While Elon Musk’s X continues to make headlines for its political stances, it also remains a highly used platform, with over 250 million people logging onto the app every day to get the latest news and info on a wide range of topics.
Which also extends to products, and this week, X is making its pitch to advertisers for the upcoming holiday rush, by highlighting how X users come to the app for shopping inspiration.
Though the overview itself is a little confusing.
As per X:
“From November to January, X comes alive with users who are active, engaged, and ready to spend. Shoppers on X not only anticipate their next big purchase earlier but also show a greater readiness to act. Leveraging this prime time can significantly boost your brand’s visibility and sales potential.”
In reference to the above, presumably, the comparison for each point here is non X users, as noted in the last data point. So according to X’s internal insights, shoppers are open to more offers on X, which could provide more opportunities for your promotions.
X also notes that the holiday season traditionally drives a spike in X engagement:
“We've witnessed a 20% year-over-year increase in our Holiday audience, and a substantial 125% rise in holiday-related posts. This ongoing growth underscores the platform’s pivotal role in shaping holiday experiences, with users turning to X for everything from gift purchases and travel plans to festive decorations and recipes.”
A 49% increase in “last minute holiday shopping” mentions is significant, especially considering that X didn’t increase its user base in that time. But going on what X is reporting, this could present expanded opportunity to reach potential customers at the right time with active X promotions.
X has also shared this ”Holiday Editorial” calendar to help underline the potential of the season:
I’m not really sure what this represents, but I believe X is saying that these publishers will be releasing content at these times, which will increase overall buzz in the app?
I don’t know that this necessarily helps enhance its capacity as a promotional tool, in so much as the seasonal events themselves, and the key dates around them, would be just as relevant. It’s also not clear if this is exclusive editorial content being published by X, or really, what exactly is being published by each company at these times.
But maybe, that contributes to your planning. I don’t know.
As with most of X’s initiatives, there are additional questions which are not answered by what it’s communicated, and it’s not entirely clear what its data represents, and how its comparisons are formulated. There are also ongoing questions about X’s efforts on brand safety and ad placement, but if your audience is active in the app, this overview could help you decide on how you approach X this holiday season.
You can read X’s full holiday marketing overview here.