What Does Elon Musk’s Twitter Look Like For Digital Marketers?

Elon Musk became Twitter’s largest shareholder on April 4 following the acquisition of Twitter 9.1% share In the company. The SEC filing shows that he will serve as a second-tier director until the company’s 2024 annual meeting of shareholders.

This appointment, which is not a first-class position on the board of directors, also limits his holding to 14.9% or less of the common stock during his term and for 90 days thereafter.

The question now is: What could Elon Musk’s impact on Twitter and on the digital marketing landscape as a whole mean?

What changes with Musk, the investor and Twitter subscriber?

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, who stepped down as CEO last year, welcomed Musk to the board, saying he believes Musk and current CEO Parag Agrawal “will make a great team.”

I’m really excited to have Elon join the Twitter board! He cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it.

Barag and Elon lead each other in hearts, and they would make a great team. https://t.co/T4rWEJFAes

– Jack (@jack) April 5, 2022

Musk has already voiced new ideas for the platform, including adding an editing feature, which the company has been working on since last year, calling crypto bots “One more annoying problemon the platform.

As the company’s largest shareholder, Musk will have a huge role in determining the direction the company takes.

But as only one member of the 12-person board of directors, he will have no responsibility for day-to-day operations or decisions.

This means that although he has a huge voice in the company’s future, he cannot unilaterally implement job changes or reverse policy decisions.

This takes Musk full circle, from the founder of X.com (which later became PayPal) into the world of app communications — and maybe even payments. Lauren Baker, founder of Search Engine Journal and Foundation Digital, says:

Twitter’s patent portfolio includes more than 1,400 innovations strong, most of which are the result of acquisitions (only 280 applications have been filed by Twitter itself).

“It’s unclear exactly where Musk fits here, but as with his solar and space endeavors, most of his projects and acquisitions have become closely associated with Tesla,” Baker noted, adding that one obvious link is Twitter in Tesla’s screens. .

“But with faith in Google and Meta fading, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Musk go into more of a news and trend discovery trend on Twitter,” Baker said.

“Plus, every social media engine needs a face. Musk is a perfect replacement for Dorsey who has doubled the value of fintec.”

Musk has a history with Twitter

Prior to acquiring shares in the company, Musk was known to use Twitter to gather and influence public opinion on the site.

employment March 25thIt polled its more than 80 million followers if they thought Twitter strictly adheres to the principles of freedom of expression.

When more than 70% answered no, he hinted that he was considering creating a new social media platform.

Criticism of Twitter’s commitment to freedom of expression has been exacerbated by the platform January 8, 2021 Banned former President Donald Trump for repeated violations of company rules.

Additionally, Musk has expressed his displeasure with the way Twitter has cracked down on his finance-related tweets, particularly his tweets on November 6, 2021 in which he asked followers if he should sell a portion of his Tesla stock.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has He claimed to have legal authority To subpoena the Tesla CEO about these tweets and to move him to set aside a 2018 court agreement on prior approval of his tweets is invalid.

“We could see some fundamental changes in how Twitter operates as a result of Musk’s deeper involvement,” says Miranda Miller, managing editor of Search Engine Journal.

A few weeks ago, Musk tweeted to Jack Dorsey that the Twitter algorithm should be open source, then followed up with reconnaissance which collected more than 1.1 million votes,”

The choice of which algorithm to use (or not to use) should be open to all https://t.co/o2DkSTWW0O

– Jack (@jack) March 25, 2022

Elon has also been an outspoken critic of what he sees as Twitter’s inaction on crypto scams and impeding free speech.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him advocate at the boardroom table for a freer, more open, less mediocre space, which has the potential to become more responsibility for brands,” said Miller.

“On the other hand, it’s innovative and proven successful in the online payment space. This could be good news for Twitter’s social commerce plans. It’s a place where they’ve historically struggled and we see in their launch of the shop unit that it’s a renewed area of ​​focus,” she explains.

Twitter shares increase after advertising

After the announcement, shares of Twitter, Inc. rose. on the New York Stock Exchange by up to 27%, from $39.30 to $53.84.

This was the company’s biggest market gain since the company’s initial public offering in 2013. At the time of writing, they are trading in $50.51.

Musk disclosed his purchase on Monday, April 4, but a filing shows that he began buying the shares on January 31 initial deposit With the Securities and Exchange Commission it was Form 13G, which indicates passive investing.

However, on Tuesday, April 5th, he said Submit Form 13Dwhich are more commonly used by active investors.

Whether or not the initial rally in share prices is a sign of general public approval remains to be seen.

One thing is for sure – Elon Musk has big plans for Twitter.

The extent of its impact, what changes are being implemented, and how this affects digital marketing across the platform is still to be seen.

Featured image: Shutterstock / jtstockimage

Additional sources:

• Save Twitter SECApril 4, 2022
• Twitter patent portfolio – little organic and mostly earnedGrayB