Meta Launches Threads: Advertiser Q&A

Meta Launches Threads: Advertiser Q&A

by Taylor Hart Instagram Meta Threads Twitter

In just five days, Meta’s Threads app has become the fastest-growing app in history, with 100 million users, and counting. Threads is basically a Twitter clone, and because it’s connected to a user’s Instagram account, so far both brands and people alike have been posting content that pretty much resembles what they’d post on Twitter and Insta. Let’s take a closer look at Threads by answering some commonly asked questions brands might have about it.

What exactly is Threads, and why does it exist?

As noted, Threads gives its user base a place to post the same kind of rapid-fire posts that they share on Twitter and Instagram. There is a 500-character limit for posting. Users can respond to each other’s posts, and they can link to photos, video, and external URLs as with Twitter. It’s one of a handful of Twitter rivals, including Bluesky and Mastadon, that have emerged to challenge Twitter’s long-established lead as a micro-blogging platform.

Interest in Threads has intensified in light of Twitter’s ongoing service problems and a reported rise in hate speech on Twitter, which has made the app less appealing for both brands and everyday users. Twitter has 354 million users – which is a sizable audience, making it tempting for a rival to create its own similar platform. But Twitter is a firmly ensconced platform. It would take someone with a lot of clout to rival the company. Meta has that kind of clout.

How do you sign up for Threads?

You need to have an Instagram account to sign up. From there, you download the app from your iOS or Android device.

Wait – I have to have an Instgram account to sign up for Threads? What are the implications of Threads being connected to Instagram?

Yes, you need to be on Instagram to be on Threads. Technically, Threads is in fact a stand-alone social network with its own app, but you need Instagram to sign up for it.

When you sign up for Threads, you can choose to auto-follow all of the accounts you follow on Instagram. This means that if your Instagram followers also sign up for Threads, they will automatically start following you back.

This is a great way to grow your Threads following quickly. However, it’s important to note that not everyone who auto-follows you will be interested in your content. So, it’s still important to post high-quality content and engage with your followers.

But what if you don’t want to be on Threads anymore? Well, if you decide you don’t like Threads, you cannot delete your Threads account unless you also delete your Instagram account.

If you violate Threads’s community guidelines and get your Threads account banned, your Instagram account will also be banned. To change your Threads username, you must also change your Instagram username.

How did Threads get so big so fast?

It’s all about the Instagram integration. Threads has instant access to Instagram’s 2.35 billion monthly active users. Meta made it easy for anyone to sign up through Instagram – and that’s not all. Meta also made it easy to import your Instagram profile. The auto-follow button, which allows your new Threads account to follow every account you follow on Instagram, created an instant Threads following for anyone on Instagram.

What kind of content should I post on Threads?

For now, businesses and people are posting the same kind of content that they post on Twitter and Instagram. So, what’s good for those platforms will be just right for Threads. Remember, your initial following comes from your Instagram audience – so it makes sense to be as visual as you can.

Social Media Manager Bri Reynolds suggests that you go grab your top-performing evergreen tweets, post one or a few as your initial Thread content. You’ve already proven they’re successful elsewhere.

Down the road, as Threads evolves, brands might develop a separate content strategy for Threads. But for now, Threads has quickly become a platform for cross-posting.

What caveats should I be aware of?

As noted above, if you want to delete your Threads, you need to delete your Insta.

Threads lacks a lot of functionality that users have become accustomed to on other platforms, including a lack of hash tagging and direct messaging capacity. There is no desktop version, and there is no chronological feed (although Instagram says a chronological feed will be coming soon).

Threads collects the same data as its parent company. This includes users’ physical addresses, health and fitness data, and sensitive information such as biometric and ethnic data. Twitter, on the other hand, does not collect these types of data.

Being present on Threads could become burdensome to your social media team. There is a tremendous amount of pressure for brands to experiment there. Make sure you have the bandwidth.

Is advertising coming to Threads?

Not yet. But as reported in Advertising Age, Meta is talking with ad agencies and brands about how the platform will work and has shared a presentation with several agencies outlining how Threads could potentially become the new Twitter. Meta has told advertisers that it will ensure brand safety by applying Instagram’s own community guidelines. If you want to get an early take on how Threads advertising will work, Instagram’s own ad units are a good place to start given the integration of the two apps.

Here are some specific examples of how Threads advertising may work (based on the Instagram experience):

  • Advertisers may be able to target their ads to users based on their interests, location, or demographics.
  • Ads may be displayed in the form of sponsored posts, promoted stories, or promoted video.
  • Ads may be placed alongside organic content in the Threads feed.

It is still too early to say exactly how Threads advertising will work, but one thing is certain: ads will come to Threads.

Contact True Interactive

At True Interactive, we’re following the rise of Threads closely. To succeed in the ever-changing world of online advertising, contact True Interactive. Read about some of our client work here, and learn about our social media services here.

Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/a-close-up-of-a-cell-phone-with-a-keyboard-in-the-background-vk8iRvRjoAg

Twitter Adds More Location-Based Marketing Features

Twitter Adds More Location-Based Marketing Features

by Bella Schneider Twitter

Twitter is making itself more appealing to businesses such as retailers and restaurants that operate physical locations. That’s because Twitter recently made it possible for businesses to update their profiles location, hours, and additional contact methods that make businesses more findable. This change may mean Twitter is trying to become a better destination for consumers looking for things to buy, whether they do so online or visit a physical location.

What Twitter Announced, and What Businesses Should Do

Twitter announced that professional accounts (which are designated for businesses, brands, creators, and publishers) may capitalize on a new Location Spotlight feature. Location Spotlight allows a professional account to display their location, hours of operation, and additional contact methods. Features of Location Spotlight include:

  • Business location: this is listed and shown on a small map in the profile spotlight. People can tap on the location map/listing to open Google Maps, or their default map app, for easier navigation to the business’s space.
  • Hours of operation: this field is optional but can be customized to showcase the days and times businesses want people to visit their location.
  • Methods of contact information: when the contact button in the spotlight is enabled, it can kick off one or more of the following directly to the business: phone call, text message, direct message, or email.

This news demonstrates Twitter’s intent to capitalize on the rise of location-based marketing which uses both paid and organic content to generate business at the local level. (This post and this post contain more detail defining the concept.)  Twitter’s ad products include geo-targeting by location, and the company has launched shopping options that make it easier for people to buy from businesses through Twitter, which is a boon especially for retailers (including those that operate local storefronts).

Twitter also offers to qualifying professional accounts a feature known as Shop Spotlight. This is a dedicated space to showcase products at the top of a Professional Account where businesses can showcase their products. When this spotlight is enabled, potential customers can scroll through the carousel of products and tap through on a single product to learn more and purchase – in an in-app browser, without having to leave Twitter.

The launch of new content features can mean that a platform is priming the pump for more advertising products, and this is probably the case with Twitter especially as Amazon Ads expands into local advertising. Online commerce is a trillion dollar industry, and digital platforms such as Twitter, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok want to capture more revenue from this booming market. Location-based marketing is one way of doing so – while integrating with offline commerce, too.

We recommend businesses activate this feature if it applies to you. Twitter explains how to do so here. We also recommend that businesses with physical locations watch for an uptick in ad services from Twitter, as the company seeks to find more sources of ad revenue from businesses with multiple locations. We will do all the monitoring for our clients at True Interactive!

Contact True Interactive

To maximize the value of your social media advertising, contact True Interactive. Our expertise in this area delivers measurable value to our clients.

Lead image source: https://unsplash.com/@alexbemore

 

What’s Next for Advertisers on Twitter with Elon Musk as an Owner?

What’s Next for Advertisers on Twitter with Elon Musk as an Owner?

by Kurt Anagnostopoulos Twitter

Will advertisers leave Twitter under Elon Musk’s ownership? That question is getting bandied about a lot these days. That’s because of widespread speculation that Musk will relax Twitter’s content moderation policies. This, in turn, could conceivably create brand safety issues by making controversial content more prevalent on the app, which has nearly 400 million monthly active users. For example, Advertising Age reported that “Marketers are worried that Musk will reopen the floodgates on uncivil behavior on the platform.” Ad agencies consulted by Ad Age said that their clients are increasingly asking about the risks of staying on Twitter. Here’s what I think will happen:

  • Some advertisers will flee Twitter and never return.
  • Some advertisers will put Twitter advertising on pause but eventually return to Twitter.
  • Most advertisers will do nothing.

The fact of the matter is this: advertisers have shown by their actions that they have a higher tolerance for social media controversy than news media reports might have you believe. We have seen time and again controversies erupt on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Most recently, Facebook became the target of widespread public scorn after whistle blower Frances Haugen, an ex-Facebook employee, shared internal documents that showed Facebook executives knowingly allowed its algorithm to publish harmful and divisive content on users’ news feeds.

The resulting expose, published in The Wall Street Journal, also sparked speculation that advertisers would leave Facebook. Some did. But most did not. Why? Because the fact that a publisher and aggregator of news content (which is what Facebook does) knowingly shares divisive information was not exactly shocking news to advertisers. Mainstream news media have been attracting audiences by publishing divisive content for decades, long before the internet existed. And they’re doing so today. As a result, advertisers have a higher tolerance for conflict than Facebook’s critics did.

What really hurt Facebook was Apple. Facebook’s parent, Meta, disclosed recently that the company would suffer a $10 billion revenue hit in 2022 because of the impact of Apple’s iPhone privacy controls launched in 2021. Meta’s stock tanked dramatically so as a result. Why? Because privacy controls would likely make ad targeting more difficult on Facebook. It was ad targeting, not a Wall Street Journal expose about the company’s culture, governance, and content policies, that hurt Facebook.

The real concern among advertisers is not whether controversial content will appear on Twitter. The fact is that controversial content already does appear on Twitter. Advertisers are more concerned that their ads could appear alongside controversial content. This is more of an issue with how an app manages its algorithm. YouTube, for instance, landed in hot water recently because advertisers’ content was appearing alongside hate speech, but most advertisers understood then (and understand now) that it’s impossible to stamp out hate speech completely. Many more also understand that controversial content is not necessarily hate speech. These realities are part of being a brand on social media – and they always have been.

Twitter has been down this road before, too, such as when a major hack involving a crypto currency scam embarrassed the platform and cast a spotlight on how easy it is for bad actors to exploit Twitter to commit crimes. Or when the proliferation of trolls and bots threatened Twitter’s reputation. Advertisers were concerned, to be sure, but for the most part they reacted by pressuring Twitter to improve its algorithm as opposed to demanding wide-scale changes in how Twitter operates fundamentally.

My advice to advertisers is:

  • Keep advertising on Twitter if you are satisfied with your results so far.
  • Monitor brand safety closely, but that’s true whether you are advertising on Twitter or any other social media app.
  • Watch where your audience goes. There is a very real possibility that ongoing controversy at Twitter could cause a drop in users. The question is whether your audience will leave Twitter. It’s a question. It’s not a certainty. Work with your agency partner to keep tabs on the situation, but don’t make assumptions based on news headlines.

True Interactive monitors developments on social media all the time as part of being a well-informed partner to our clients. Keep watching this blog for updates.

Contact True Interactive

To maximize the value of your social media advertising, contact True Interactive. Our expertise in this area delivers measurable value to our clients.

Twitter image by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash

Elon Musk image by https://pixabay.com/illustrations/elon-musk-space-elon-spacex-tesla-6222396/

 

Twitter Goes 3D with Advertising — Should You?

Twitter Goes 3D with Advertising — Should You?

by Clare O'Shea Twitter

Three-dimensional advertising can create an immersive encounter for users, and Twitter clearly understands this: the social networking service recently announced the launch of a new advertising unit, Product Explorer Ads, which displays content in a 3D format. No, special glasses are not required to view these ads! Product Explorer Ads display merchandise through a 3D-like experience within a promoted tweet.

The What

This is the first time Twitter has facilitated a way for products to be shown off in 3D, and it’s turning out to be an interactive experience: users can swipe and rotate an advertised item in order to see it from different angles, and click a “Shop Now” button to make a purchase at the brand’s website. Advertisers are already spiking an interest: New Balance is among the brands currently testing Product Explorer Ads.

 

For Twitter, the new format constitutes one more way to support advertisers’ outreach to consumers. As reported in Social Media Today, Twitter is looking to “boost usage and revenue significantly over the next two years,” and seems to be hoping 3D will help do so. It’s also an interesting learning curve: “As we kick off early experiments, we’ll aim to understand how the new formats resonate with consumers and drive results for advertisers,” Twitter said on its business page. “We’ll test, learn, and iterate based on performance and customer feedback.”

In Good Company

Twitter isn’t the only platform diving into 3D formats. Meta is also building up its 3D advertising capabilities. In a new partnership with 3D modeling provider VNTANA, Meta is exploring ways for brands to run 3D ads on Instagram and Facebook. The idea is that brands will be able to upload 3D models of their products to either platform and convert them into ads.

This embrace of 3D certainly makes sense. According to eMarketer, 3D and mobile augmented reality advertising revenues are on the rise; one ARtillery estimate hints at 134 percent growth over the next three years.

Our Advice to Brands

If your product lends itself to creating 3D ads, by all means now is the time to explore these types of formats.

But don’t treat 3D technology like a shiny new toy—or embrace it just because it’s new. Three-dimensional advertising is a promising format for sure, but remember first that your ad campaign needs to target the right customers with the right message at the right time—and on the right platform for your brand. If your customer base is not using Twitter, for example, no amount of cool 3D technology will have much impact, and advertising there may not make sense, period. Don’t embrace 3D for 3D’s sake; do so because it serves your brand and the story you are trying to tell.

Contact True Interactive

New technology is undeniably exciting. Wondering how to make sense of what’s out there, and what best supports your brand? Contact us. We can help.

Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash

Why Twitter Launched Twitter Shops

Why Twitter Launched Twitter Shops

by Bella Schneider Twitter

Twitter gets it. Brands want to drive sales. And shoppers are more motivated to buy if the process is a positive one. Enter Twitter Shops, the platform’s latest bid to foam the runway for consumer purchases. The feature, which ups the number of products brands can display at the top of their profiles, also aims to make the buying transaction even more seamless.

What Is Twitter Shops?

Twitter wants to support businesses; it also aspires to be consumer-friendly. Twitter Shops, which allows brands to display 50 shoppable products, is meant to check both those boxes. Shoppers need only click on “View shop” to scroll through the items a brand has uploaded, then click on a product to open an in-app browser and wrap up their purchase on the brand’s website. Easy!

The new feature is part of a concerted effort Twitter has been making to make shopping on the platform that much friendlier. Shop Module, announced last year, allowed businesses to display up to five products on their profile. Twitter Shops builds off that development. And notably, Twitter will not be taking a cut of revenue from purchases made on Shops.

Bruce Falck, revenue product lead at Twitter, puts it this way: “We know that shoppers come to Twitter to interact with brands and have conversations about products . . . Our growing shopping ecosystem is designed to leverage the power of that shopping conversation and create a pathway for people to go from talking about and discovering products to browsing and purchasing them.”

Why Did Twitter Launch Twitter Shops?

As Falck notes above, Twitter wants to bolster its social commerce functionality. It’s a smart move. As we’ve blogged, social shopping accelerated in popularity during the pandemic, and it’s showing no sign of slowing down. Social media has evolved along with this trend, morphing to meet the needs of users inspired by what they find online. That’s a growing demographic: as Retail Dive points out, a jaw-dropping 87 percent of Gen Z will be looking to social media for shopping inspiration.

Of course, Twitter isn’t the only platform to see the writing on the wall. They have competition: Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and TikTok have also made inroads with social shopping. As we’ve blogged, Facebook’s Shops in Groups is intended to “make shopping and buying better on our apps.” Meanwhile, TikTok has partnered up with Shopify to make it easy for TikTok users to shop directly in the TikTok app.

What Brands Should Do

What do these developments mean? We recommend that you:

  • Understand your audience. Are you reaching out to a demographic that works and plays on platforms like Twitter? The answer to that question will help you decide if it makes sense to lean into a feature like Twitter Shops.
  • Learn how to use the tools available to you. Every platform has its own requirements for creating content. Moreover, working confidently on these popular sites demands a strong grasp of how to use visuals. If you are going down this path, you must know how to create powerful, effective imagery.
  • Make sure you are ready to handle the demand. As we’ve blogged, some brands have struggled to keep up with the surge in demand that happens when more shoppers are inspired to buy. Online fulfillment must be up to handling an uptick in sales.
  • Keep an eye on the competition. How are your direct competitors leveraging digital to build bridges with consumers? What can you learn from their strategies?
  • Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Balance an online presence between the major platforms that offer value in advertising—and shoppability.

Contact True Interactive

Eager to explore how platforms like Twitter can elevate your marketing plan? Contact us. We can help.

Why Twitter Is Succeeding

Why Twitter Is Succeeding

by Morgan Reilly Social media Twitter

Twitter never got the memo that predicted its failure.  As far back as 2016, pundits have been forecasting the demise of the microblogging service, citing, among other things, a lack of direction and a stagnant user base. Even when Twitter’s stock value rose in 2020, detractors dismissed the news and said the company was simply benefiting from the sudden rise of the digital economy. But this phoenix continues to rise from the ashes, and it’s time to give Twitter its due. The company has made an impressive turnaround, as evidenced by its latest earnings announcement. In fact, the company’s performance beat Wall Street expectations in many important categories.

In discussing its growth, Twitter has credited a jump in advertiser demand. Moreover, it appears as though Apple’s much-discussed privacy controls launched in 2021 are not hurting Twitter to the degree expected. Let’s take a closer look at why Twitter is succeeding.

Strong Advertising Growth

What exactly gave rise to the bump in advertising demand? The growth happened at least in part because Twitter is rolling out more features for advertisers. One example: a video tool. Per their shareholder letter, Twitter has launched a prediction model that projects the likelihood a viewer will watch a video to completion, a feature meant to meet the needs of advertisers who prioritize video completion rates. A “15-second (15s) view” bidding unit powered by the prediction model gives precedence to engaged views; according to Twitter, “Early testing has shown that [the bidding unit] drives Twitter’s highest video completion rates yet.” The data does look good: advertisers using the 15s view bid unit are seeing an 89 percent higher completion rate, at an average 25 percent lower cost per completed view.

Strong User Growth

Of course, advertisers don’t want to be on a platform unless they know a lot of people are going to congregate there; they want those eyeballs. Twitter, like any company, has to roll out new features to entice people to visit—and linger. Twitter understands this, and their actions reflect that understanding. Per CNBC, “In the [second] quarter Twitter introduced its first subscription service, which gives users access to an Undo Tweet button and other features.” Named Twitter Blue, the subscription service is meant for “power users” who are happy to pay a monthly fee in exchange for exclusive features.

Taking a cue from the success of Clubhouse, Twitter also released its Spaces live-audio chat feature on mobile devices for all users with at least 600 followers. On Spaces, users can join virtual rooms and engage in real-time audio conversations with others. In addition, a new Tip Jar feature will enable users to send money to creators on Twitter.

Notably, the new features have the potential to appeal to brands as well as individuals: consider the fact that Twitter recently signed a deal with the NFL to use Spaces commercially. The league has committed to producing content: more than 20 Spaces, or rooms, that will air around events like the draft and Super Bowl. Per Marketing Dive, the NFL “is the first sports league to offer sponsored Twitter Spaces to brands.”

News Source

It’s also worth noting the connection between Twitter and the news. In fact, brands interested in the news-oriented world are wise to consider Twitter as part of their paid social strategy. As reported by Black Bear Design, Twitter is one of the most popular platforms on the planet: 24 percent of online adults use this microblogging service. And a whopping 86 percent of Twitter users indicate that they visit the network to get their news fix, with almost three quarters of those individuals doing so every day.

Contact True Interactive

In short, Twitter keeps on finding ways to stay relevant. Is the platform a good partner for your brand’s reach? Contact us. We can advise. Learn more about our expertise with social media platforms here.