some brands more wary of using the app for audience outreach.
Which is why, as noted, X was on track to record a major loss this year heading into the election and Olympics periods.
As we reported last month, X is currently on track to bring in an estimated $2.9 billion in total revenue for 2024, which is a significant decline on the $4.4 billion that Twitter brought in in 2022. Musk took ownership of the app late in that year, and his plans to revitalize the platform, and convert it into a billion-user powerhouse, have thus far largely fallen flat.
And while Musk has arguably succeeded in his broader mission of getting Donald Trump back into office, X itself remains in dire straits financially, especially when you also factor in the $1.2 billion in annual loan repayments that Musk brought into the company when he purchased the app.
Whatās leftover, then, is unlikely to be enough to cover Xās bills. But then again, it has shut down offices (including its San Francisco HQ) and laid off a heap of staff. So maybe its overheads are far lower than most presume.
Though even factoring in these changes, X might still be in a tough spot, and if it canāt pay the bills, it could still be facing bankruptcy, if itās unable to get its ad business back on track.
There have been some positive signs, with reports suggesting that several major advertisers are now returning to X, potentially in an effort to hold favor with Musk, whoās expected to hold significant sway in the second Trump Administration. Trumpās victory could also see more advertisers reconsidering their audience understanding, and that too may also see more returning to the app.
It would take a big turnaround, but I do think that X is going to find a way, particularly now that Elon believes that he can use the platform to sway political outcomes in his favor. Ā Ā
I doubt heās going to give that up so easily, and with Musk pulling political strings, and calling in favors, I assume that heāll be able to find a way to keep the company afloat, one way or another.
But this latest offer shows that X is still struggling to win back ad partners, and get its ad business back on track. That still looms as a challenge for its future.
Though if youāre a Shopify merchant, free expanded X campaigns, if you want them.
