ELON Musk’s X is adding new advertiser targeting features to better entice video creators and compete against YouTube.

X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, will let advertisers run ads before videos from creators of their choosing starting later this month, the company said on Monday (Feb 12). Advertisers can run ads in the main timeline and on a creator’s profile.

The new ads will include a revenue split, offering X’s 80,000 creators another way to make money from their videos. A spokesperson for X declined to disclose the percentage of ad revenue it will share with creators. The company previously said it has paid out more than US$20 million. Google’s YouTube gives creators 55 per cent of ad revenue related to their videos.

Musk has tried to push the company towards more premium video content in recent months by adding partners, including former CNN host Don Lemon and World Wrestling Entertainment, to produce shows on the service. He’s spoken several times about his desire for X to compete with YouTube and has reached out to some creators directly. Last month, he praised YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, known to his followers as MrBeast, for posting his first video on X.

Musk’s efforts are part of an attempt to lure back marketers since his chaotic takeover of the platform led advertising revenue to decline more than 50 per cent. Last year, ad sales were estimated to be roughly US$2.5 billion, falling short of the company’s US$3 billion target, Bloomberg reported. BLOOMBERG