We’ve all wondered, since its inception, how and when Twitter would make money. The answer comes tomorrow. Twitter will be releasing its new advertising platform, consisting of promoted tweets.
TechCrunch started the rumor mill, which has since been confirmed as true. Look for promoted tweets to start appearing in Twitter search results on Tuesday, with a slowly-but-surely rollout style into your main feed soon after.
Advertising Age is reporting some more depth on the story, and gives us a look into the thought processes behind the sponsored tweets as well.
Users will be able to re-tweet the advertisement, which will be found at the top of the search results page. In case you’re wondering, yes, the ads will be very akin to Google AdWords. Ads will appear based upon search keywords, but the interactive model should prove interesting, as an even more immediate feedback model is available with Twitter.
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Starbucks, Bravo and Virgin America will start the sponsored tweets campaign. These companies are a perfect fit, according to Twitter Chief Operating Officer Dick Costolo. When you take a company that is already active in conversation over Twitter, the sponsored tweets idea is a logical step.
Twitter is claiming to be taking its time with the new model. There is no profit goal set for the first year, but rather the focus is on the user experience. Ads will be sold on a CPM basis, but the company is already looking at a performance-based pricing strategy as well.
It will be interesting to see whether Twitter is able to keep the user experience the same, while still promoting a rollout of a product this large. Our bet is on some pushback from the Twittersphere, but the end result looks promising.
What are your thoughts? How likely are you to jump into conversation about or the retweeting of an advertisement?
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