Currently, the Twitter targeting system lets you target Twitter users based on interests, gender, geography, device and keywords; but last year, Twitter introduced Tailored Audience Advertising; allowing advertisers to use cookie information from a user’s browser and start a retargeting campaign, i.e. promoting tweets to customers who have abandoned baskets at check-out for example.

Twitter’s own blog explains a great example of the user journey that would be involved:

“With tailored audiences you can reach users on Twitter who have shown interest in your brand or your category even away from Twitter. Let’s say a hotel brand wants to advertise a promotion on Twitter and they’d prefer to show their ad to travel enthusiasts who have recently visited their website. To get the special offer to those people who are also on Twitter, the hotel brand may share with us browser-related information (browser cookie ID) through an ads partner. We can then match that information to Twitter accounts in order to show the matched users a Promoted Tweet with the travel deal. The end result is a highly relevant and useful message for the user. Advertisers will continue to receive the same reports that include how many users saw or clicked on an ad, without identifying who saw it or clicked on it.”

Please note that there are obvious privacy barriers in place if Twitter users would like to opt-out of these direct marketing messages, you can read more into the measures they implement here.

The benefits of retargeting advertising (in general) are:

  • Reach existing customers and high-intent users who have shown interest in your brand or your category.
  • Easily and flexibly define and update your audience segments.
  • Drive ROI with highly targeted messages to in-market customers on both mobile and desktop.

What Twitter hasn’t made a big deal about, is that to start a Tailored Audience campaign – you will need a Tailored Audience Partner. The list can be found on their blog post here. Some are still asking users for beta testing, with most not really highlighting their pricing structures of these campaigns.

As one Partner explains: “Your ads partner will bill you separately, with Twitter billing you for the promoted tweet campaign. Each tailored audience partner will have different pricing structures.”

So would this extra cost be worthwhile? The case studies presented would lead you to believe this is the case; with high conversion rates, high percentage decrease in cost-per-customer-acquisition and a large percentage increase in engagement overall. You can check the success stories here with other specific case studies on the Twitter Blog as well.

We here at HMA are completing retargeting advertising on other platforms, and are excited to see how this functionality will adapt in the upcoming months.