Given the assorted deceptive knowledge factors that X’s staff has communicated since Elon Musk took possession of the app, that are seemingly designed to offer the impression that the platform is performing higher than it truly is, it’s onerous to belief the numbers that they do share, as a result of we don’t have any approach of verifying if what’s right and what’s not.

However as we speak, we now have some new knowledge from X, as a part of a broader announcement of a brand new partnership with Integral Advert Science (IAS) on model security for vertical video advert placements.

As per X:

“A rising variety of customers are actively watching and posting movies on X, fueling the platform’s speedy enlargement. X is now a video-first platform, with video being a part of greater than 8 in 10 person periods, and we’ve seen views improve nearly 30% yr over yr.”

See, even this assertion is unclear, as a result of it doesn’t present sufficient context as to what that really means. Is that total video views or video views on common? Prior to now, you might ask Twitter’s comms division for readability, however now, X doesn’t also have a communications staff, so there’s no approach of realizing what these figures truly signify.

However primarily based on these numbers, video content material is getting extra consideration within the app, whereas X additionally claims that greater than 100 million individuals watch vertical video on the platform every single day.

“Vertical video is the quickest rising floor on X. Over 100M individuals around the globe are consuming vertical video every day at a mean of over 13 minutes per day. On many days, vertical video accounts for round 20% of all time spent on the platform.”

When seen in broader context, this is smart, because the behavioral shift in the direction of vertical video, led by TikTok and Instagram, would lend itself to related traits in different apps. However X’s video participant doesn’t open to the vertical participant natively, with most customers viewing video in-stream. And given X sees 244 million every day actives in complete, that’s lots of people that it claims are particularly tapping into video clips to view them, then scrolling by means of its video-specific feed.

So is that true? I don’t know, and we now have no technique to make clear.

Regardless, X is now seeking to present extra assurance for manufacturers seeking to show their adverts inside this vertical video feed.

“Efficient February 1, 2024, X will develop entry to our profitable vetted stock pilot with Integral Advert Science, a number one international media measurement and optimization platform, to all US advertisers. On this partnership, IAS classifies all Vertical Video Advert adjacencies for model security and suitability aligned to the GARM framework.”

X says that this may give vertical video advertisers “most management over the place their adverts seem”. Which is vital, given {that a} rising variety of manufacturers are pulling again on X advert spend, ostensibly attributable to model security considerations.

Although these considerations are arguably extra centered on Musk’s personal feedback than advert placement.

As well as, X says that it’s employed extra workers in its model security staff to bolster this component.

Once more, it’s onerous to gauge what precisely is happening at X, due to the assorted contradicting and deceptive knowledge factors being shared and/or amplified by Yaccarino and Musk at completely different occasions.

For instance, again in October, Yaccarino claimed that X customers have been spending a mean of 32 minutes per day within the app, however primarily based on latest knowledge shared by Musk, it’s extra like 23 minutes per day as an alternative. Which can not seem to be a large discrepancy on the floor, however that’s a variance in engagement of round 30%.

Musk has additionally continued to amplify deceptive knowledge factors, like web site visitors numbers, as a method to counsel that X is outperforming Instagram and Fb in visitors. Which it’s not, however X does generate a big quantity extra visits through net browers, versus IG and FB, which see some 90% of their exercise in-app.

The framing of those stats looks as if a deliberate try and mislead, and because of this, it makes it tougher to belief all of X’s reported figures.

Because of this, you just about must low cost the broader numbers, and focus as an alternative on the precise engagement that you just’re seeing, or not, within the app.

Is your target market lively on X? Are manufacturers and influencers in your area of interest posting vertical video within the app?

If they’re, then possibly it is best to experiment with the identical, and see whether or not it really works on your strategic objectives.