Twitter Expands Promoted Tweets On Mobile; Will Allow Brands To Target By Interest, Device

A few weeks ago Twitter announced that it would be bringing additional “Promoted Products” to the iOS and Android mobile platform, specifically Promoted Accounts and Promoted Tweets. At the time, Promoted Tweets were only being served to a small number of users from brands they fellow. Today, Twitter is announcing a broader roll out with more targeting options for advertisers.

Promoted Tweets on mobile appear both in the timeline and within search. When in the timeline, the tweets show up like any other, are not “stuck” at the top of the screen like they do in search. As new tweets roll in, the Promoted Tweet will fall off the page. In search, the Promoted Tweet appears at the top of the screen. Users can also swipe to remove the Tweet.

Twitter says today reactions to these ad products have been positive, and the company will be expanding this test on mobile, allowing brands to target Promoted Tweets to users that share similar interests with their existing followers (not just those who follow brands).

Brands will also be able to target their campaigns specifically to desktop computers and laptops, iOS, Android, and other mobile devices. The introduction of more advanced targeting on mobile is a win for advertisers, because they can reach specific users where engagement may be more positive.

As CEO Dick Costolo explained in January, Twitter’s advertising business is growing and the engagement rates on Promoted Tweets, Trends and profiles (i.e., Accounts) is high on the web. Adding advanced targeting should help maintain engagement on mobile ads as well.