Over the past week, several users have noted that keyword targeting is now also available in Twitter ads, a new addition that was ‘shockingly’ not available in the past. Elon himself has effectively mocked the incompetence of previous Twitter management for having missed this key opportunity. So, professionally, they’ve taught us to never directly say anything bad about our previous work experiences/employment, but free speech supposedly overwrites ethics, seeing as how Musk has periodically shown how he has no quarrel with badmouthing people and organizations he doesn’t agree with.
“As mind-blowing as it is, Twitter did not have [keyword targeting] functionality until recently, which is insane, but now it does.”
However, Twitter is adamant that it has keyword-targeting functionality. Back in April 2013, which is exactly 10 years ago – Twitter announced the launch of keyword targeting for ads, which allowed advertisers ‘to reach users based on the keywords in their recent Tweets and the Tweets with which users recently engaged’. As Twitter explained at the time:
“For example: let’s say a user tweets about enjoying the latest album from their favorite band, and it so happens that band is due to play a concert at a local venue. That venue could now run a geo-targeted campaign using keywords for that band with a Tweet containing a link to buy the tickets. That way, the user who tweeted about the new album may soon see that Promoted Tweet in their timeline, letting them know tickets are for sale in their area.”
So, it appears that the exact functionality that Musk discussed in the clip above has been around for over 10 years already. Where’s the confusion? Well, over time, Twitter actually found that keyword targeting wasn’t effective, because, unlike Google, which uses the same functionality to great effect, people on Social Media prefer posting about things they’re interested in, not what they’re looking for.
Let’s take a look at this example – users will engage in arguments about politics, pop culture, and you name it. The problem with keyword targeting in such cases is that you end up reaching a whole lot of users, many of whom would likely not be interested in whatever it is you’re offering because they’re engaging in a totally different discovery mindset.
Due to the difficulty of accurate attribution, Twitter has shifted its focus away from keyword targeting. And more towards expanded audience reach based on interests and trends. For example, audience expansion allows you to reach more people who have similar characteristics to your target audience and are more likely to be interested in your offerings.
The Wrap
So, Twitter found that the results of these campaigns were not good enough, therefore de-emphasizing them and trying to move ad partners to more effective campaign approaches. The fact remains that both of these functionalities already exist, and they’re misnomers – or, at the very least – a misunderstanding. It does suggest that these might be completely novel features and that there were missed opportunities by the management of old, except that they didn’t miss it and they may not have been as bad as Musk puts them out to be. It’s up to you whether or not to try out Twitter’s ‘new’ keyword targeting for ads.
Please note:
This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin.
Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.
