Twitter usage is at an all-time high.” That’s the message from Elon Musk on Twitter and that’s also the message that advertisers have reportedly received on email.
According to Financial Times and The Verge, Twitter has said that growth in its monetisable active daily users (mDAUs) — a homegrown metric that counts the number of logged-in users to whom the platform shows advertising — hit “all-time highs” last week, accelerating to 20 per cent from 15 per cent in the second quarter. Further, the email states: “Twitter’s largest market, the US, is growing even more quickly.” It comes days after Musk closed the deal to buy the platform for $44b.
If the figures are correct, the service is yet to see a mass exodus under the new ownership. Musk has even tweeted that since his deal to buy Twitter was announced, “user numbers have increased significantly around the world”. Twitter last reported 237.8 million mDAUs.
At the same time, one needs to understand that users and advertisers are two different things. User base is remaining steady and may also be on the growth curve but there is a problem with advertisers. In a separate tweet, Musk said the company has seen “a massive drop in revenue” due to “activist groups pressuring advertisers”.
To boost revenue, Musk is hoping that Twitter Blue subscription will help. The revamp that’s happening to the subscription involves introducing paid verification. But there has been a backlash from those who already have a verified status. At the moment, the new Blue subscription appears to have a rollout date after the midterm elections in the US while in India it could be in “less than a month”. In the US, the package will come for $7.99 but India pricing hasn’t been decided on.
The billionaire-owner is trying to reassure advertisers that the platform will not become a “free-for-all hellscape” and that Twitter “aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world that strengthens your brand and grows your enterprise”.