In the first two parts of the ‘Twitter for businesses’ series we discussed strategies for a successful business account and methods for measuring success with Twitter Analytics. Here, in the third and final part of the series, we show you how you can make use of Twitter advertising, so-called Twitter Ads.
What exactly are Twitter Ads? Twitter Ads are posts within Twitter’s advertising system, with which Twitter users can promote their tweets on other users’ feeds. Switch on adverts on Twitter, and then the sponsored content will appear in the timelines of selected audiences, similar to an organic tweet.
If you do decide to advertise on Twitter, you should ensure that none of the offered Twitter ad campaigns differ from the character of a tweet. Ads will appear to the user as ‘sponsored’, but in every other way will have the same layout and function of an organic tweet – you can reply to them, like them, and retweet them). On the one hand, this is advantageous for the advertising customers, as their ads are integrated easily into the timelines of a certain target audience. It also makes it easier for the user to engage with the sponsored content. On the other hand, it also means that advertising on Twitter is limited to 140 characters, as with every other tweet.
Remember that the ‘rules’ for writing a good tweet, which we wrote about in the second part of this series, also apply to Twitter advertising. In a nutshell: use hashtags for reach, links for informational content, and photos or videos for aesthetics. And of course, talk about topics relevant to the audience, using clear and crisp language.
And what exactly is the difference between a Twitter ad and a tweet? Or phrased slightly differently: why even use Twitter Ads instead of actually just tweeting? The most important difference between a Twitter ad and an organic tweet simply lies in the reach. This is because Twitter Ads significantly increases the visibility of a tweet or an account, which in turn then promises increased conversions. A second important difference is the targeting of audiences that makes Twitter Ads different. An account’s best content will find itself in the timelines of certain user groups, who you wish to have as new followers or as visitors to your website.
Twitter Ads are effectively a ‘booster’ through which you can further an already existing Twitter strategy and spread your own content more efficiently. Twitter offers customers of its advertising service various campaigns, which are tailored towards different advertising goals: campaigns for more website clicks, more followers, increased reach, campaigns for more frequent app downloads, or more video views. Every advantage that Twitter originally offered and led businesses to create an account for social media marketing purposes, comes into effect with a Twitter advertising campaign. This includes maintaining industry contacts, increasing brand awareness, creating customer contacts, or generating traffic for a website – for all these purposes, Twitter has a campaign.
Twitter Ads is an especially interesting prospect for small and medium-sized businesses because of its transparent and easily adjustable cost structure. Below we show you the different campaigns that you can use with Twitter Ads. Apart from this, we also give you a step-by-step guide as to how you can easily start your own advertising campaign.