Digiday+ Research: Publishers’ use of X rebounds ahead of the election, but they’re still not spending money there

That’s according to surveys conducted by Digiday+ Research among publisher professionals every summer since 2022.

Digiday’s surveys found that, after falling off last year, publishers’ use of X is actually rebounding. Eighty-one percent of publisher pros told Digiday this year that their titles posted content on X in the past month, up from 73% last year. That 81% isn’t quite a return to the 89% who were posting on X in 2022, but it’s a notable increase over 2023.

It’s possible that publishers’ increased use of X is being driven by the impending U.S. presidential election. But Digiday’s survey also found that, just because publishers are using X more this year than they were last year, that doesn’t mean they’re willing to invest in advertising on the platform. According to the data, it’s actually the opposite.

Just 10% of publisher pros told Digiday this year that their titles purchased advertising on X in the past month. Last year, 21% said they were buying ads on X, and the year before 26% said the same — a downward trend.

Digiday’s survey results found a similar pattern concerning how often publishers are posting on X, and how much they’re spending on creating original content for those posts. The long and short of it is that publishers are posting more often on X, and some are even investing more in original content for the platform this year, but the percentage of publishers investing a lot in original content for X continues to fall.

Fifty-six percent of publisher pros told Digiday this year that their companies post content on X every day, a significant jump over the 43% who said the same last year, and a partial rebound to the 75% who said they were posting on the platform every day in 2022. Meanwhile, 45% said they post content on X at least once a week (meaning, in this case, a few times a week or once a week), up from 36% last year and 23% the year before.

It’s possible that the upcoming election is having an effect here too, with publishers posting on X more often as the candidates continue on the election trail and voters get ready to head to the polls.

It makes sense, then, that Digiday’s survey also found that publishers are investing more in original content to put in the posts publishers are more frequently making on X.

Sixty-five percent of publisher pros said this year that their companies invest at least a little in creating original content for X, up slightly from 61% last year. Put another way, 35% of publishers said they don’t invest at all in original content for X, down from 39% last year.

However, it’s worth noting that, while the percentage of publishers spending a little on original content for X did rise this year, the percentage of those spending a lot on original content for the platform has been trending downward in recent years — another sign that, even though they might be using the platform more, doesn’t mean publishers are putting a lot of money into X.

Specifically, 44% of publisher pros said this year that their companies invest a little in creating original content for X, up from 35% last year and 32% the year before. Meanwhile, the percentage of publisher pros who said they invest a lot in original content for X has fallen from 13% in 2022, to 8% in 2023, to just 4% in 2024.

Publishers’ unwillingness to spend money on X could be explained by how much (or little) they value the platform when it comes to branding and driving revenues. Digiday’s surveys found that, while the percentage of publishers who see X as valuable has gone down, the percentage of those who see the platform as not very valuable has gone up.

Nearly one-third of publisher pros (32%) said this year that X is not valuable at all or not very valuable for branding — a big jump from the 22% who said the same last year. Meanwhile, the percentage of publishers who told Digiday X is valuable or extremely valuable for branding has been trending downward, from 52% in 2022, to 48% in 2023, all the way down to 28% in 2024.

When it comes to driving revenues, nearly two-thirds of publisher pros (63%) said this year that X is not valuable at all or not very valuable, up from 54% last year. And just 13% said this year that the platform is valuable or extremely valuable to driving their companies’ revenues, down from nearly a quarter (23%) last year.

So, with publishers using X more but spending less on the platform, the question is this: Will publishers’ increased use of the platform turn out to be a lasting trend, or will their use of X fall off again after the presidential election is over?