Twitter announced today that its conversion tracking tool, previously only available in private beta, is now accessible to analyze promoted tweets across the twitter landscape. It’s the latest tool that the microblogging network has added to its analytics arsenal, and it works, essentially, by tracking how many users click on purchase links offered in promoted tweets. This number is then compared to the set of users who have viewed or engaged with any promoted tweet campaign, for a better idea of how the campaign is doing more broadly. It’s yet another move by Twitter to justify its profitability and existence in the increasingly crowded space of social ad networks.
Tag: twitter
Smart Car Debuts Tweet A Selfie Campaign
If you send Smart Car a selfie on Twitter, the company will dress the cars up like you. The campaign, called “Who Wore It Better?” has seen smartcars photoshopped with ties, polka dots, and even trees, in the case of one man who took a picture of himself in the forest. Smart Car has done Twitter campaigns effectively before, having answered the question of how many times a bird would have to poop on a car to total it. One thing is for sure: witty, catchy Twitter campaigns are here to stay, and they definitely drive awareness.
95% Of TV Conversations Happen On Twitter
Twitter announced that 95 percent of online public conversations about TV take place on Twitter, and 60 percent of UK Twitter users are active on Twitter whilst watching TV. Moreover, 40 percent of all Twitter traffic around peak time is about TV. Not surprisingly, Twitter has launched a TV retargeting product called Twitter Amplify, integrated broadcasts into tweets and provided robust analytics service to corner the TV industry.
Twitter Experiments With “Nearby” Tweets
Twitter’s improvements in 2013 aren’t limited to making the service more friendly to mass advertisers. The company has begun testing a feature that generates a timeline of “nearby” tweets. Some users are already seeing it on their mobile devices, but the function has not rolled out to all users yet. The “nearby” feed displays a map with the user’s current location, and a feed of tweets, with each tweet’s location indicated on the map as well. This addition to Twitter could be just what it needs, giving users a way to prioritize and sort through millions of tweets. It could also be an opportunity for savvy marketers to respond quickly to feedback from their area, or to gain foot traffic in brick and mortar stores.
Twitter Touts More Relevant Ads With Tailored Audiences
In a blog post today, Twitter announced Tailored Audiences, a new way to define groups of existing and potential customers, and to connect them with relevant brand messaging. In principle, the service will target users on Twitter who have also visited a product or brand’s website, so as to provide a sense of relevancy to the ads being served. The goal is to find groups of existing target customers who have already expressed interest, and use Twitter to convert them into sales. Though it seems straight forward, Twitter wants to build the service out to include other forms of targeting in the future.
Apple Purchases Topsy
In a move reported to be worth over $200 million, Apple purchased Topsy, the Twitter analytics engine that is one of the few services to offer unfettered access to Twitter’s proprietary data. It offers a concise way to analyze tweets, measure reach, and gather sentiment about a hashtag, message, or campaign more broadly; you can even search Twitter’s entire archive through the service. Why Apple purchased the startup, though, is a bit of a mystery. They don’t, at present, have any stake deep Twitter integration per se, but it could be looking to use Topsy to start metrics collection for iTunes Radio.
Twitter Integrates Age-Screening For Alcohol Brands
Twitter announced that alcohol brands will now have an improved experience on the social network. In the past, when users followed alcohol brands they would be Direct Messaged asking for their age. Now, Twitter asks users to supply their ages up front, and does the legal age check in each country. Twitter also said that it will remember your age requirement, and will not allow the alcohol brands to remember your birthday, to give consumers a feeling of privacy. Whether age-screening actually works is a hot debate at the moment, but this is a step forward in attempts to institutionalize the policy.
Twitter Updates Mobile App For Trending TV
Twitter gave its mobile iOS and Android apps an overhaul with new search filters to enhance conversations around TV. In the “Discover” tab, Twitter can browse through trending shows by topics and hashtags, as well as trends relating to local content. The shows are organized either by popularity or by which show is airing next. It’s another move to more deeply integrate TV and advertising into the social platform to boost profitability in light of the recent IPO – whether it actually translates into ad spends and ultimately revenue will have to be determined in the near future.
A Pinterest Pin Is Worth More Than A Tweet
According to marketing and analytics firm Piqora, who just completed a nine-month study of more than 1,000 brands in Pinterest, each pin is worth about 78 cents in sales, a 25% year over year increase. Each pin drives two site visits and six page views, and is repinned about 10 times. The average pin is 100 times more viral than a tweet. And brands with a rich pin integration see an 82% jump in repin/pin ratio. These stats are important for brands to consider, particularly in light of PInterest’s recent API release. The virality of pins, in combination with their sales drive, means that if you’re not already taking the site seriously you need to consider its worth as high as – if not higher than – even Twitter.
Loews Hotels Launches Twitter Reservations
On November 19th, Loews Hotels and Resorts will begin letting customers book rooms through Twitter, in a program the company is calling “social reservations.” It works by tweeting @Loews_Hotels with #BookLoews to declare interest in a room, at which point a Loews travel planner will step in and DM a user a link to a chat conversation to finish and confirm the booking process. In an age where 34% of hotel revenue comes through digital and mobile app bookings, this is another big step forward in innovative ways of increasing social engagement while simultaneously tapping into a new revenue stream. The success of this system could determine whether this method of booking becomes mainstream.
