Advertising has always been a worry for Twitter. The company had to decide between traditional ad-formats like banner ads — or come up with an out-of-box solution for its advertising woes. Twitter chose the latter and it appears it is reaping the benefits of making that sensible decision. Latest report from eMarketer reveals, not only have Twitter users liked the ads appearing in Promoted tweets, in fact, many have benefited from them.
The study finds only 10.9% of US Twitter users said Promoted Tweets are “annoying and take away from the Twitter experience.” The relevancy of ads in Promoted tweets is remarkably good with 24.8% reporting that they have seen Promoted Tweets from brands that are relevant to them. More than one-fifth of users said they have gotten a discount (21.6%) or have found out about a new brand through a Promoted Tweet (21.2%). Additionally, 14% of respondents said they have retweeted a Promoted Tweet.
Ironically, only 11.1% of US Twitter users said that following brands was the leading reason why they use the site. The top reasons include following friends (17.4%), to get a good laugh (15.6%), to get the news (15.1%) and to share the news (13.9%).
So, what does this mean for Twitter? The news should infuse a dose of confidence in the investors and the stake holders who were pinning hopes on Promoted tweets to do the trick. And this should also send out a loud message to advertisers who shy away from advertising on Twitter because of the assumption that it won’t show results.
