Following the rollout of extra shopping tools by Google at the weekend, Twitter has now added new advertising features that many retailers will want to latch onto quickly in order to make the most of new marketing opportunities over the busy holiday period. Since last May it has been possible for US users to implement targeted TV ads on the social network, but now further developments of this project have led to the appearance of conversation targeting – a way to get in on conversations with real sales potential.
“The way TV conversation targeting works is simple,” says Twitter. “Through our conversation mapping technology, networks and brands can promote Tweets to users who engage with specific shows, whether or not a brand is running a spot in the program. Now advertisers can easily reach Twitter users exposed to integrations, sponsorships and other innovative TV tie-ins for an additional touch point or message expansion.”
Research into the conversion of advertising into sales shows that TV adverts with Twitter support result in an 8% to 16% increase in sales compared to TV adverts alone. In conjunction with other evidence, it suggests that people are simply more likely to buy when they feel they are being addressed personally, even if this does not mean having a full conversation. Business managers have long been advised to seek out Twitter conversations relevant to their products or services and join in; with the new system, they will be able to set up tweets to go out automatically in this context and can have a visible online presence even if they are not able to be there in person. This is great news for smaller businesses that do not have the resources to pay a full-time social media manager or have somebody available at all hours.
TV conversion targeting is not just of interest to businesses advertising on TV. It can also focus on conversations related to particular programs. This has obvious potential for makers of merchandise and TV-related products and it is also a good idea for anyone with a related product; for instance, a food manufacturer might want to set up promotional tweets to go out during a cookery show, while a car sales outlet might want to advertise during conversations about a driving-based action movie. It takes a little imagination to get this right, but catching on to the zeitgeist around particular shows can be a great way to promote just what people are thinking of buying.
