Can COVID-19 challenge Twitter's ad revenue?

In the recent coronavirus lockdown, affecting a big part of the world, many people turn to social media as means of communication with friends and family. That being said, most of us will probably suppose that platforms, such as Twitter, will be visited more often and therefore can gain certain monetary advantages.

However, that might not be exactly true. Recently, Twitter has released a press announcement in which the company withdraws its 2020 Q1 guidance because of COVID-19’s impact. Apparently, while Twitter’s activity grows, the content is mainly related to the public health situation and is thus hardly monetizable.

In the company’s announcement, they emphasize on the fact that Twitter is closely related to things happening around the world, especially events in entertainment, sports, politics and others. Unfortunately, a lot of events have been cancelled recently over public health concerns and therefore people are running out of events to discuss or share on the platform. Monetization is easy when we are speaking about the Super Ball and harder in a global pandemic situation.

The company expects its revenue to go down. Usually, big social events bring more people to Twitter and therefore the platform receives more advertising possibilities. Without big events coming up, it’s possible that Twitter may lose additional monetizable opportunities.

Nevertheless, Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, is confident despite the challenging times. “We’ll continue to navigate this environment focusing on supporting our employees, customers, and partners, while strengthening our service for everyone around the world and adjusting to a new operating and economic environment.”, he said in a statement.