A few weeks back, I wrote about Twitter’s newest idea in advertising which was with Promoted Tweets. Twitter started allowing advertisers to target their Tweets, focusing on certain followers in particular rather than their entire follower base. Since Twitter’s advertising was never really something that sparked numerous conversations, a lot of people in marketing were curious to see how this new method might turn out. Many predicted success, knowing how popular Twitter has become, and their predictions were correct, indeed. Many companies are starting to see wonderful results with this new feature, showing that Twitter may just be a valuable advertising source after all.

According to information released by SocialCode, via MarketingLand.com, the Washington Post has been using these targeted Promoted Tweets, and has seen pretty incredible results. Their engagement rate has apparently tripled on Twitter since they started using the new feature, and it is brand new. Matt McGee writes in his MarketingLand.com article, “With Twitter’s new targeting options, WaPo didn’t need to first publish tweets that would be seen by all of its followers; it created tweets that would be targeted to specific device users (regardless if they follow or not).” Twitter had a vision for the feature when they announced it’s beginnings, and the Washington Post has followed along with the intentions of targeted Tweets. Apparently, the Washington Post’s engagement rate was at 1.1% before utilizing the new feature, and then sky-rocketed to over 3%. For a feature that is only about a week old, that’s a pretty significant boost.

This example of the Washington Post’s success is probably what other brands and advertisers can expect from the new feature, that is, if they take advantage of it and use it correctly as WaPo has. With all the excitement around Twitter currently, Adam Kleinberg of iMedia Connection has revealed some tips for those who have not yet harnessed targeted Tweets. He explains three ways that advertisers should use targeted Tweets; by location, by platform, and outside of your follower base. These tips just map out the huge variety of options that Twitter has released all at once, bombarding advertisers with new opportunities. More importantly, however, you now have the option to target people who aren’t even following your business, allowing you to expand awareness and even grab unlikely customers.

Anyway, since I’ve already covered what the targeted Tweets allow advertisers to do, it’s important to use them correctly. I’m sure that there will be tips and tricks to targeting Tweets released soon, but people are still tampering with the platform and learning how it will work for them. Twitter has basically become a reliable advertising source overnight, jumping out from behind a bush and surprising everybody in the advertising community. Since it has seen such remarkable results so early, there is no doubt that it will be a successful way to market. I’m can almost guarantee that Twitter’s new targeted Tweets are the only thing we are going to hear about for the next few weeks, and with good reason.

Written by Michael Levanduski

Michael Levanduski is a news reporter at Performance Marketing Insider. He’s been a writer at one level or another for the past 15+ years. He has three kids and lives in Grand Rapids, MI.

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