Musk: Twitter revenue plummeted because customers stopped advertising

Elon Musk - Twitter's new boss - said on November 4 that the social network was experiencing "a huge decrease in revenue", but did not give figures.

In a tweet on his personal page, the world's richest person blamed "activist groups that put pressure on businesses", causing them to stop advertising on Twitter . He asserted that the social network had not changed its content moderation strategy and that Twitter had done "everything possible to please activists".

However, the billionaire did not provide specific figures on how much the company has lost, or any evidence that the business pulled the ads because of pressure from activists.

In an interview the same day at the Baron Investment Forum, Musk continued to reiterate this point. "We haven't changed our operating procedures. We've done everything in our power to appease them, but it hasn't been successful. So this is a big concern," he said.

Since the world's richest person took over Twitter on October 28, the social network has laid off about 50% of its employees. In recent days, a series of companies have announced to suspend advertising on Twitter to assess the changes when Musk took over the company. Prominent names are General Motors , pharmaceutical company Pfizer and food giant General Mills.

Advertising agency IPG has also advised clients to suspend their communication plans on Twitter. Still, it's unclear how many companies heed IPG's advice.

CNBC quoted a source close to Twitter as saying that Twitter notified employees of the layoffs on November 3. The content moderation team is also on the list of staff cuts, according to Reuters.

In a tweet yesterday, Musk also explained this. He said: "Unfortunately we have no other choice, given the company's loss of $4 million a day. Those who quit will receive three months of income - 50% higher than what is required by law. ".

According to CNBC , the drastic cut is also taking place in the marketing department - responsible for handling and analyzing issues of advertising effectiveness, business, spam.

Twitter's ad revenue has already been declining since before Musk took over, and activist groups put pressure on brands. According to MediaRadar data, the number of advertising customers on this platform decreased from 3,900 in May to 2,300 in August. In September, this number increased to 2,900.

A series of brands stop advertising on Twitter
Pfizer, Audi, General Mills, Mondelez International have just joined the wave of stopping advertising on Twitter after Elon Musk bought the platform.

The WSJ cites sources close to the matter as saying that some businesses are concerned that Musk may reduce censorship, making negative content appear more on the platform. Others have suspended advertising because Twitter is having a high-level staffing change and Musk is also considering many changes.

Representatives of the food company General Mills and Audi in the US confirmed the information to stop advertising on Twitter. "As always, we will continue to evaluate this new development and review our marketing budget," a General Mills spokesperson said. Its brands include Cheerios, Bisquick and Häagen-Dazs.

Last week, General Motors also stopped advertising on the platform. More and more companies are making similar moves. The head of a major advertising agency told the WSJ that about 20 of their clients have stopped spending on Twitter.

These businesses say that Twitter is not a mandatory advertising platform for them. The budget for Google or Facebook is now bigger.

Many business leaders are uncomfortable with a series of Twitter executives suddenly leaving the company. The most prominent are Twitter Account Manager Sarah Personette, Marketing Director Leslie Berland and VP of global customer solutions Jean-Philippe Maheu. These people used to help businesses be assured of the effectiveness of advertising on Twitter.

Online advertising is automated, allowing companies to buy and sell technology-based advertising. However, this activity still relies heavily on the relationship between the person in charge of advertising and the business.

Musk has reassured customers that the platform will remain a safe place for brands. Following last week's announcement that Twitter "couldn't be the place to say whatever," the billionaire has participated in numerous meetings with the world's biggest advertising agencies and businesses. He is committed to adding more tools to manage and resolve the status of virtual accounts.

Twitter has tools to help customers ensure their ads don't appear next to negative content. Even so, businesses say that this feature of Twitter is still behind the competition.