Promoted Tweets Selling for “Upwards of $100,000”

With Twitter continuing to experiment with a variety of business models, at least one format appears to be attracting meaningful revenue: promoted tweets and trending topics. [mashable link]

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, advertisers are spending “upwards of $100,000” on the ads, which are still in testing with only a handful of partners (more than 30 “big name brands” per the WSJ’s report).

As for the results, there are a couple reasons for Twitter (Twitter) to be optimistic. For one, about 5% of those who see promoted tweets interact with them (i.e. – click a link, retweet or reply). Also, 80% of brands that have purchased ads have gone on to do so again.

Specific case studies we’ve seen so far include Coca-Cola, which reported a 6% engagement rate for its campaign, Virgin America, which credits Promoted Tweets in part for its fifth highest sales day ever, and online trading firm Zecco, which said last month that engagement on its promoted tweets was 50% higher than its regular tweets, with “200 to 300% increases in some cases.”

That said, there is some reason to be cautious. The WSJ notes that PepsiCo and Best Buy –- two brands that are highly active in the social media space –- are yet to re-up on Twitter ads following a trial run. We’re also waiting to see if Twitter’s plan will extend beyond big brands with big budgets and will eventually offer small businesses a self-service way to target promoted tweets to potential local customers.

[via mashable]

Posted in: Twitter