25 Jan Twitter Finds the Sweet Spot in Online Advertising

Twitter Finds the Sweet Spot in Online Advertising
As more and more people bash Facebook for spam-filled ads, referred to as “sponsored stories,” Twitter’s unobtrusive advertising model begins to look increasingly attractive. At The Social Calling, I’ve been impressed with how they’ve matched ad content and frequency with target audiences. While Facebook bombards people with unwanted messages, Twitter exercises a surprising amount of discipline – CEO Dick Costolo has kept the number of promoted tweets quite low and has focused on growing those numbers in a slower, more controlled and organic way. For people interested in Social Media Marketing in the San Fernando Valley as well as worldwide, this has important implications for how to best target current and potential customers.
Twitter International
Today, 90% of Twitter’s revenues come from the U.S. This is based on the following Mashable article:
And while revenues are growing at a stable and healthy pace, one can easily see the huge dollar signs that could come Twitter’s way with a more aggressive international strategy. Notably, China, the world’s biggest market, would be an ideal place for Twitter to expand. But, given China’s strong and controlling central government, an official Chinese Twitter may not be likely. Added to that is the fact that China has several Twitter copycats, the most prevalent being Weibo. So, in the short-term, Twitter may have to look at Europe, Latin America and other parts of Asia for immediate international expansion.
Twitter & Apple
As the U.S.’s largest and most valuable company, Apple has a lot of visibility. People are perpetually interested in what they’re doing, what products are coming out and also when, if and how they’re going to spend the $50 billion in cash they have lying around. There’s been some speculation that Apple could indeed buy Twitter, which now has an estimated market value of between $8 billion and $10 billion.
Twitter and Apple also have another type of connection. Twitter’s CFO, Ali Rowghani, was a former Pixar employee who was so important to Steve Jobs that Jobs reportedly begged him not to go to Twitter. Given Jobs’ reputation for being a visionary and attracting top talent, this immediately gives credibility to Rowghani’s ability as a CFO to lead Twitter down the right financial path.
Social Media Wars
Aside from positive, yet uncertain, forecasts, Twitter is going to have to wage a political battle with the other heavy hitters in the social media game. Twitter had some dealings with Instagram before they were bought by Facebook and there seems to be some bad blood. For example, after Twitter’s offer to buy Instagram was rejected in favor of Facebook’s offer of twice the size, Twitter developed its own photo filters that directly competed with Instagram’s. In turn, Instagram removed all support for Twitter cards, which essentially made tweets sent via Instagram look dull.
With the multiple platforms on the market in terms of social media environments and mobile device operating systems, the battle for compatibility and usability could get a little ugly. Luckily if you’re looking for social media advice, or specifically Facebook help in San Fernando Valley, The Social Calling is here to serve.