Twitter Reportedly Begins Requiring Blue Subscriptions For Advertisers
Hours after Twitter began removing the blue tick from legacy verified accounts, it made another key change to its policy — this time affecting advertisers on the social media platform. From screenshots of an email sent by Twitter to advertisers on the platform, it is becoming evident that all Twitter accounts wishing to run ads will now need to pay for a Twitter Blue subscription to qualify for the privilege.
Besides Twitter Blue subscribers, all accounts that pay $1000 a month for the "Verified Organizations" tag will also qualify to run ads on Twitter. The email also notes that business accounts that spend in excess of $1000 per month on Twitter ads will get a distinctive gold check next to their handles. These accounts will also receive unhindered access to advertising and advertising tools on the platform without having to pay for Twitter Blue separately.
WOW... Twitter is now telling advertisers it MUST subscribe to Twitter Blue or Verified Organisations to continue running ads! pic.twitter.com/4DrDu82Zi0
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) April 21, 2023
Twitter also adds that subscribing to either of these services is additional proof that Twitter has verified these accounts to belong to a real person or business. In addition, the email also asserts that this move will "elevate the quality of content on Twitter" while enhancing the overall user experience for users and advertisers.
Interestingly, Twitter has yet to make a public announcement via its blog or official Twitter handle informing the general public about these changes.
Will this move arrest the fall in Twitter's ad revenue?
While this newest move from Twitter has attracted widespread criticism, it would take us a few months to know how much of an impact it would have on Twitter's ad revenue — which is already expected to take a massive dip in 2023.
Research firm Insider Intelligence, earlier this month, had predicted that Twitter's worldwide ad revenues could plummet by 27.9% this year. From a figure of $4.14 billion in 2022, Twitter's ad revenue is set to drop to just $2.98 billion, per Insider. If this prediction ends up being true, it would also mean that Twitter's ad business will shrink to pre-pandemic levels.
The Insider report also claims that ad spending by Twitter's top ten advertisers — which include the likes of Amazon, IBM, and Coca-Cola — plummeted by 89% in the February-March period of 2023. With Microsoft also recently confirming that it would be removing Twitter from its advertising platform, things certainly aren't looking too good for Twitter and its ad team.
It is also pertinent to note that Twitter has not been successful at offsetting the losses caused by the dip in ad revenue with the new-found income streams of Twitter Blue subscriptions and API access charges.