Twitter announced the launch of some new interest-based targeting for advertisers today. Those using Twitter’s Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts can start targeting campaigns based on interests of their choosing.
There are over 350 interest categories available to advertisers. They came in a two-level hierarchy. For example, under the first-level category Movies and Television, you can find sub-categories like Action and Adventure, Horror, Comedy, etc.
“By targeting people’s topical interests, you will be able to connect with a greater number of users and deliver tailored messages to people who are more likely to engage with your Tweets,” says Twitter product management director Kevin Weil. “When people discover offers and messages about the things they care about on Twitter, it’s good for both marketers and users.”
Advertisers can also specify certain usernames that are relevant to the campaign.
“Custom segments let you reach users with similar interests to that @username’s followers; they do not let you specifically target the followers of that @username,” explains Weil. “If you’re promoting your indie band’s next tour, you can create a custom audience by adding @usernames of related bands, thus targeting users with the same taste in music. This new feature will help you reach beyond your followers and users with similar interests, and target the most relevant audience for your campaign.”
Twitter says that in testing, it has seen significantly increased audience reach for advertisers, and they’re seeing high engagement rates “across the board”.
In addition to the new targeting features, Twitter also announced that ti is lowering the minimum bid for all auctions to just a penny.
This ad news is the second major business-oriented announcement we’ve seen from Twitter this week. On Wednesday, the company announced the launch of the Certified Product Program.