More and more, social media is becoming a bigger part of most digital marketer’s media plans. Over the last two years, social media ad spend has doubled due to its rapid growth. Twitter’s advertising revenue for example has been steadily increasing with as much as 60% growth year over year.
Does Twitter Measure up to the Competition?
Twitter, amongst the social media tools, has an interesting track record. As early as June 2014, nearly 80% of U.S. marketers were already using promoted Tweets, giving Twitter a strong adoption rate amongst marketers at that time. But despite their early adoption rate, Twitter has since lost some growth compared to other platforms, falling behind apps like WhatsApp, WeChat and Instagram. Overall, none of these platforms come close to the success that Facebook has; but even against these odds, Twitter, with its 313 million active users, still has a lot to offer to brand marketers.
Regardless of usage and numbers, marketers still report that Twitter provides a decent return on investment, ROI, ranking below Facebook but still above Instagram, LinkedIn, Slideshare and Snapchat for programmatic media buying.
Using Twitter
In 2016, Promoted Tweet engagements were up 91% year-over-year, giving advertisers a much higher audience engagement on display ads. These Promoted Tweets included:
- Top placement of relevant search result pages
- Promoted Trends search results
- Relevancy on user’s live Twitter Feeds
- Placement on user profiles that fit the targeting qualifications
In addition to these Promoted Tweets, brands can also use Twitter to:
- Earn top rankings through consistent, ongoing record of interaction with followers
- Engage with audiences through Twitter’s messaging and communication features
- Use Tweets to beta test paid marketing and creative copy
Twitter’s Features
While paid ads and Promoted Tweets are great tools included in the platform, they’re not the driving forces on Twitter. Instead, it’s that brands have the opportunity to drive a conversation with their audience.
Brands can also find opportunities on Twitter by taking advantage of Twitter’s “Moments” to collect, curate and reorder tweets to showcase conversations as everyday storytelling or as part of a campaign strategy. Twitter helps to offer real-time, direct connections with consumers that can turn customer service into “serving customers.” The platform enables brands to participate in the moment with their audiences through live video and real-time tweeting, even creating cultural moments. With this, many brands take the opportunity to put the creativity of their customers into the spotlight.
Social’s share of marketing budgets is expected to increase from an average of about 10% to nearly 25% within the next five years. The money and time brands spend on Twitter isn’t just for leads, but for retention.
Summary
- While Twitter isn’t leading the social media wave, it still has a lot to offer to brands.
- Digital Marketers report a high ROI from their advertising efforts on Twitter.
- Promoted Tweets aren’t the only ways in which brands can use Twitter.
- Ongoing audience engagement and beta-testing campaigns can build relationships.
- Social share of marketing budgets is increasing.
- Twitter can be used not just for leads, but also for customer retention.