In a bid to challenge Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL online video-sharing social media platform YouTube’s dominance, Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, has decided to introduce new ad targeting features to attract video creators and advertisers.
What Happened: X will soon allow advertisers to run ads before videos from their chosen creators, as well as on the main timeline and the creator’s profile, reported Bloomberg, citing the company’s statement on Monday
This move is part of Musk’s strategy to enhance the platform’s appeal to creators and advertisers, positioning X as a viable alternative to YouTube.
The new ad format will also include a revenue-sharing model, providing X’s 80,000 creators with an additional income stream. However, the platform did not disclose the percentage of ad revenue it will share with creators.
See Also: Sorry, MrBeast: You Are Better Off On YouTube Than On Elon Musk’s X — New Data Just Proves It
This initiative follows Musk’s efforts to elevate X’s content quality by partnering with prominent figures like former CNN host Don Lemon and World Wrestling Entertainment to produce shows on the platform.
The tech billionaire's push for premium video content is a response to the significant decline in advertising revenue following his controversial takeover of the platform. Despite this, Musk has set ambitious targets for X, aiming to compete with YouTube and regain the trust of marketers.
Why It Matters: This development comes just a month after renowned content creator Jimmy Donaldson, popularly known as MrBeast, experimented with X by posting his first video on the platform. This move was seen as a potential threat to YouTube’s dominance, given MrBeast’s massive following and influence in the digital space.
MrBeast’s experiment was deemed a success, with his video quickly amassing hundreds of millions of views and earning him a substantial sum.
When the experiment ended, MrBeast said, "My first X video made over $250,000! But it’s a bit of a façade. Advertisers saw the attention it was getting and bought ads on my video (I think) and thus my revenue per view is prob higher than what you’d experience.”
In December last year, the popular content creator had said “My videos cost millions to make and even if they got a billion views on X it wouldn’t fund a fraction of it. I’m down though to test stuff once monetization is really cranking!”
Photo by Angga Budhiyanto on Shutterstock
Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
