X... Is it a good platform for marketing?

Is X going to rise and become a strong social media platform, or will it plummet with the continual criticism from its former users? X, formerly known as Twitter, was purchased by Elon Musk in October 2022 and has since been a controversial social media platform. Those who used Twitter when it was created in 2006 may not enjoy X's newer features. However, even though the name and look of the platform have changed, the app is virtually the same and is worth checking out to see what X has to offer. I don't use Twitter (now X), so I'm not sure what the differences are; therefore, it might be best to take everything I say with a grain of salt.

In 2023, businesses hesitated to market on X due to a drop in revenue and other events that created backlash for the app. This makes sense because you don’t want to market on an app that could fail over time. Small and medium-sized businesses usually gain many customers from online platforms where they can post about what they sell and what makes them unique. But when a platform seems like it could fail and the number of users drops, it becomes challenging for brands to use that platform since their purpose is to gain customers and advertise.

Even though the percentage of business marketing decreased, the transformation from Twitter to X has created some benefits. One benefit is that X has made it easier for businesses to interact with their customers. Businesses can grow their platform presence using new tools specific to brands and professionals. There are also new formats that people can use to make their profiles and posts look more aesthetic and fit the margins of the products or services they are selling.

According to The Essentials of Social Media Marketing by Michelle Charello, "Based on X's advertising audience overview, marketers have the potential to reach 618.9 million people on X, which amounts to 7.7% of the total population and 11.6% of internet users." This shows that while X isn't currently the most popular platform for marketing, it is growing and can still benefit smaller or medium-sized businesses. Honestly, now is the best time for companies to invest in marketing through X because it isn’t as popular as other platforms. Not only will those businesses still be able to have assertive customer outreach, but if X becomes more popular, the brands that invest now will likely become even more significant as more people join the platform and see their business profiles.

I think X will continue to grow as people learn more about its new features; however, I don’t think it will be one of the top five marketing platforms. I’m not sure how big X will get or at what rate it will become more popular. I am curious to see if, over time, most people will use an app like Twitter, or if the majority of the population on the platform will end up using it for marketing. Who knows? Maybe I’m wrong, and X will become one of the best advertising platforms, but we’ll have to leave it to time and society.