Will Elon Musk do away with Twitter Ads?
It’s official.
The Technoking of Tesla is taking the Twitter throne for $44B cash.
And based on users’ reactions, it could be a watershed moment for the platform.
What’s in store for Twitter: If you follow Musk, you’re familiar with all the changes he’s entertained in his tweets.
Open-sourced algorithms, free speech improvements, changes to its advertising model… Twitter could look different very soon.
Why we care: Elon is openly against Twitter Ads, even saying that the platform’s dependency on ads “enhances the power of corporations to dictate its policy.”
On the other hand, he has also suggested implementing a monthly subscription service that would have an ad-free feed.
So…
Don’t make sweeping changes to your Twitter strategy just yet. It looks like Musk will need the steady cash flow from ads to pay off the debt he incurred for the deal, anyway.
SEO
Watch out for fake copyright infringement notices
Turns out link-building has its own version of those “extended warranty” spam calls.
What’s going on: A fake law firm has been sending DMCA notices, demanding links to a particular website in exchange for the use of alleged copyrighted content.
It’s a brilliant tactic… One many users could easily fall for.
Not pictured: Living, breathing attorneys. All the attorneys pictured on the firm’s website are actually AI-generated images—one of the indicators that gave the scam away.
The Crew’s take: Put on your white hat. Cases like these further prove that expert, authoritative, and trustworthy (E-A-T) content, combined with a natural link building network, are what make a healthy SEO strategy.
Oh, and watch out for any suspicious DMCA notices.
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MARKETING
Why privacy guarantees can backfire—and even hurt your sales
On the surface, privacy notices on your app or website seem like a good thing.
They assure users you won’t sell or share their info.
And they keep the legal team happy.
But did you know legal language can actually hurt your bottom line?
According to the Ariyh newsletter, when you show prominent formal notices and legalese language right as users are about to submit personal info, you can actually make people feel anxious.
And that anxiety hurts conversions.
According to a series of six experiments,
- People were 12.4% more likely to say they would buy from a retailer when it had no privacy policy mentioned at checkout vs. having a strict-sounding legal sentence explaining how they protect data.
- On the other hand, people were 27.6% more likely to buy when the website had a simple “We care about protecting your privacy!” vs. not mentioning a privacy policy at all.
The takeaway? Yes, users expect you to protect their personal information.
But that doesn’t mean they want to have to think about it.
So ditch the legalese. Use discrete data protection notices instead. And be informal—even casual!
The experience will feel more personable and more trustworthy for your users, while keeping the legal team happy.
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THE CREW’S INSIGHTS
The ultimate social proof for Twitter Ads
Last week, we were scrolling through Twitter and came across this ad from Ramp.
It’s so good that we stopped and marveled for a sec before screenshotting it for this section of the newsletter.
Why is Ramp’s Twitter ad so good? Because it uses the ultimate form of social proof: A testimonial by a well-known user praising their product—and originally posted on the very social media platform the ad’s running on.
This single, well-placed, user-generated tweet does all the advertising.
All Ramp has to do is close with a short caption and call-to-action (CTA).
While most social proof comes in the form of quotes with names and pictures attached, this works better because it leverages on-platform authenticity.
If you see a Twitter ad using a real tweet from an account you can easily verify… you’re more likely to believe whatever claim the ad is making.
Here’s how you can replicate this for your own brand:
- If you’re relatively well-known, search Twitter for positive tweets about your brand using the search feature and your brand’s name.
- If there aren’t already positive tweets about you, ask someone you know to post something. It could be a friend, or it could be a prompt you send existing customers via email. Just get something out there. Bonus points if your customers are well-known.
- Once you’ve got the tweet, screenshot it and use it as the creative for your ads. Give context in your caption, drop in a simple CTA, and you’re done.
It’s simple, but it works.
And best of all? You do this on other platforms, too.
ROUNDING UP THE STACK
GROWTH MARKETING: Guess who will be speaking at the biggest affiliate marketing event in South America? Felipe Mate, Stacked Marketer’s head of growth. Felipe doubled this newsletter’s readership in six months. Want to learn how he did it? Meet him at Afiliados Brasil.*
MARKETING: Be careful when you run a giveaway. As Rob Freund explains in this Instagram post, asking participants a purchase or payment to enter the raffle could be illegal.
APPLE: Don’t leave your app unattended. The App Store is deleting any apps that haven’t been updated in 2+ years. While this only applies to store listings, many users aren’t happy about the news.
TV: The streaming market is getting crowded. Netflix rivals like Hulu, HBO Max, and Disney+ now represent 61% of combined market share. No chill for Netflix, but plenty of advertising opportunities for marketers.
*This is a sponsored post.
BRAIN TEASER
A doctor and a nurse have a baby boy. The boy’s father is not the doctor and the mother is not the nurse.
How is this possible?
You can find the answer here.
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things marketers like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
Can’t focus? Try these playlists
Are you reading this with music playing in the background?
Then there’s a 50% chance you’re listening to lofi, ambient, or electronic music.
The team at Preply analyzed more than 1,000 Spotify playlists and over 180,000 artists to find out what users listen the most when they need to focus.
What’s trending: Lo-fi Chillhop is the undisputed king of the focus genre, while Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi is the most focus-friendly Spotify artist.
Turns out users like movie scores, too. Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar soundtrack wins the “most Popular album for focusing” trophy.
Alexa, play “lofi chill hop beats” so we can finish writing this newsletter.