X, formerly known as Twitter, has announced that it will soon allow advertisers to place ads alongside specified content creators. This move aims to prevent ads from appearing near controversial or offensive content. The announcement comes after several brands retracted their advertisements from X last year when they were displayed adjacent to pro-Nazi content.
The company wrote in a blog post;
Starting this month, advertisers on X can run ads against a curated list of premium content creators via Creator Targeting. This means giving advertisers more control to be able to use the self-serve X Ads Manager to run pre-roll video ads against the video content of their chosen creator(s) in both the home timeline and profile.
X, formerly known as Twitter, soon intends to enable brands to display ads exclusively on an individual creator’s profile, effectively eradicating the risk of ads appearing alongside undesirable or contentious posts.
Concerns around ad placements have escalated since Elon Musk bought the social network in 2022 and significantly relaxed its content moderation policies. Prominent companies like Apple and Disney previously suspended their ad spending on X after Musk endorsed antisemitic conspiracy theories on the platform, leading to public backlash.
Financial Times reported that in response to Alienation from big brands, X has turned to small and medium-sized advertisers for revenue.
X announced a new ad placement feature likely aiming to attract advertisers back to the platform. Since Musk assumed leadership, X’s advertising revenue has reduced significantly, dropping by 50% last year and failing to reach its $3 billion target.
The announcement may also be interpreted as X’s strategy to compete with YouTube by encouraging creators to use its platform. Since launching its ad revenue sharing scheme last July, over 80,000 creators have shared content on X.
Prominent YouTube creator MrBeast revealed making $263,000 in ad revenue from his first video on X, indicating Musk’s drive to attract prominent creators. In September, X’s CEO Linda Yaccarino divulged that the platform had paid nearly $20 million to creators.
