Social networks are constantly looking for ways to monetize their sites without needing to pass charges on to their users. For most, the majority of their income comes from brands and advertising wishing to promote their services to targeted users.
Last week, Twitter announced a major new update in their offering to brands and advertisers, which some estimate could earn the company $1 billion a year. Brands will now be able to promote their tweets based on keywords in users’ tweets and the tweets they interact with, plus the user’s location, device and gender, meaning advertisers will be able to market their products and services more precisely.
For example if someone tweets about a favourite band, which happens to be playing locally to them, they may see a tweet from the concert organiser promoting tickets. Or if someone tweets about wanting a coffee, they may see a tweet from a coffee shop near to them.
Twitter previously promoted tweets in a less focused way. Users were targeted by who they were following, how they interact with other users and tweets and what they retweeted. Twitter claims that the new algorithms will improve users’ experiences as they will see more relevant Promoted Tweets. In advertising tests, the micro-blogging company found that users were significantly more likely to engage with keyword-targeted ads than other forms of timeline targeting.
The profiling of subscribers to networks such as Facebook and Twitter and the use of targeted advertising is no longer a growing trend in online marketing; it has become a key a part of it. The opportunities to businesses to market to specific audiences is unrivalled with other media, as social networks hold so much data about our interests, feelings and precise locations – data which marketers have forever been clamouring for.
Bigwave can help you with social media and online marketing. Get in touch with [email protected] for more information.