5 new Twitter ad features

1. 5 new Twitter ad features Worth knowing about and sharing

2. Twitter tailored audiences: remarketing • As paid media moves towards a more audience focused approach, Twitter has introduced its first audience based feature • It’s named ‘tailored audiences’, but essentially it is remarketing for Twitter • By using third party ad partners, you are able to target users on Twitter who have been to certain sections of your site • It’s ideal if you’re looking to reach your customer base on a different platform, while still wanting to use vital audience data collected online to maximise the impact of your marketing campaign • In addition, you can now use data from your CRM system to target users in different ways. For example, if you have a database full of repeat purchasers, you are able to use their email addresses and target them through Twitter

3. Whitelisting • Twitter now allows you to promote other people’s tweets. • It’s an interesting feature and is mainly useful in terms of PR and brand promotion.  • If you’re looking for brand exposure, you can promote a tweet from a celebrity or ambassador who is tweeting about your product or brand. • You’re likely to receive high engagement if the content or celebrity is relevant.  • To access this feature, however, you will need written permission from the person that you wish to re-tweet.

4. Twitter advertising is now available to SMBs • Previously, not only was Twitter advertising solely available to large businesses, it also had a minimum spendof £5000 per month for a managed account • Since November last year this is no longer the case, allowing small to medium businesses to use advertising on Twitter • While this may have a negative impact on cost-per-engagements as more advertisers enter the market place, it’s a fantastic opportunity for smaller businesses to reach new customers and grow their online presence • According to Twitter, 80% of SMEs recommend Twitter advertising for businesses

5. Promoted Accounts in search • Further to the launch of Promoted Accounts in timelines, Twitter has now expanded this and introduced Promoted Accounts in search • Users of Twitter won’t notice a drastic change to their online experience as they’re already familiar with Promoted Tweets, which are displayed in the search results • Your Promoted Account will simply appear at the top of the search results above the organic listings, providing maximum brand exposure • Interestingly, the search queries that your Promoted Accounts will appear against are not chosen by you but instead by Twitter, based on your chosen targeting options • Promoted Accounts in search are essentially another way to build up your follower base and grow your brand awareness

6. TV conversation targeting • Twitter advertising has the benefit of being truly real-time. Users can see results come in as they happen through the UI, allowing you to optimise your campaigns reactively. • As new topics, trends and keywords are introduced, brands can easily be reactive and target accordingly. Adapting campaigns around these developing keywords and trends will lead to a more successful campaign. • Television is one of the best ways to really get the most out this trend, through TV conversation targeting. • Twitter is increasingly the accompanied second screen to TV and today some 40% of peak Twitter UK traffic is about TV.  So, if you’re running a TV campaign, it is worth continuing it on Twitter, targeting users who are likely to have seen your TV ad. • Brands should consider aligning themselves with a TV show, or better still a TV show audience. If you want to target a teenage demographic, it is worthwhile targeting TV shows such as Hollyoaks or The Only Way Is Essex. To reach a more mature audience, consider targeting shows such as Top Gear or Coronation Street, depending on your chosen demographic. • If you’re looking to reach a more active audience on Twitter, you need to target TV shows with known higher engagement. Reality TV shows are good examples of this, 25% of the Made in Chelsea audience actively tweet about the show.

7. More in 2014 • With further features set to be introduced later this year, Twitter has big plans for 2014. • As its advertising continues to evolve, we would expect a lot more of these to revolve around audience targeting and data collection. • With all these functions at the ready, it really is the ideal time to check out Twitter advertising