Twitter will provide targeted ads

Twitter is about to roll out ads to it’s users.  After four years of data mining I would imagine that these ads will be highly targeted.   Approximately ten advertisers, such as Starbucks, Virgin American and Best Buy will participate as they ramp up from yesterday’s roll out to 2% to 10% of their users according to the Wall Street Journal.

The San Francisco firm will leverage a new service, Promoted Tweets, in which ads will appear at the top of the search results.   Advertisers will be charged per thousand impressions, with plans for a more complex model based on users interactions with the message to come.

It will be a valuable tool for the marketers anxious to engage Gen Y or Millennials, the demographic most technologically connected in every aspect of their lives.    Brands have had a tough time reaching Gen Ys, since they use the Internet for all aspects of their lives and are not likely to be heavy readers of printed material or viewers of traditional commercial based TV shows.  Millennials get it all on the Internet with guidance from friends and consumption of content at all times and places during their day.   Some believe that this generation is the most coveted buying group due to their consumption rate being  five times that of  Baby Boomers.   Marketers will be anxious to court this generation on their own turf, and Promoted Tweets will be a highly measurable  method to achieve this goal.

Social media has to be a component of one’s overall marketing strategy and probably already is even for those not actively pursuing.  These social media communities will discuss your goods or services either with your contribution or without, its your choice.