By Nikita Geldenhuys

It’s been a busy year so far for Twitter, considering the multitude of advertising products it launched. Its new features let brands promote tweets with Twitter cards and also help businesses support their clients better by using the social network as a platform for customer service. 

One of its recent global launches was the Twitter Instant Unlock Card, which encourages users to tweet in order to access exclusive content. Another feature, Promoted #Stickers, was introduced in August with Pepsi as the exclusive launch partner. Ilya Brown, head of Product, Brand & Video Ads at Twitter, describes the feature in a blog post as “a huge opportunity for brands to drive brand affinity and raise awareness of their message at scale”.

Twitter is also trialling a number of advertising products amongst select partners. The latest function to surface is promoted live video broadcasts. These videos are streamed from an individual's Periscope account, shared on Twitter, and promoted by the participating brand. Add to the list the Promoted Tweet Carousel option it started testing in June. 

Some have speculated these product launches are an attempt to further monetize Twitter and get the company’s financial performance back in line with analysts and shareholders expectations. According to Gareth van Zyl, senior technology editor at Fin24, one just needs to look at Twitter’s share price to see that there is indeed “trouble in paradise”.

Twitter’s financial woes

“Twitter listed on the New York Stock Exchange in late 2013 and its share price peaked in January 2014 at around $69. The share price today is offering around the $18 mark,” Van Zyl explains. “The main headwinds that the company faces are concerns over its user growth and its ability to sell advertising.”

He notes user growth has dwindled in recent years, as the network is overtaken by apps such as Instagram and Snapchat. In the second quarter of 2016, the company grew its monthly active user base by less than 1% quarter-on-quarter to 313 million. Its revenue was up 20% year-over-year to $602m for Q2 2016, but this figure indicates a slowdown, as in the previous comparable period it recorded 61% revenue growth. 

“Twitter’s woes really come down to eyeballs on page and engagement – and the company is struggling in that regard. However, it is still a hugely influential social media platform, having sparked political changes and awareness.”

On the company’s latest product launches, Van Zyl cautions; “It  can bolt on as many features as it likes but the reality is that they need a bigger user base of above the one billion user mark. Both Facebook and Google have billions of users combined. Twitter needs to pass this user mark, otherwise its advertising features risk failing.”

New advertising options helping businesses

The recently launched Instant Unlock Card could be perceived by some Twitter users as a rather in-your-face advertising element, as people are required to retweet (and thereby promote) brands in order to access content. 

Jason Stewart, co-owner of HaveYourHeard, is, however, optimistic about the application of these advertising features. “I don't believe that introducing this feature could drive users to other less-commercialised platforms – it is a learning approach,” he says. “I see it as a way for brands to become more personal, and consumers do prefer that approach. It is a human truth that we love attention and to be made to feel that something is exclusive to us.”

He sees the function as a win-win setup for both consumer and brand, and a natural progression of Twitter’s growth as a company and social network. “The Instant Unlock Card feature is just one of many advertising options that the platform has provided. Social media platforms need to commercialise without losing the community. Facebook has gone through the same process, and seems to have stabilised.”

The feature may be beneficial to brands, but will the local market bite?

Local spending on Twitter

Stewart indicates a barrier to the success of Twitter’s new advertising options is the amount that companies have to invest in these features to see a real return. “Companies have to spend big to get the full benefits. Big local brands that are willing to spend will see benefits, but a large majority of brands with smaller budgets may look past it.”

He explains that since Twitter advertising was introduced into the South African market two years ago, small, medium and macro enterprises have adopted and leveraged only some of what the platform has to offer. 

“Twitter advertising is, unfortunately, second priority to clients when it comes to social media advertising, as they tend to focus on the more common social media platform, Facebook. What is often overlooked is that South Africans are avid ‘tweeters’, and the real-time space that Twitter creates encourages the right kind of engaged audience to introduce and position brands.” 

Will this largely untapped marketing resource be disappearing before local marketers get the opportunity to sink their teeth into its advertising potential? Van Zyl thinks not. “Twitter will continue to grow, albeit probably slowly, and it will continue to be used by people across the globe. However, it needs to adapt to the fast-changing social media landscape and attract younger users – people who prefer using the likes of Snapchat.”

What’s your take on Twitter’s new advertising features and the benefits they hold for South African businesses? Tell us in the comments below.