The trend: It’s been called many names by many companies—restructuring, reorganizing, reshuffling—but the signs are clear: Social media and Big Tech are going through a dramatic shift as the economy and state of digital advertising enter uncertain territory, forcing companies to focus on the core of their businesses.
Social media faces the music: Last year’s AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) change upended the mobile app industry, sending social media platforms in search of new tracking solutions and revenue streams.
- Now, following Snap’s dramatic revenue warning and a shaky economy, many companies are shelving projects that were supposed to help diversify revenue or offer new advertising channels.
- Meta implemented a hiring freeze and shut down its year-old podcasting platform, meaning it will miss out on the projected $1.7 billion in podcast advertising spending this year, per our recent report.
- Twitter similarly put its podcasting effort, which hadn’t seen the light of day, on the back burner alongside other projects like newsletters and communities in order to focus on user growth and personalization.
- That leaves those two major platforms to focus on their advertising businesses, which haven’t adapted well to iOS’ tracking changes or the depreciation of third-party cookies.