Twitter Targets Keywords For Promoted Tweets

Twitter has made a new feature available to advertisers that will let them target promoted tweets based solely on keywords.

Promoted tweets were first introduced in 2010, placing advertisements in users’ timelines even if the company was not being followed. Previously, promoted tweets have been determined by a number of factors, but the new keyword-targeted system will be available in all languages and markets where Twitter ads are supported.

Twitter says that setting up a campaign to target keywords in the timeline is similar to the existing setup. Marketers enter the keywords they want to target and specify other options such as geographic location, device and gender.

Twitter promoted tweet changes

For advertisers, the benefits are obvious as they can reach users at the right moment in the right context. For example if a user tweets about a band and they’re playing at a nearby venue, the venue could target tweets advertising tickets for the show.

The micro-blogging site says that the changes will not affect users negatively and they will not see more promoted tweets than they are already seeing. It says that it might even be beneficial as they will see more relevant tweets and can still dismiss posts if they are not of interest.

The system was tested out with a small group of advertisers and agencies like EE, Microsoft Japan and Walgreens. Twitter claims users were significantly more likely to engage with promoted Tweets using the new method as opposed to other types of targeting. It said video camera manufacturer GoPro saw two million impressions and engagement rates as high as 11 percent.

Earlier this year, Twitter announced a new advertising API that automates the purchase of adverts and allows advertisers to integrate them with campaigns on other sites, such as Facebook, by using third parties.

Marketers had been frustrated at the need to manually enter details, such as the amount of money they wanted to spend and the demographics they wanted to reach, every time they launched a campaign.

Twitter hopes the changes to its advertising platform will alleviate these grievances and allow it to generate more revenue ahead of a possible initial public offering. It is believed Twitter could earn as much as £6.8 billion from an IPO, which could happen next year.

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