(example of Promoted Tweets in search)

This past July, we began to put this plan into place by giving brands the option to start targeting Promoted Tweets to their followers, in addition to running in search results. Last month we further expanded this product and introduced the ability for advertisers to run Promoted Tweet campaigns that extend the reach of their messaging to non-followers in a targeted, relevant way.

(example of Promoted Tweets in timelines)

Today, there are a variety of ways that Promoted Tweet campaigns can extend the reach of your message to the right person at the right time:

Promoted Tweets in search – Reach users who are searching for your brand or related topics. Your Tweet appears fixed at the top of the search results based on winning the auction for the search terms.

Promoted Tweets in timelines – Reach users who are likely to be interested in your message, at scale - including followers who might have missed your organic Tweets and/or users who share similar interests with your followers. Your Tweet appears at or near the top of the user’s timeline and scrolls down in the timeline like any other Tweet.

Geo-targeting – Reach users in the locations that are most relevant to your message. Promoted Tweets can be targeted to specific countries or to specific metro areas within the U.S.

As we noted in our very first blog post, on average, marketers have seen a 3-5% engagement rate for Promoted Tweets in search - an order of magnitude above most forms of digital advertising - and engagement has remained strong as we’ve begun testing Promoted Tweets in users’ timelines. Check back soon - we'll be sharing those results here.

For Steven Spielberg’s and J.J. Abrams’s much anticipated sci-fi thriller, Super 8, Paramount Pictures was challenged with a modest marketing budget in a summer full of huge blockbusters. Their goal: quickly increase awareness and ramp-up box office results for opening weekend.

Paramount generated buzz by debuting the first Super 8 trailer on Twitter. It carried that momentum over to opening weekend by using a Promoted Trend with the hashtag #Super8Secret to broadcast a surprise screening of the sci-fi thriller in 300 plus theaters a day before its official release. Paramount hoped that the most ardent fans who previewed the movie would spread the word into the weekend and help drive their friends to the theater. On the day of Super 8’s release, Paramount used another Promoted Trend, #Super8Movie to further amplify and maintain the buzz amongst moviegoers.

“Twitter has the incredible capability of spreading buzz in real-time as well as fostering conversations that capture large audiences in a matter of seconds,” explains Amy Powell, EVP of Marketing Strategies & Film Production at Paramount Pictures. “We believe these elements are key in promoting a movie like Super 8.”

The #Super8Secret Promoted Trend created a tremendous spike in conversations: Tweets of the hashtag reached nearly nine million impressions in less than 24 hours and mentions of the movie skyrocketed to more than 150 per minute. Receipts for the sneak preview exceeded $1 million, and Paramount said weekend box office surpassed expectations by 52%.

As part of our industry presence during Advertising Week in New York, Twitter has curated a photographic exhibit to showcase a few of the people and organizations that are changing the world, one Tweet at a time. The exhibit contains a series of dramatic photographic images combined with historical Tweets that tell powerful stories of ‘doing good’ and the role that Twitter has played in amplifying those efforts.

The exhibit was unveiled on October 4th at Twitter’s #party4good, benefiting charity: water, where we celebrated with clients and many of the brands that are using Twitter to amplify their efforts to 'do good'. One great example is Virgin America. They partnered with Stand Up To Cancer to launch a one-day flash sale exclusively on Twitter called the Fly Forward, Give Back campaign. Fares started at $49, with $5 going to the charitable cancer organization with each booking. The airline used a Promoted Trend with the hashtag #FlyFwdGiveBack to broadcast the sale to a wide audience, and they used Promoted Tweets to connect with users who came searching for the sale information on Twitter. The flash sale on Twitter raised $50,000 in charitable donations for Stand Up To Cancer. It was also one of the top five sale days ever for the airline.

We were honored to bring our industry colleagues together at an event that showcased so many great causes including the Red Cross, Invisible People, the One Campaign, the National Park Conservation Association, Nike & The Michael J. Fox Foundation, RLabs, Virgin America & Stand Up to Cancer, the Pepsi Refresh Project, the DNA Foundation, the National Wildlife Federation, and more. We are also proud to support charity: water, our event beneficiary with a donation of $20,000 in Promoted Tweets to help drive awareness and donations for their September Campaign.

Over the past five years, charity: water has provided clean water to two million people in need, and they aren’t stopping there. Their latest fund raising effort will be used to invest in a drilling rig fleet that will open up an additional 80 wells a year, and serve 40,000 more people with clean water in Ethiopia. For more information and to donate now, visit http://www.charitywater.org/september.