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Twitter zeroes in on ad revenue growth (TWTR)
BI Intelligence
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Amid slowing revenue growth, Twitter is developing a couple of ad offerings and testing a new way to surface certain tweets to users, according to various news releases. The company's ad revenue grew just 1% year-over-year (YoY) to $644 million in Q4 2017.
Here's a look at the new features and products Twitter is offering:
A camera-first feature that could threaten Snapchat. Twitter is reportedly working on a feature that would combine location-based photos and videos and feature them as highlighted moments, according to CNBC. Brands would be able to run ads during these moments, similar to how brands advertise during curated moments in Snapchat's Discover section. The feature would mesh well with Twitter, which is a top social destination for consumers to share photos and opinions during significant cultural moments. This means there’d likely be an abundant supply of user-generated content for Twitter to highlight, and this would help attract brands to advertise during these moments.
Algorithmically curated timelines to highlight big news events. Twitter is testing a feature that promotes news-related tweets to the top of users’ timelines, making it easier for users to consume news-related content on the platform, BuzzFeed reports. This is especially valuable to the company as Facebook reduces the amount of news on people's newsfeeds by 20%. Ultimately, easier access to news could boost users’ average browsing session times on Twitter, making Twitter more attractive to advertise on.
Subscription-based ad product for businesses. Twitter has been working recently to create a subscription product to make it easier for small businesses to advertise on Twitter, according to company CFO Ned Segal, per an interview on CNBC. Additional details were scarce, although Segal was referring to the company’s $99 per month product that automatically promotes certain tweets for brands, according to Recode. Targeting small businesses bodes well for Twitter — US local ad spend is projected to grow 7.6% in 2018, per Borrell Associates.
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