Twitter has targeted local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to boost their brands on its platform by launching its self-serve advertising products.
Local businesses can now have promoted tweets and accounts to improve interaction with users and can opt to "pay per engagement such as a retweet, reply, favourite or click - and there is no minimum spend", according to a Twitter statement.
The social networking tool - which has more than 250 million active users worldwide - says its research shows 72% of people are more likely to make a purchase from an SME, after they follow or interact with them on the platform.
Barry Collins, Twitter's director of SME for Europe, Middle East and Africa, says small businesses know how to build relationships with customers. "They were the first to use Twitter to talk with consumers in real-time, and their creativity demonstrated Twitter's potential as a marketing platform."
SA follows the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Israel and Japan as the only markets to launch self-serve advertising.
Fuseware MD Mike Wronski sees the service as "a mash-up between Facebook's and Google's targeting options, allowing for both keyword and interest-based targeting".
"[In SA] Twitter use has skyrocketed to over 5.5 million people - as of September - and over 80% of large South African brands are active on Twitter already. Its ads also allow an advertiser to target specific Twitter IDs, which is a novel approach as very few ad platforms allow for direct-user targeting," Wronski adds.
Untapped potential
According to Twitter, frozen yoghurt brand Wakaberry - which has more than 26 000 followers on the network - is an example of local companies that use the platform to "listen to their customers and market themselves organically".
Although the self-serve advertising platform has yet to be tested in a local context, Collins says small businesses have shown the platform's potential. "Today, some of the most effective marketing campaigns we see come from small, local, or Internet-only businesses tapping into Twitter's ability to have conversations in context and on the go," he says.
Wronski notes it could be a viable option for local SMEs, although he noted "every ad platform needs to be treated differently, as ads perform very differently on network".
"The best way to get the most out of this new advertising medium is to have messages that are both concise and impactful, visually appealing and that drive people to share because they want to, not because you paid for that privilege," says Wronski.
Twitter has set up a local handle @TwitterZA_SME to offer tips and address questions from businesses looking to take up its advertising product.
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