Twitter has introduced keyword targeting in timelines. That means brands can show ads to users who have tweeted or interacted with a tweet containing specific words and phrases. And that, hopes the firm with 200 million active users, could mean big money.
Essentially, it turns Twitter advertising from push to pull, because the user has expressed intent before being hit with ads. It provides context - and timing is everything. But will it turn users off and is Twitter where people do their searching?
On the former, Twitter thinks not. The latter's as yet unknown but the move has industry rubbing its hands.
Announcing the move, which was flagged earlier this week, Twitter claimed users would not see any negative difference, and could dismiss promoted tweets the don't find relevant. It claimed that increased relevance would actually improve user's advertising experiences, citing global tests with big firms that validated its thinking.
Marketers just have to enter target keywords, choose whether to use phrase match or unordered keyword match, and specify other targeting options such as geographic location, device and gender, said Twitter. Easy as one, two, three.
Group M was one of the first out of the blocks in welcoming the move.
"Now, brands can let consumers make the first move, responding to interest instead of pushing ads to an audience," said Jesse Wolfersberger Group M Next's director of consumer insights.
"Making the first move is important," he wrote in a position paper. "In chess, even at the highest levels of competition, it’s reported that the player who moves first wins about 55% of the time. In media, the first move is either a brand showing an ad to a consumer, or the consumer expressing intent, then being shown an ad. When the consumer acts first, it makes the brand’s ad far more relevant."
Of the developments, Wolfersberger said that what was "maybe most exciting" was that marketers could use location, device and gender in conjunction with keyword targeting. That meant firms could target people locally, with bricks and mortar stores able to take advantage of people nearby. For example women in Bondi tweeting about looking for swimwear.
The announcement also meant increased scale and speed for marketers, said Wolfersberger, enabling marketers to have larger keyword lists and to serve ads within minutes of their tweets.
The launch caps another busy week for Twitter. It has also been reportedly making moves to tie up video content deals with major networks. That news follows its recent acquisition of Aussie music start-up We are Hunted.
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