In the online marketing realm, business professionals are beginning to exploit the various advantages of paid advertising on social media profiles such as LinkedIn and Facebook. The numerous targeting options provide limitless opportunities for lead generation and developing brand equity. However, there is one platform where users may not even know advertising exists: Twitter. In the form of “promoted” products, Twitter provides several social media advertising solutions for clients looking to create more exposure. With more than 550 million users, the micro-blogging site ranks as the second most popular and visited social platform in the world. 

Promoted Tweets

Promoting individual tweets is the simplest form of increasing exposure for your brand. Leveraging the vitality of social media can provide your brand to target users with specific interests and push offers or introductory tweets. For example, promoted tweets provide the best opportunity for new software platforms to create exposure by targeting both tech users and business professionals and making sure branded tweets are seen at the top of the Twitter feed. Similar to the cost-per-click model employed on LinkedIn and Facebook, Twitter uses a pay-per-action model, where clients are charged based on actions involving the promoted tweets.

Promoted Accounts

Going beyond promoted tweets, businesses can leverage the micro-blogging social media platform to promote their account as a means of increasing their follower base. In this case, marketing professionals are only charged every time a user follows the account being promoted. This particular paid product allows professionals to target users based on other accounts they follow, giving their brand an opportunity to show up on the “who to follow” or “similar users” lists. This is especially ideal for new brands looking to increase their exposure and generate a buzz for their brand through social media.

Promoted Trends

Need promotion that extends beyond tweets and accounts? Promoted trends provide advertising on a larger scale by giving marketing professionals a platform to create their own trend and promote it globally. For example, an exciting way to enter the market for a new company would be to leverage social media and create a branded trend that will resonate well with a targeted audience. By promoting this trend, companies can create a buzz and promote interactivity with their brand by getting people to use the phrase or hashtag in their own tweets.

Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn – where should my social media dollars go?

While Twitter’s advertising solutions provide limitless opportunities for social media advertising, the cost can range to upwards of $10,000 per month for larger brands. Smaller brands do have an opportunity to use a self-serve model by invite only, setting daily budgets and bids for promoted posts and accounts. As a result this provides a less than cluttered environment for users, keeping them happy instead of annoyed. However, Facebook and LinkedIn advertising may prove more cost effective with their self-serve models for brands on tighter budgets. Ultimately the social media optimization budget and chosen platforms should flow from the desired objectives and defined target market(s). Employing the help of social media marketing professionals can help guide your brand in the right direction and save you thousands of dollars in testing.