Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
Both Republican and Democratic political ad buyers are eager to get back on Twitter after Twitter announced it would rescind its rules banning political ads.
In 2019, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey made the decision to ban ads referencing political candidates, parties, elections and other political content. That decision is about to be reversed by the social media giant Twitter.
Twitter has yet to reveal the full details of its new policy. But he said he would “expand” the amount of political advertising on the platform, deregulate “political-based” advertising, and align political advertising regulations with “television and other media” standards. says that.
Despite the lack of clarity on what Twitter’s specific policies are, most of the six political advertising experts interviewed by Insider in early January 2023, with some caution, said they weren’t comfortable advertising on Twitter. He said he would like to start posting again.
Mark Penn, a former adviser to former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and now CEO of the Stagwell Group marketing network, said on Twitter: We will definitely test and see how the ads work and which formats work.”
“In general, it’s a smart move. Politics is the lifeblood of Twitter. It’s inconceivable that it would not have been allowed before,” Penn said.
Political ads generate ‘non-negligible’ revenue for Twitter
Before the ban on political advertising, Twitter advertising was a small share of campaign spending, with the majority of online advertising dollars going to Facebook and Google, which have far more users. , experts point out. According to Twitter’s former chief financial officer, during the 2018 U.S. midterm elections, Twitter earned less than $3 million in political advertising dollars. .
Twitter lost dozens of advertisers after its acquisition by Elon Musk, and its revenue has plummeted. We are looking for ways to get results in the short term. But the surge in fake accounts, hate speech and reports of significant job cuts have led some advertisers and major agencies to view Twitter as a “high-risk” destination for advertising.
Twitter headquarters building in San Francisco.
That said, political advertisers don’t appear to be as concerned about brand safety as Fortune 500 companies, said FlexPoint Media, which is involved in Republican campaigns, committees and advocacy groups. CEO, Tim Cameron.
“Brands may not want their ads to run alongside dark economic or war news, but political advertisers will want their ads to run alongside stories about the war in Ukraine. I want to attract readers who have
Twitter may not make more than hundreds of millions of dollars from political ads like Google and Facebook. But “even if it’s $25 million, or $50 million, it’s a lot of money for the company,” Cameron said. says. Twitter as a whole will generate $5.1 billion in revenue in 2021, 90% of which will come from advertising.
Historically, Twitter has not been seen as an effective performance marketing vehicle compared to Google and Facebook. But for politicians, activists, and others with political power, Twitter is a valuable social contact point for discussing important issues of the moment.
Desired enhancement of advertising support system
Most experts want to see improvements in Twitter’s ad support.
Ethan Eilon, president of IMGE, a digital marketing agency that serves Republican candidates and committees, said:
“[Twitter]needs to better tailor its targeting and placement tools to the needs of its politically driven customers. These customers need more first-party data, more granular interest-based data, They’re looking for concentric targeting opportunities.”
The mass layoffs of Twitter’s advertising sales team have left some experts questioning how much support Twitter will provide in managing accounts after political ads resume, especially during non-election periods. Some say
Elizabeth Bennett, director of advertising for Middle Seat Digital, which represents innovative candidates and causes, said:
“Right now, there isn’t much support for campaigns on Facebook, so I’m excited to see what Twitter thinks and how they build their support infrastructure.”
Some political advertising experts are wary of advising clients to place ads on Twitter, given Musk’s ever-changing leadership style, he said.
Kaela Green, vice president of social media advertising at ad tech firm Basis Technologies, described the confusion in the early days of the introduction of the paid “Twitter Blue” verification system. Point out. The fact that any user could pay to purchase a Twitter Blue certification with a blue check mark led to a surge in impersonation accounts. If you’re required to register your phone number and change your handle, display name, or profile picture, your verified badge will be temporarily hidden until your review is complete.)
“A diligent verification system and a transparent approach to fact-checking and misinformation are essential,” says Green.
Twitter, which dismantled its communications team shortly after Musk took over, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.