Like other social media platforms, Truth Social relies on advertising to generate revenue, but the company’s content moderation capabilities, as well as Twitter’s widely reported struggle to retain advertisers, It’s hard to attract major brands if they don’t look trustworthy. Truth Social, which prides itself on sparking an “open, free and honest global conversation” by avoiding content moderation almost entirely, doesn’t appear to be attracting major advertisers. That’s probably why.
A New York Times analysis of hundreds of Truth Social ads found that scraping tactics on social media platforms received ads from nearly everyone. Now, the platform, founded by former President Donald Trump, collects advertising dollars from “hacksters and fringe marketers” who sell products such as Trump’s waistcoats, gun accessories and diet pills. reported the Times.
In addition to Truth Social’s apparently struggling advertising business, SFGate reported in November that Truth Social’s user base also appeared to be declining. According to The Righting, a group that monitors conservative media, Truth Social’s traffic peaked at 4 million unique users last August, but in October He was reduced to 2.8 million.
Truth Social is in dire financial straits as it can’t raise ad dollars, lose a ton of traffic, and Trump could return to major platforms (he recently regained access to Twitter and Facebook). William Wilkinson, a former executive at Truth Social’s parent company, the Trump Media & Technology Group, said the social platform, which was backed by $37 million in donations, “is spending about $1.7 million each month. I do,” he told The Times.
The Trump Media & Technology Group did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment.
What is scaring the major brands?
In August, when Truth Social’s traffic peaked, the platform sported a novel advertising strategy, hoping to attract more advertisers with its “rapidly growing and highly engaged audience.” I was there. By partnering with Rumble Ads, the same press release says it has created an “ecosystem” for advertisers willing to resist a “cancellation culture.” advertising space.
That prediction didn’t seem to work. New York Times reporter Stuart A. Thompson, who spent months running a program to collect and analyze Truth Social’s ads, found that as Truth Social’s finances dwindled, “major brands’ does not exist in the
Advertising experts told The Times that major brands on Truth Social have been put on hold as users post conspiracy theories and bipartisan statements. But it’s also possible that brands avoid Truth Social simply because it reaches fewer users than Facebook’s billions or Twitter’s hundreds of millions. Perhaps most importantly, Truth Social wasn’t attracting enough young audiences for brands to pour their advertising dollars into it.
Rumble Ad’s advertiser tools may also be to blame, reports The Times. These tools make it harder to track ad performance compared to major platforms and appear to limit advertisers’ ability to target specific demographics. He did not respond immediately.
Among the samples collected by The Times were advertisements for “vaccine exemption” cards, a children’s guide to “antisocialism,” and gold-plated and “diamond-encrusted” Trump trinkets galore. While none of these ads were misleading, such as pushing Trump hats or bobbleheads, others sold fake merchandise. Fake from Joe Biden There was also clearly fabricated information intended for sale, such as creating a tweet to push a $2 bill with Trump’s face on it. Others relied on the disturbing image to market “miracle remedies” like “nature’s OxyContin” and alternative medicines for common ailments like toe fungus, blindness and wrinkles. increase.
Brand safety has always been a top priority for major brands, and most seem to view advertising on Truth Social as playing with fire. Even for Truth Social’s advertisers, the platform may not be enough to sustain their business.
The Times pointed to a YouTube video posted by online marketer Maxwell Finn, who claims to be one of Truth Social’s top advertisers. Finn said in the video that he spent more than $150,000 on Truth Social and invested in other right-wing centric platforms. He admitted he was frustrated with having to track the performance of his ads on Truth Social.
Finn said of conservative platforms like Truth Social and Gab, “They are incredibly barebones. Because they are all struggling to make money.”
Ars couldn’t reach Finn directly for comment, but he could be an ideal advertiser for Truth Social. , suggesting that it is not sufficient to construct Not investing in better advertising tools can lead to more financial problems for Truth Social. That’s because major brands are still shy, and Trump has his eyes set on spending more time on other platforms in the run-up to the upcoming presidential election.
“You have a decent user base, and you have advertisers who want to spend money on your platform and want to diversify. ,” says Finn. “It’s still my biggest complaint.”
