In today’s modern era of information technology, social media advertising has become a valuable asset for online advertising strategies due to providing user demographic information that help target ads properly. According to statistics, advertisers are expected to spend $8.3 billion on social media advertising in 2015. Of these, 92 percent are turning to Facebook advertising due to the wide audience and engagement it produces. But let’s not forget that Facebook is not the only social media platform to help companies gain visibility and improve brand awareness.
Twitter advertising has seen a huge popularity increase in 2014, and 23 percent of advertisers are currently using Twitter to reach out to their audience. But does Twitter advertising work, and will it help companies expand their customer base? Read on to find out.
Does Twitter Advertising Work?
Although Twitter has joined the advertising world of Google, Facebook and LinkedIn relatively recently, a large number of companies are utilizing Twitter ads to acquire visibility and grab their audience’s attention. But are their efforts justified, and does Twitter advertising really work?
According to AdWeek, engagement rates for Twitter advertising can go as high as 1-3 percent, which is much higher than Facebook’s average click-through rate of only 0.119 percent. This is due to the fact that Twitter ads are in-stream and not pushed to the side, as they are on Facebook. This, in turn, ensures that Twitter ads are fully visible and accessible to mobile users, as the tweet stream shows up on all mobile devices – unlike Facebook’s right-hand column, which shows up on desktops only.
Most notably, the share of social-referred visits is only 6.8 percent for Twitter, and growing up to 258 percent year over year. On the other hand, the share of social referred visits is 62 percent for Facebook, and going down by 20 percent year over year. This means that advertisers should expect more visitors coming from Twitter, which subsequently improves visibility, brand awareness, and also increases conversions.
A major struggle, however, is the lack of customizability of ad targeting. Advertisers can only select the location of the Twitter users they want to target, pick the tweets they want to promote, and then set a budget for their ad campaign. Facebook’s offering of targeting options is infinitely larger. Advertisers can create custom audiences, target fans based on age, gender, relationship status and interests, and even create lookalike audiences. Different placement options are also available, although only one of them is likely to help advertisers gain maximum exposure.
Best Practices for Twitter Advertising
If you are planning to invest in Twitter advertising, there are a couple of factors you should consider to ensure that you are making the most of your ad campaign. We listed a few essential Twitter advertising practices that will certainly yield satisfactory results.
1. Target Specific Keywords
One of the biggest mistakes advertisers make is not targeting specific keywords when putting together their Twitter ad campaign. If you want to gain visibility and grab attention, your choice of keywords should be very appropriate and relevant to the topic. For a topic like marketing, some of the best keywords to focus on are “startup marketing,” “b2b marketing,” “social media marketing,” “content marketing,” “inbound marketing,” and “lead generation.”
Targeting competitive keywords can result in a higher cost per lead, which means that you will need a substantial investment to keep your Twitter ad campaign running. Targeting specific keywords can help you reduce the cost, and also yield better click-through rates.
2. Refine and A/B Test Your Campaigns Based on Performance
Many advertisers tend to set up their Twitter ad campaigns and then forget about them. Monitoring your cost-per-lead metric is critical to your success, as you must always make sure that it is low enough, but still good value for the money. If your ads are getting more impressions than leads, then you should consider adjusting your ad image, text, and even your promoted offer. Twitter recommends that you keep your offers informative, fun, and helpful to engage your audience, and also to receive the desired response from this interaction.
Check on your cost-per-lead metric every time you revisit your ad copy, image, or offer. Opt for texts that clearly communicate your intentions and brand message, and choose an image that is very eye-catching. Stick to those elements that help your ads get more leads, but keep testing and refining your campaign over time.
3. Offer Non-Promotional Value
Instead of promoting products or services, one of the best ways to make your Twitter advertising campaign as successful as possible is offering non-promotional value. The best-performing types of content are usually free eBooks, templates, downloads, white papers and other materials that can respond to your audience’s needs. Non-promotional content helps demonstrate your company’s professionalism, experience and knowledge, which is important to building a solid online reputation. Moreover, free, non-promotional content is usually easier to access, and Twitter users will be more likely to subscribe to your mailing list or download your eBook this way.
4. Hop on the Hashtag Bandwagon
Hashtags are currently the most popular trend on Twitter, and they can easily get your ad displayed to more pairs of eyes if used correctly. If you are creating a multichannel hashtag campaign to promote your business, a product and/or a service, Twitter ads can be an excellent way to give it a boost. By utilizing one or two relevant hashtags in your ads, you can drive more conversation, encourage sharing, and also expand your follower and/or customer base. Make sure not to exceed two hashtags per ad copy, otherwise it will become less readable and visually-appealing.
Final Thoughts
Twitter advertising is now an important part of the picture since a huge number of individuals are currently using it. Ideal for grabbing your fans’ and non-fans’ attention, Twitter ads can increase engagement and click-through rates, giving your company a popularity and visibility boost. When implemented correctly, your Twitter ad campaign becomes a sure way to skyrocket your sales, and get a substantial return on investment as well. Make sure to utilize the tips above to make the most out of your advertising efforts, specifically if you are using competitive keywords that have a higher cost-per-lead rate.
References:
1. https://www.business2community.com/social-media/104-fascinating-social-media-marketing-statistics-2014-2015-01084935
2. https://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/social-ad-spend-stats-trends/503712
3. https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2013/11/05/twitter-versus-facebook-ad-performance
4. https://labs.openviewpartners.com/optimize-twitter-ad-campaigns-lead-generation-cards/
5. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7182-twitter-advertising-best-practices.html