Twitter is one of the most unique social media platforms in the world. It emphasizes organic conversations and brand interactions.
This opens up a wide range of exciting digital marketing opportunities for advertisers.
Twitter ad campaigns can deliver exceptional results for brands, but to succeed on the platform, you need to understand how to create high-performing paid ads.
So how can you learn to master the art of Twitter advertising?
Well, a great place to start is Twitter case studies. By learning from successful Twitter ad campaigns, you can quickly understand how to create high-impact ads that engage audiences and generate conversions.
The Twitter platform revolves around active conversations, trending topics, and direct exchanges between brands and Twitter users.
As a result, much Twitter advertising is designed to capitalize on real-time conversations and open up opportunities for audience engagement.
Twitter ads appear in and around the Twitter homepage, essentially a news feed constantly refreshed with new Tweets.
There is a wide range of Twitter ad formats available to advertisers, including:
These ads can be targeted at specific platforms’ audiences. Reaching the right audiences through smart Twitter targeting is extremely important and a vital element of running successful Twitter campaigns.
Twitter also places slightly less emphasis on ad visuals than other social media platforms.
Although producing eye-catching images and videos is still crucial, crafting effective ad copy is the key to success on Twitter.
Advertisers can target promoted Tweets to a range of different audiences on Twitter.
Brands can reach their target audience through:
Identifying the right Twitter audience is a very important aspect of Twitter advertising, so building and testing multiple segments over time is a good idea.
Selecting the right Twitter campaign objective is also fundamental to success.
Twitter campaign objectives are divided into three primary categories (Awareness, Consideration, Conversion), each containing multiple sub-types.
Since your Twitter ad campaign will be optimised automatically towards the objective you select, you must think carefully about your choice.
Brands worldwide use Twitter advertising, and with good reason—the platform offers many compelling benefits to digital marketers.
For one thing, brands can reach a significant audience through Twitter ads.
Although Twitter can’t compete with social media giants like Facebook when it comes to scale, the platform still boasts a huge user base. Around 237.8 million monetizable daily active users
This provides advertisers with a golden opportunity to build brand awareness, scale up marketing campaigns, and drive high volumes of conversions.
Twitter actively encourages brands to engage with audiences through polls, Tweet replies, and trending topics. With the right marketing strategy, brands can use the Twitter platform to nurture brand loyalty and establish positive customer relationships.
Finally, Twitter ads are objective-based, meaning you’ll only pay for pre-defined actions that relate to your campaign objective – and this can be a massive boost to cost efficiency.
Brands keen to unlock Twitter’s full potential often drive optimal results by partnering with a Twitter advertising agency. Working alongside paid social professionals and dedicated account managers can be a game-changer for Twitter ad performance.
Now that we’ve covered the basics of Twitter advertising, let’s explore some of the most successful ad campaigns on the platform – and highlight how you take your own paid advertising to the next level.
Fifth Third Bank used Twitter ads to tap into popular conversations around finance and drive increased website clicks.
The brand utilized Keyword and Conversation targeting to identify users who were engaged with personal finance and likely to be receptive to smart banking products.
This strategy was simple but highly effective. Twitter allows marketers to reach target audiences based on specific conversation topics and granular insights, which can lead to exceptional results.
(Source: twitter.com)
Fifth Third Bank ran several ad formats (including Video ads and Carousel ads) throughout the campaign, using a combination of humor and snappy copy to capture its audience’s attention.
The campaign achieved a 66% decrease in cost per site visit and a 60% decrease per link click, proving the power of smart targeting and engaging creative assets.
Adidas partnered with Twitter to run a launch campaign for its ‘Predator’ football boots, aiming to boost campaign awareness and ultimately increase website traffic.
To achieve this, Adidas utilized several Twitter video placements in combination.
The brand launched a Timeline Takeover to increase reach rapidly, In-Stream Video ads to build a Twitter presence around sports content, and a Video Website Card to drive website clicks and sales.
The hero Video ad used fast motion, celebrity appearances, and dramatic music to grab user attention and stand out in a busy feed.
Since these eye-catching videos were prominently placed on Twitter and appeared around sports content, they proved to be highly engaging for viewers.
Relevant content targeting, combined with multiple ad formats and a striking video asset, delivered strong results for Adidas. The activity generated more than 6m video views, and over 440k minutes of video were consumed across the campaign.
Travel and expense management company SAP Concur used Twitter online advertising to drive traffic to its website and content hub.
The brand started by identifying its target audience on Twitter using the Site Visit/Page View optimization tool. This allowed SAP Concur to target users who were more likely to visit its website based on previous behaviors and interests.
This accurate targeting enabled SAP Concur to reach people interested in its articles and whitepapers, rapidly improving the efficiency of the campaign.
(Source: twitter.com)
This is a prime Twitter ad example, ticking all the right boxes in terms of effective ad copy.
These promoted Tweets both use clever tactics to catch the audience’s attention and increase the likelihood of a click. Firstly, including a question is a great way to engage users and encourage them to continue reading instantly.
Secondly, advertising a ‘listicle’ style piece of content (i.e. ‘7 things your policy should cover’) naturally makes audiences more curious. If users want to discover more, they need to click.
These are small tips, but they can greatly impact Twitter performance. SAP Concur dramatically reduced its cost per site visit by using intelligent optimizations and engaging ad copy.
Delivery service Uber used Twitter to amplify its #MoveWhatMatters initiative – a campaign that committed 10m free rides and food deliveries to key workers during COVID.
To increase awareness of the campaign, the Uber Twitter account launched several ad formats and a range of creative messages to boost awareness and engagement.
Uber initially launched a Twitter Takeover to kick off the ad campaign with a bang, maximizing the reach of the #MoveWhatMatters hashtag.
(Source: twitter.com)
This brilliant ad creative was designed to grab attention on the Twitter feed.
The 15-second video asset didn’t move, highlighting the central message that Uber was encouraging regular people to stay home during the pandemic.
Uber then continued to rotate several ad placements to land its campaign message, with a consistent call to action that encouraged Twitter users to click to learn more about #MoveWhatMatters.
By advertising on Twitter, Uber managed to drive a 3x higher view rate compared to previous campaigns while simultaneously achieving a 33% lift in positive sentiment.
This ad campaign showcased the power of a great Twitter ad and the ability for brands to deliver important messages at scale.
Audio technology brand Sonos partnered with Twitter to promote the launch of its voice-controlled smart speaker, Sonos One. However, the brand was competing against several tech manufacturers in a highly competitive pre-holiday market.
To ensure success, Sonos developed a multi-stage marketing strategy that utilized several ad placements. The brand also utilized Twitter Interest targeting to reach an engaged and relevant tech audience.
Firstly, to boost its social media presence during a busy shopping period, Sonos launched a snappy launch video that announced the arrival of the Sonos One. This was delivered through both ordinary Tweets and promoted Tweets to maximize reach.
(Source: twitter.com)
Sonos then promoted this launch video through Promoted Trends and Timeline Takeovers – two high-impact placements that reached a colossal audience and cut through the noise.
The Sonos Video ad placement was a huge success, primarily because it followed creative best practices on Twitter. This Twitter ad example includes clear product visuals, punchy ad copy, and a recognizable soundtrack to keep users engaged,
The Timeline Takeovers achieved a 58% higher view rate than other placements and also delivered a 2.5x higher purchase intent among the target audience.
Hotel brand Bahía Príncipe used Twitter to increase bookings during peak travel season.
The Twitter ads campaign was divided into two segments: one targeted the American market, while another targeted the Spanish market.
Bahía Príncipe focused primarily on using the Twitter Website card format to increase click volumes among both markets in the same campaign.
The business also launched several audience-targeting tactics to maximize reach and improve efficiency. Relevant keywords (e.g. ‘beach holidays’) were used to identify potential travellers, while conversations around locations like the Caribbean were also targeted to reach hot prospects.
This Twitter ad example shows how simple ad copy can drive optimal performance.
Nothing complicated about this ad, but all the key service information is crystal clear. Bahía Príncipe promotes the name of its sale, clarifies the offer dates, and nods towards the deals available for customers.
This promoted Tweet also conjures up a sense of urgency, incentivizing users to click and book immediately to avoid missing out.
This campaign generated over 2 million views and 250k clicks. Data-driven targeting and effective ad copy proved to be a winning formula for Bahía Príncipe.
Volvo partnered with Twitter to promote its Summer Sales Event, leveraging pre-roll Video ads to highlight key product benefits.
To maximize campaign awareness and video views, Volvo targeted a broad Twitter audience with interests in a variety of categories.
Ads were served before video content related to sports, fashion, business, and comedy. By expanding its targeting beyond obvious categories (e.g., cars), Volvo effectively increased its reach and attracted new buyers.
Pre-roll Twitter ad placements also helped the brand to capture attention, utilising ad inventory around audience passion points.
(Source: twitter.com)
This is a strong Twitter ad example for a few reasons. Each video in the campaign was short and sweet, promoting a specific product benefit (e.g. leather seating) and finishing with a clear call to action.
These pre-roll ads were also exclusively served alongside premium publishers, ensuring that Volvo appeared around high-quality content.
Volvo’s pre-roll video strategy was a roaring success. The campaign delivered a 36% average view rate and a cost-efficient $0.03 average cost per view.
Pandora took advantage of multiple Twitter ad formats to support the launch of its ‘Reflexions jewelry collection.
The brand combined several audience targeting tactics (i.e. Demographic/Interest) to identify its ideal shoppers – women aged 18 to 54 with a clear interest in fashion, shopping, jewellery and accessories.
From there, Pandora built out a Twitter marketing strategy to boost awareness of its collection and engage potential customers.
The Pandora Twitter account published snappy videos and gifs to increase excitement before the collection launched. When launch day arrived, Pandora used various formats (including Video ads, interactive audience polls, and Carousel ads) to drum up more interest and engagement.
(Source: twitter.com)
This Twitter ad example proves how multiple ad placements can work effectively together to deliver positive returns.
Pandora used Twitter ads to both generate excitement before the product launch, and drive engagement post-launch. The brand also utilized a clever mix of creative messages, reaching a sizable (but relevant) audience of jewelry lovers.
The campaign performed extremely well, delivering an 8% lift in campaign awareness and a 4% lift in consideration among exposed audiences versus control audiences.
We’ve already covered some of the platform’s most effective Twitter ad examples.
Now it’s time to explain how to build your Twitter success story. Below are expert strategies to help you fulfill your social media goals and optimize your next campaign.
Your target audience will inevitably scroll through Twitter at lightning speed, exploring new posts and content.
Keep your word count to a minimum, focus on your most persuasive selling points, and use action-oriented language.
It’s also vital to incorporate a clear CTA into your Twitter ads. Whether you’re promoting flash sales or driving app installs, make sure that your ad includes a compelling call to action.
Keep your creative messaging fresh to ensure that your audience remains engaged.
It would be best if you also varied the themes of your Twitter posts to prevent audience fatigue. Not every single Tweet needs to be a hard product sell; for example – you might post industry insights, share a business update, or even just throw out a question to encourage engagement.
By staying diligent with your ad optimisations, you’ll be able to improve performance over time consistently.
Just be sure to monitor campaign performance regularly and regularly make decisive optimizations when needed.
If your Twitter ads conjure up a genuine sense of urgency or scarcity, audiences are infinitely more likely to click.
You can achieve this by using tactical language in your ad copy, such as ‘limited time’ and ‘last chance,’ to reel in customers.
Special promotions like time-sensitive deals, free trial offers, upcoming events, or flash sales can all be insanely effective if framed correctly.
Prepare one document in MS Word or Google Docs with the campaign theme and your five twitter (x) posts. Include the following:
For each of the five twitter posts, include the following:
Save your file as a PDF and upload it to the Dropbox provided on d2l. Please remember to show me your work before submitting it to Dropbox.