Twitter is rolling out a new beta program that will let developers add advertisements to their tweets. It is the first time the micro-blogging site is allowing developers to advertise directly within the platform, and this will also relate to off-platform content.
Twitter opens new canvas for advertisers to monetize
Twitter’s new program will give a way for brands to display ads from its MoPub ad-serving solution directly via Twitter Kit timelines for the iOS and Android apps, announced Senior Product Manager Mollie Vandor in a blog post. Vandor further noted that they have taken care of ad rendering, so users will not have to worry about performance or how to display ads.
“Now, with just a few lines of code, you can engage your users with a dynamic timeline of Tweets and build your business with native MoPub ads that fit seamlessly into the stories you want to tell,” says Vandor.
For the beta period, Twitter is only enabling tweets with ads to be seen in the iOS and Android apps. The tweets with ads will only be allowed in apps which utilize the Twitter Kit for embedded timelines, suggesting that third-party apps using Twitter as a social feed can make money through those streams. A good example of third-party apps is the official NBA app. It is important to remember that this new update is limited to embedded streams in native apps for the beta period.
Very easy handling
The micro-blogging giant has done a lot of work to make sure the ads appear subtle and native. Ads will be rendered, themed and match the color preferences that developers set in the Kit, according to the announcement made by the San Francisco-based social media company. Developers will not have to do much hard work either. Once a native ad unit is set up in MoPub, they simply have to paste the ID into the Kit, and the micro-blogging site will take care of the rest of the work.
It is not difficult to imagine that one day we will see ads in embedded timelines or tweets on websites, but that is something the micro-blogging site has not really talked about until now.
On Tuesday, Twitter shares closed up 0.42% at $14.34. Year to date, the stock is down more than 35%, while in the last year, it is down by over 61%.
