As it looks to win back advertisers, with ad revenue at the company down 50%, Twitter has unveiled some new promotional features, which brands can now build into their Twitter campaigns.
Though as with virtually every update that ‘Twitter 2.0’ has released thus far, they’re not really new, they’re just revised or refreshed variations of previously available offerings, or releases of shelved, older projects.
First off is Hashmojis, which is a re-branding of Twitter’s Branded Hashtags – those hashtags you see with a little graphic added to the end.
Twitter’s framing this as a refreshed offering, but it’s pretty much the same.
As per Twitter:
“Hashmojis (formerly known as Branded Hashtags) allow for a partner to design a new, custom emoji that appears on Twitter whenever a user tweets a predetermined hashtag. It’s a little feature that goes a long way – when a brand uses Hashmojis, they not only become part of the conversation, but a part of culture itself. When a user uses a brand’s Hashmoji in a Tweet, the brand is being featured in a highly relevant, authentic way and helps brands stand out!”
Branded hashtags have been available to selected brands since 2010, when they were introduced for the World Cup, so it’s not a new thing, but the re-framing could help to ignite more advertiser interest.
Twitter’s also officially announced its ‘Hashfetti’ offering, which sees the users’ screen flooded with the respective graphic when people tap the branded tag.
That was actually released in January, but Twitter’s now officially promoting it as an ad option, with one new update:
“The custom emoji is also slightly enlarged and multiplied allowing users more visibility of the design and the animation for 24 hours.”
Hashfetti is currently available to advertisers in the US, Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, UAE, the UK, Germany, Spain, France, and Netherlands.
Finally, there’s also Custom Likes:
Originally launched as ‘Branded Likes’ in June last year, Custom Likes provides the capacity to create unique Like animations on selected tweets, helping to boost engagement and awareness through a simple interactive enhancement.
“Custom Likes will appear on all organic or promoted Tweets that contain the advertiser-selected hashtag for 24 hours (including Tweets authored by everyday Twitter users, brands, publishers, etc). Whether you’re launching something new or connecting with what’s happening, Custom Likes bring attention to what matters most to your brand.”
So nothing new, as such, but potentially some additional considerations for your tweet promotions – though most are fairly high-end, with a price to match.
But if you have the budget, they could be a good way to raise awareness, through interactive, branded visuals, displayed in-stream.
You can read more about Twitter’s updated visual ad offerings here.
