Want to promote a "trend" on Twitter? It'll cost you $120,000 a day. And here we've been, wondering how the free-to-use, short-messaging blog was going to make money.
What is a "promoted trend"? A real trend on Twitter is one that reflects what users are tweeting about — often the latest news or gossip. Promoted trends are ads, basically. With Father's Day coming up, for example, the Twitter hashtag, #BestDad, is promoted, although not all #BestDad tweets are from advertisers; many are also from those tweeting talking about who is (and isnt') a best dad. And, in a quick check, AT&T shows up with an ad using the #BestDad hashtag.
Twitter announced "promoted trends" last fall. And costs to buy one have zoomed up quickly, from the $25,000 to $30,000 initially to the six-figure zone, notes The Next Web.
"While this is clearly good news for Twitter, it’s bad news for small businesses, with the minimum ad spend required overall on Twitter sitting at $15,000 over 3 months, making this pretty much a no-go for those with limited ad budgets. $5,000 per month on advertising via a relatively new and unproven platform is too much for many small businesses."
Adam Bain, Twitter director of revenue, told ClickZ recently that Toyota, HBO and Samsung have been among the promoted trend advertisers. For those companies that can't afford promoted tweets, there are "promoted accounts," which lets advertisers pay per follower based on a bid system, he said.
"Paying $4 for a follower is a pittance because the ROI (return on investment) is insane, he said. "Because again once they have a follower, they can keep marketing to that guy as many times as they want without worrying about where they are across the Web or what kind of mindframe they're in."
All of this is still in the early stages for Twitter. And while's it's not in Facebook's league yet when it comes to advertisers, it's not bird feed.
— Via The Next Web
Related stories:
- Twitter searches now include photos and videos
- Twitter used by 13 percent of online Americans
- Twitter set to spam your inbox with added notifications
- Twitter expected to offer 'promoted accounts'
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