Twitter Announces New Advertising Model
Social Networking platform Twitter has unveiled an advertising strategy to monetise itself further. Brands will now be allowed to pay to post 'promoted tweets'. These will feature in search results as well as in the brand's feeds.
Users will begin to see sponsored tweets at the top of some Twitter search pages, taking the form of an ordinary tweet from the brand but clearly labelled 'Promoted' to distinguish paid-for tweets from normal ones.
Founder of Twitter, Biz Stone, commented, "Although our services extend beyond the web, Twitter ranks as one of the most popular sites on the internet. Over the years, we've resisted introducing a traditional web advertising model because we wanted to optimise for value before profit. The open exchange of information creates opportunities for individuals, organisations, and businesses alike. We recognised value in this exchange and planned to amplify it in a meaningful and relevant manner."
Twitter has said they will ensure their new ad model doesn't harm the user experience by making sponsored tweets "meet a higher bar" than regular tweets - any promoted tweets that users aren't interacting with by retweeting, favouriting or replying will be removed.