When Twitter rebranded as X overnight, it shocked its millions of daily active users. With 450 million monthly active users as of 2023, according to Demand Sage, the name marks a new era and identity for the platform and also gives the brand room to evolve its meaning over time.
So why did this name change take place? The biggest driver behind adopting X was likely to signal change. After recent acquisitions by Elon Musk in October 2022, one of his early moves was to initiate a rebranding of Twitter to 'X' — complete with a new logo. While the core Twitter product remains intact, it effectively hits the reset button to usher in new leadership, policies, and features.
So, what does this mean for users and businesses utilizing the platform? The Twitter to X rebrand requires brands to update strategies and assets with the new name and logo.
With this new change, businesses may have to update creative assets, ad content, and campaigns to reflect the new branding. You don’t need to overhaul everything mentioning Twitter at once, but you should start to phase X in new content.
As updates happen, ensure your brand guidelines and policies reflect the best practices for engaging with audiences on X, not just the outdated Twitter guidelines. Continue to evaluate your audience as the demographics and interests may start to shift, prompting you to re-evaluate your targeting approaches.
The URL changes from twitter.com to x.com may impact link tracking and analytics, so you will want to monitor this for any changes. Currently, if you visit the analytics section of X, you’ll see a message notifying you of new improvements that will be coming for analytics.twitter.com. Although some metrics are missing as of now, you can download Tweet analytics and reports and access the latest beta version of account analytics.
Will this change your experience on the platform? You can expect changes to content moderation, algorithms and new features to be implemented. This means users may encounter different types of tweets and engagement styles on X compared to the old Twitter, including the ability to upload several hours of video and no longer having the previous 140-character limit.
It's unclear precisely how these changes will manifest and affect users' daily experiences in the future, but it marks the beginning of the platform's shift — so users will need to monitor and adapt their KPI’s to the new X environment as it evolves. For now, users may not see much change on the surface. However, ongoing developments will likely reshape users' activities and communities on the platform going forward.
Looking ahead, will the name stick? On one hand, the rebranding just recently occurred and still feels new. The name may evolve again, especially if shifting public sentiment and business goals call for it. But in the immediate future, all indications point that X is here to stay as the platform charts its new course.
With so many different updates happening in the social media world, it can be tough to keep up with, but you don’t have to do it alone. A compelling social media marketing strategy is more important than ever, and RevLocal can help! To learn more about what it’s like to have RevLocal handle your business’s social media and digital marketing, view our resources or contact us for a free consultation.
Alyssa Maldonado, Social Media Specialist, Corporate Marketing
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