Twitter Flips Ad Model to Rival Facebook's Structure

Advertisers on Twitter can now create campaigns with specific objectives in mind and pay only when those goals are met

Twitter is moving away from its cost-per-engagement model for ads and putting objectives like app installs, follows and leads front and center. Campaigns on Twitter will now begin with the end goal in mind, enabling advertisers to only pay for specific actions they deem most effective in achieving that objective.

Instead of trying to force a certain ad unit to deliver the results they're after, campaign managers will be directed to the best ad format based on predefined goals. This work happens automatically in Twitter's new objective-based workflow, which also makes it simpler to create ads and customize rich media, the company says.

The shift in Twitter's ad pricing and structure is important, not because it's unique but because much of the industry is already moving in this direction. Page views and clicks with no purpose carry far less meaning for brands than actual conversions or leads.

[Related: Twitter Readies Design Changes As It Unveils New Ad Offerings]

Facebook has been selling ads from an objectives-based approach since October, after it killed off a series of redundant ad products to make it easier for ad managers to set up and track their campaigns.

Advertisers and marketers are always focused on driving business outcomes, so it makes perfect sense for Twitter to do the same. Facebook's momentum of late may not be entirely linked to its refined ad structure, but its fortunes have grown exponentially since last fall and Twitter surely must have noticed.

In flipping the script, Twitter is also taking on most of the risk by essentially guaranteeing that its ads will deliver results up front. When, for any reason, those objectives aren't reached Twitter won't make so much as a penny.

[Related: Has Social Media Become the Wild, Wild West for Marketers?]

"Objective-based campaigns are designed to help you drive the highest possible ROI (return on investment) from your ads," Christine Lee, senior product manager of revenue, writes in a blog post detailing the changes coming to Twitter ads. "Objective-based pricing ensures that you only pay for the results that impact your marketing goals."

Advertisers can choose from various objectives, including tweet engagements, website clicks or conversions, app installs or engagements, followers or leads. A campaign aimed at driving app installs or app engagement will be charged on a cost-per-app-click model while a lead-generation campaign will be charged based on how many users submit their information via Twitter's lead generation card in a promoted tweet. (See video below.)

The new ad campaign framework and pricing structure is now available in beta to small- to medium-sized businesses and API partners globally. Twitter says it also plans to make the service available to managed clients via invite over the coming months.

[Related: Twitter Scores by Moving the Goal Posts]

The change for direct marketing on Twitter comes on the heels of the company's surprisingly strong quarter in which revenue grew 124 percent year-over-year to $312 million, but net losses also jumped 71 percent over the same period to $144.6 million.

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.
Show Comments

Latest Videos

More Videos

More Brand Posts

What are Chris Riddell's qualifications to talk about technology? What are the awards that Chris Riddell has won? I cannot seem to find ...

Tareq

Digital disruption isn’t disruption anymore: Why it’s time to refocus your business

Read more

Enterprisetalk

Mark

CMO's top 10 martech stories for the week - 9 June

Read more

Great e-commerce article!

Vadim Frost

CMO’s State of CX Leadership 2022 report finds the CX striving to align to business outcomes

Read more

Are you searching something related to Lottery and Lottery App then Agnito Technologies can be a help for you Agnito comes out as a true ...

jackson13

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Thorough testing and quality assurance are required for a bug-free Lottery Platform. I'm looking forward to dependability.

Ella Hall

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Blog Posts

Marketing prowess versus the enigma of the metaverse

Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.

Liz Miller

VP, Constellation Research

Why Excellent Leadership Begins with Vertical Growth

Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?

Michael Bunting

Author, leadership expert

More than money talks in sports sponsorship

As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.

Simone Waugh

Managing Director, Publicis Queensland

Sign in