A lot of people still see Twitter as a grey area, both for business and personal use. Like every social media platform, everyone has questions – And you’re right to! Is Twitter the best place for you? Can you really grow brand awareness, drive leads and improve sales through Twitter?
When it comes to choosing which social media channel to focus and grow on, it’s important to make the right decisions and know what there is to know.
Twitter 101
To give a quick definition; Twitter started as a miniature blogging platform, where users posted a ‘Tweet’ of up to 140 characters to give updates on their lives. Over time, it has been crafted into more of a cross between micro-blogging and instant messaging, as well as raising the character limit to 280 characters.
Twitter uses an algorithm which organises a user’s newsfeed, predominantly in reverse chronological order. Unlike Facebook, it’s recommended that you post between 3-5 times a day to optimise your reach. This algorithm makes Twitter a lot more fast-paced than Facebook, so instead of a user logging in and finding out ‘What Is Happening Today?’ they’re finding out ‘What Is Happening Right Now?’.
Because of the quick interactions of users on Twitter, it’s become the top option for Social Customer Service.
Twitter is also renowned for its optimisation of hashtags. The hashtags that are trending are showcased and a user can search for hashtags, making it easier to connect with the people you want to connect with.
Twitter Ad Targeting Options – Determine Your Objectives
Twitter is an amazing tool to help make people aware of your brand; With the right hashtags and content, you can grow your follower base gradually every day. However, if you’re looking for a larger, quicker result from the platform, then paid advertising is for you!
There are so many options to choose from when you’re advertising on Twitter – It can be very daunting to choose the right strategy if you don’t understand the different options available to you.
Before starting your campaign, you need to determine your objectives and the goals you wish to achieve through the campaign. To make this easy for you, Twitter’s advertising campaigns are objective based.
#1 Increase App installs or App Re-Engagement
App install campaigns are recommended to anyone looking to drive users to download or open mobile apps. These ads use ‘App Cards’, which allow mobile users to preview an image, view app ratings, and install or open an app directly from their Twitter timeline. The most common images shown are the app in use on a mobile phone, which encourages your audience to imagine themselves playing the game or engaging with your app.
These adverts are built to work on cost-per-click payment model, meaning that you don’t pay for how many people it reaches, you only pay for the people who click and go through to the installation page, or open the app itself.
#2 Grow Your Following
Follower campaigns are used to build an engaged audience. This allows you to put across both your brand personality and products on a wider scale. The users who follow you are there for a reason – They’re there because they’re interested in what you have to say or what you’re selling. With the right nurturing and engagement on social media, these followers can become leads and customers.
These adverts are displayed in multiple locations on the Twitter platform, including a user’s timeline, ‘Who To Follow’ and search results. Your ad will be labelled as ‘promoted’, which 85% of users see as helping them to discover new businesses on Twitter.
#3 Raise Awareness
Awareness campaigns are perfect for telling people exactly who you are and getting more of your tweets seen. The campaign is optimised to show your Tweets to as many people as possible, so users are more likely to follow you, retweet you, or visit your website. With awareness campaigns, you pay for the impressions, so you’re paying for your brand to be seen by users on the platform.
#4 Increase Website Clicks or Conversions
These campaigns are targeted towards driving people to visit and take an action on your website. This ad will show a preview of an image, a quick message and a clear Call-To-Action (CTA) on their timeline.
The best CTA’s to use are those that suggest the least amount of commitment. If a person feels as if they’re going to click and be taken to a page to give their bank details straight away, it’s unlikely that they’ll click on your ad. Something that we’d recommend is to use a CTA to drive them to ‘Learn More’ about your business and your products.
Another technique to drive traffic to your website would be to highlight what your audience can get for free. This can be anything from a free e-book to a free trial, depending on what you have available and want to give. Everybody loves to get something for free, so use this to your advantage! This interaction with your business will make them more likely to think of you when they’re in need of your services or products if they’re not in the right stage of the sales process at the time they come across you. If they are in the position to buy what you’re selling, this building of trust will encourage them to look at your website and your products.
#5 Improve Tweet Engagement
Engagement campaigns are used to get more retweets, likes and replies on a tweet you choose. This is done by putting your content in front of the right people at the right times to help start conversations and connect with users. Increasing the engagement on your tweets can lead to increasing your brand awareness and leads.
These campaigns are put in place because sometimes, an account’s organic reach just isn’t enough. Even if you write the best content, have the best image and use the most engaging hashtags, if your tweet doesn’t get to your audience at the right time, it won’t do as well as it could.
With these campaigns, you’ll only pay for the engagement generated – So impressions that don’t generate any engagement you don’t pay a penny.
Want to find out more about how you can get the most out of your social media channels? Contact the Web Presence team today!
