X Has Become A Full-Fledged PR Disaster But It Won't Go Away Anytime Soon
Just a month after Elon Musk acquired Twitter, Forbes.com senior contributor Edward Segal suggested that the tech entrepreneur was contributing to the social media's worsening crisis. That was before major advertisers announced they'd pull their ads, before Twitter was rebranded X and even before the social network revised its long-trusted verified process by instead instituting paid verification.
In the more than a year since Segal suggested Musk created confusion and uncertainty, the platform formerly known as Twitter has seen millions of users sign off, while those who were banned for spreading misinformation and hate speech have been allowed to return.
The advertising boycott has grown by the day, and the future of X remains in question. For now, it would seem Musk is making matters worse by telling off advertisers.
"Effectively managing a reputation is a proactive and reactive process and Elon Musk's communications/reputation management approach is neither," warned Chris Rosica, president of Rosica Communications and author of The Authentic Brand, The Power of B2B Social Media.
"It's neither strategic nor informed, which is likely to continue damaging the X brand," Rosica added. "His tact is not working. Under Musk's leadership, X has lost nearly 15 million users – a drop of roughly 5.6 percent – and X has lost approximately $75 million in annualized ad revenues from such advertisers as Apple, Disney, Coca Cola and others, according to recent reports."
Rosica further suggested that Musk has attempted to operate X as he has Tesla—that is without a team dedicated to managing public relations and fortifying its reputation. By not valuing basic PR principles, Musk and X could continue to face issues of trust with key stakeholders, which is bound to hurt for years to come.
"Adding more fuel to the X dumpster fire, Musk repeatedly says callous, sexist, harmful things, which is nothing new in his repertoire," said Rosica. "Insisting he does not care, is not a wise strategy. The bridges burned in his recent CNN interview will surely cost millions more and take years to rebound from."
X Is Still Too Big To Fail
Despite the ongoing PR saga—and perhaps in part because of it—X will remain a viable platform, even if the major brands opt not to advertise on it. It has been more than a year of this drama and X is still standing.
"Headline after headline spells the downfall of not just X, but of Elon Musk himself. The undeniable truth though, as hard a pill it may be to swallow, is that X isn't going anywhere," explained Geoff Gates, creative director for social strategy and content at integrated marketing and communications agency Boathouse Inc.
There are several factors at play—including that there remains no other platform that does what X does.
"After 20 years and plenty of opportunities for a competitor to come in and take their lunch, here we are still talking about X," Gates suggested. "There's something intangible about the X experience, and it's not easily duplicated. You might say that some of the biggest advertisers on the platform have paused their spends, eating away at the company's revenue. But we've seen this song and dance before—sadly, brands who take a stand do so temporarily and almost always go back to business as usual once the dust settles."
Moreover, Musk may cry poverty, and warned that without the advertisers the company might not survive—but the social media platform has become far leaner. It could arguably exist with little more than a skeleton crew and be set on cruise control.
"Speaking of money, Elon Musk is the richest person alive. His net worth fluctuates billions per day," Gates suggested. "He has big plans to make X an 'everything app,' and he won't let it flounder."