When Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, we were sure it was going to be a bumpy ride! Now it’s time to say adieu to Twitter and the little blue bird logo, as he rebrands his social network to X – with the vision of creating a new super app (much like how We Chat operates in China).
On July 23, 2023, Elon announced that as of July 24, Twitter would cease to exist in name and that X would be the new “everything” app. But what does this mean for marketers, and will X revolutionise the social networking space?
Image credit: Twitter – X logo on Twitter HQ in San Francisco
How did Twitter announce the change?
Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino, discussed the change in a series of tweets:
“It’s an exceptionally rare thing – in life or in business – that you get a second chance to make another big impression. Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square.”
In her follow-up tweet, she goes on to add:
“X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.”
And concluding with “X will be the platform that can deliver, well…everything.”
Image Credit – Twitter And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.
What changes have we seen so far?
Apart from the icon on desktops and mobile devices now showing the new Twitter logo X, not a lot has changed on the social media site. Gone are mentions of tweets and retweets and in its place posts and reposts.
While the name has changed, it appears Twitter users will keep the same username, handle, and any associated account information. It is also worth noting that the URL still contains Twitter, and there is no update as to when that will cease to exist.
You can now get the updated brand guidelines on their about.Twitter page!
Where has X come from?
Musk has long attempted to use the letter X as a business name and trademarked X.com long ago. In 1999 X.com was an online bank which later became PayPal. With this vision of banking, he now plans to create a Westernised WeChat where people can converse with each other and buy products simply through an app without going through a third party.
What is WeChat?
WeChat is a popular app in China. This all-in-one social platform allows users to interact with each other much like traditional social media apps over here. As well as social interactions, users can use the app to pay bills, order food or a taxi and place orders from businesses. Elon hopes his X can manage all the above as well as have a banking feature.
What does the rebrand mean for businesses?
For now, apart from the name change, there doesn’t seem to be many changes that will effect business. While people seek out alternatives to Twitter such as Threads, businesses may see a drop in visits to their profile, as well as likes, comments and reposts of their posts. X is still trying to get profiles to pay £8 for X Blue to receive their blue tick as well as monetisation options.
Opinion
Change isn’t going to happen overnight. X is still making a loss and has seen a reduction of almost half its revenue from ad sales, so things are going to be difficult for the time being. Over the past few weeks, X has been fighting off competition from Meta’s Threads – an app which is very similar to X. The biggest question as to if X can deliver will be on consumer and brand trust – will app users trust Musk with their data including personal and financial account details?
How to Use Social Media to Market Your Business
Learn the fundamentals of social media marketing with our free, comprehensive guide.
