Twitter unveils Promoted Tweets ad effort

Microblogging service Twitter is poised to introduce today its much-anticipated advertising solution, finally formalizing its plans to evolve from pop-culture phenomenon to revenue-generating business. The New York Times reports the program, dubbed Promoted Tweets, will feature ads that show up when users search for keywords tied to advertiser campaigns--from there, Twitter will eventually insert user-relevant promotional posts into the Twitter stream based on metrics like geographic location or shared interests among followers. Brands including Starbucks, Best Buy, Virgin America and Bravo have already signed on: "The idea behind Promoted Tweets is that we want to enhance the communications that companies are already having with customers on Twitter," said Twitter COO Dick Costolo.

Promoted Tweets hinges on what Twitter calls "resonance"--the company will measure ads according to nine factors, including the number of users who see the ad, the number who reply to it and the number who pass it on to their followers. If a post does not achieve a pre-defined resonance score, Twitter will no longer show it as a promoted post, meaning users will not see ads they don't find useful--in addition, advertisers will not have to pay for posts that are removed. The NYT adds brands will initially pay per thousand people who see promoted posts, but as Promoted Tweets evolves, Twitter will explore alternative pricing models. It will also open up ad opportunities to third-party developers once it devises a formula for accurately measuring how users read posts via clients separate from Twitter.com.

For more on Promoted Tweets:
- read this New York Times article

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