As Twitter stock prices continue to dip, advertisers are leaving the platform in favor of alternative social media outlets. According to a recent survey, 23 percent of Twitter advertisers plan to decrease their spending in response to the recent issues with the platform.
Although Twitter’s overall advertising revenue rose 48% in the fourth quarter of 2015, it fell significantly below Wall Street’s expected revenue increase for the company.
While Twitter is currently struggling for advertiser confidence, Google and Facebook have seen consistent improval in their overall advertising revenue. In the survey, Google and it’s parent company, Alphabet, placed first with advertisers, with Facebook placing second. Twitter falls significantly behind the two companies and in the past year has seen its stock price drop by 62%.
A recent study revealed that more advertisers now use Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, than Twitter. Instagram’s 200,000 advertisers significantly surpasses Twitter’s 130,000, which is according to Q4 statistics from 2015. The study predicts that Instagram is just getting started and that they will continue to see an increase in advertisers. The future for Twitter seems to be much less clear.
Some believe that some of Twitter’s struggles stem from their recent willingness to censor and suspend conservative users without reason. Hollywood actor Adam Baldwin recently took a break from Twitter in protest of the unjustified account suspension of conservative blogger Robert Stacy McCain. Baldwin, who had his account locked by the platform in the past, called for the resignation of Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, and for the disbandment of Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council, which many believe is responsible for the censorship.
Recently, ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that his stake in Twitter has affected his overall confidence in investing, as shares have fallen 45% since his buy-in.
It’s clear Twitter will have to make some changes if they want to reverse course and attract advertisers who have left for rising platforms.
Tom Ciccotta writes about Free Speech and Intellectual Diversity for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta.