The fortunes of Twitter have been mixed. There was a lot of interest and excitement in certain areas when Elon Musk bought Twitter and began to change some policies. The reality is that since it was bought, Twitter has lost over 30 million users, though it still remains one of the most popular social media platforms in the world.
Vital Statistics
Here are some of the most important stats about X, formerly Twitter, that you need to be aware of:
- In 2022, Twitter earned over $4.4 billion in revenue.
- X is the 14th most popular social media platform in the world.
- The United States has almost 100 million active daily users on X, with Japan being in second place.
- Almost 40% of users on X are between 25 and 50.
As of July 24th, 2023, the platform’s name has been changed to X. It has done this because of CEO Elon Musk’s desire to grow the platform and offer a broader variety of services and features.
Demographics of X Users
Let’s look at who uses X and what makes them different from other social media outlets.
Gender
X is one of the most heavily skewed platforms by gender. Almost 80% of users are male. This means that only a little over 20% of active X users are women. This trend really started around the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk, but the platform has always been dominated by male users.
Age
X has a massive following in the older Gen Z and Millennial crowd. Almost 60% of users are between the ages of 25-50. Twenty percent of those left fall between the 18-24 age group. These highly active, financially open age ranges make X particularly enticing to many industries.
Country of Origin
X is most popular in the United States and Japan. The US has almost 80 million users, and Japan has almost 60 million. India is in third place with 23 million, and Brazil is closing in on 20 million and sits in fourth place.
Most of the growth that X is experiencing is currently due to growing international users. The app has lost users in North America. Japan continues to see the largest share of its population being X users, with that number sitting around 64%.
X’s popularity is expected to continue growing in India. They have banned TikTok, and their Prime Minister is the 8th most followed person on X. This makes India a key emerging market for X and one that will no doubt grow ever more important.
X’s Popularity
X is the 14th most popular social media app in the world. It has a total user base of over 580 million people. This means that around 8.9% of all social media users primarily use X. The app has been around since 2006 and continues to grow internationally.
Over 16% of all users on X are from the United States. Over 50% of those users are engaged daily with X. Over 90% of the users are active monthly. The average visit to X lasts around 6 minutes, with around 206 million monetizable users daily.
Why is X Used?
In terms of why people use X, around half claim it is for news and entertainment. Around 33% of users also use it to follow and keep track of brands they like. The same number use it to keep in contact with friends and family, though this area is dwarfed by giants like Facebook.
The one area that has always driven X is news. The area that is one of the weakest is professional networking, which is down at around 14%.
Who is Popular on X?
The most popular person on X is the owner, Elon Musk. Barack Obama is the second most popular figure on X. Only six of the top 25 accounts are brands, with the rest being individuals. From powerful politicians like Narendra Modi to popular entertainment icons like Taylor Swift, pop culture thrives on X.
If you are going to use X for business purposes, you must make sure to connect with your audience. Businesses that can do that are extremely popular on X.
X Value
The value of X has grown enormously since its first valuation in 2006. In 2022, the app sold for $44 billion dollars to Elon Musk. Since then, X’s fortunes have been up and down. Between 2021 and 2022, for instance, X lost around half a billion in revenue.
Much of this has been due to the shakeup of ownership, but most of it is due to advertising. Advertising is the main way that X makes money, and it simply doesn’t stack up well against Facebook or Instagram regarding advertising revenue.
While users keep growing, the amount of money earned per user has decreased. There are strong indicators that X will change this as it recovers from the users lost during the acquisition.
In a Nutshell
Despite one bad year of falling revenue, every other year on the books shows an increase. This goes along with a general increase in users every year. While X may never become the core focus of many marketers, it certainly has done enough to secure itself an essential place in the social media pantheon.
X has also done a good job of remaining relevant to younger people. This will help them continue to grow their user base and revenues in the foreseeable future.