Minneapolis-based Target last posted on social media platform X on Jan. 31, 2023.
The retailer’s year-plus absence on the app formerly known as Twitter isn’t unique among Minnesota companies big and small. The likes of Medtronic, 3M, UnitedHealth Group, Magers & Quinn Booksellers and more have all taken their posts — and, oftentimes, significant advertising dollars— away from the once-dominant network.
As for the reason behind the mass exodus, the large companies, at least, have been hesitant to share their thinking. Target declined to comment, while electronics retailer Best Buy — last posted Nov. 18, 2022 — and food-processing company General Mills — last posted Sept. 20, 2023 — did not respond to requests for comment. Medtronic made its decision to leave X in January 2023 after “careful consideration.”
“We, like many other companies, want to create a safe environment for dialogue and have chosen to do that on other platforms,” the company said in a statement.
Rosalie Morton, senior vice president of channels for Minneapolis-based based public relations and communications firm Padilla, said the “uncertain nature of the platform” and the “unpredictable nature of Musk” are factors for companies reconsidering.
Since Elon Musk bought X for $44 billion in 2022, he turned it private and, of course, did away with the Twitter name. The company has since faced layoffs, resignations, policy shifts and public skirmishes, often involving Musk himself. The Washington Post analyzed the changes a year after Musk’s takeover and found right-wing voices on the app had amplified, traffic and user numbers had fallen and various advertisers had abandoned their campaigns.
Musk has been vocal on the latter, as it most greatly affects X’s profitability. He endorsed an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on X this past November only to later attack advertisers that pulled out because of it — including giants like Disney — with expletives at a speaking engagement.
Antics like that can turn off many companies, said De Liu, a professor of information and decision sciences at the University of Minnesota. Companies are constantly working to build brand trust with their customers. Target, for example, learned this summer how Twitter rhetoric can alienate potential customers even without the company itself posting after some of its Pride products — and subsequent removal of them — caused a stir on the platform.