In this age of social media, the influence of websites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn cannot be underestimated. With nearly 60 percent of Americans owning a social media profile, it’s a no-brainer that advertising via social media can boost a business’ income. Twitter advertising alone has an audience of over 645.7 million active users with nearly 115 million users that log-on to the site each month.
In years past, users created profiles and spent a bit of time checking out former flames and old friends before forgetting the page existed. Those days are long gone. The increase in affordable Smartphones and tablets allows access to social sites anyplace, at any time. Businesses are hoping that using Twitter advertising will boost sales and profits and recent changes create more enticing ads that are easier to manage.
Twitter’s Most-Positive Change
In late 2013, Twitter realized bland, text-only user feeds was archaic and needed a makeover. Rather than former text and link advertising, Twitter now allows video and photo previews in tweets. These snippets are like teasers leaving users wanting more information.
Sponsored tweets, the main form of advertising on Twitter, already appear in user feeds, but can now include pictures or videos. Which are users more likely to pay attention to: a text description of a restaurant’s delectable desserts with a link, or a photo of a chocolate cake that looks like heaven on a plate?
Twitter’s Other Changes
Although it seems Twitter is a little behind on the advertising bandwagon, these recent changes will allow the site to become more of a heavy hitter. Along with allowing teasers to tweets, businesses will find recent changes make advertising simpler, more manageable, and more effective.
The Twitter advertising platform update allows businesses to revise and manage ads with platforms including Salesforce, Adobe, HootSuite, and Shift. This allows businesses to manage large campaigns by making changes using one app instead of having to make changes in several platforms individually.
Businesses will also benefit from real-time alterations, allowing ads to be relevant in America’s ever-changing, face-paced culture. Changes to Twitter’s targeting abilities include targeting traditional groupings based on gender and location, as well as focus on the type of devices used to access the site. These changes might give Twitter a much-needed place in the social media advertising race.